Smoking-related diseases cause about one out of every five preventable deaths in the U.S., making cigarettes the leading killer and even slightly eclipsing high blood pressure, according to researcher Majid Ezzati of the Harvard School of Public Health and colleagues.

Researchers looked at preventable deaths linked to a dozen "modifiable risk factors," including smoking, physical inactivity, diet, and others. The comparative risk assessment conducted by Ezzati and colleagues found that 470,000 deaths annually in the U.S. are related to smoking tobacco, while 400,000 are linked to high blood pressure. Obesity caused about one in 10 deaths, while high salt intake was linked to one in 25 deaths.

The report concluded that targeting just a few risk factors could have a big impact on reducing preventable deaths in the U.S.

The study was published in the journal PLoS Medicine.