Study Says Hot Dogs Dangerous to Health

A study from the American Institute for Cancer Research suggests that frequently eating hot dogs can be bad for your health, and a recent advertisement claims that they're as bad as cigarettes. Newschannel 3's Cameron Cramer talks to professionals about the claims and hears opinions from Humboldt County residents. Hot dogs are serious food in the us, garnering large crowds and nationwide TV coverage, but Joey Chestnut here might want to ease up on the footlongs after seeing this advertisement...it's a billboard by the physicians committee for responsible medicine, and it suggests that hot dogs are dangerous to your health. "Their billboard is based on a report released by the american institute for cancer research in 2007 that showed a 21% increase risk of colon cancer. " Said Dr. Join Luh from St. Joseph’s Hospital It's important note that those findings are based on someone who eats a hot dog or other type of processed meat daily, and while that's certainly not healthy is it as bad as smoking "If you look at someone who smokes cigarettes having a 10 to 20 fold increase in lung cancer that's much much more than a 21 percent--that's less than a two fold risk of developing colon cancer." Said Luh Dr. Luh offered some advice based on the findings "The key is just living a healthy life, exercise, don't be overweight, and eat a balanced diet." We took to the streets to see what residents thought of the study: "I eat more hot dogs than hamburgers, so I’m gonna stop eating a lot of hot dogs" Said one young resident "I love hot dogs, so I could be a smoker or a hot dog eater, it's still something I could enjoy." Said Humboldt County Resident Mitchell Floraday "I think I’m going to eat less hot dogs, we'll see how it goes." Said another resident