Another
Study Links Secondhand Smoke to Lung Cancer
Long-term
exposure to smoke increases lung cancer risk by as much as 32%
Parts
excerpted from Reuters
NEW YORK, Dec 10 -
Although it can hardly be considered news, a new study from Europe finds
that people exposed to tobacco smoke pollution are much more likely
to develop lung cancer than others. The study was published in
the December 10th issue of the International Journal of Cancer.
The findings are based on an
analysis of data from 1,263 lung cancer patients who never smoked and
2,740 control subjects. The analysis focused on smoke exposure from three
sources: spousal, workplace, and social settings.
People who were exposed short-term
to spousal smoking were 18% more likely to develop lung cancer than people who
were not exposed, noted lead author Dr. Paul Brennan, from the International
Agency for Research on Cancer. With long-term exposure to spousal
smoking the excess risk was 23%.
People who were exposed short-term
to smoke in the workplace had a 13% increased risk of lung cancer, the
researchers state. Once again, with long-term exposure, the excess risk was
higher, at 25%.
People who were exposed short-term
to smoke in social settings had a 17% increased risk of lung cancer. With
long-term exposure, this risk rose to 26%.
As expected, the greatest cancer
risks were seen in subjects exposed to smoke from multiple sources. For
example, people with long-term exposure to smoke from all three sources
were 32% more likely to develop lung cancer than non-exposed individuals.
Sensitivity analysis revealed that,
if anything, the researchers' figures may underestimate the true risk
associated with passive smoke exposure.
"Our pooled analysis provides
more precise estimates of the effect of secondhand smoke on lung cancer risk
than those previously obtained in individual studies and emphasizes the
importance of protecting people from tobacco smoke," the investigators
state.
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Joseph W. Cherner
"Never doubt
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world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
Margaret Mead
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