"I smoke a pack a day and I don't see any problem with that!"

"The news says that you can get lung cancer even if you don't smoke, so why quit smoking?"

"My neighbor, Uncle Wang, smoked all his life, but he still lived to be 90, didn't he?"

If you have advised people around you to quit smoking

Then you have probably heard the above "refutation"...

Is there any connection between smoking and lung cancer?

Why are many non-smokers also diagnosed with lung cancer?

Today we invite

Professor Tang Chunli from the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University

Answers for you one by one!

Is there any connection between smoking and lung cancer?

According to the 2024 National Cancer Report data released by the National Cancer Center: In 2022, there were 4.8247 million new cases of cancer in China, of which 1.0606 million were lung cancer!

Number of cancer cases in China (10,000 people)

In terms of gender, the incidence and mortality rates of lung cancer in both men and women rank first!

The incidence and ranking of the top ten malignant tumors in men and women in China

Lung cancer is also the number one cancer that endangers health worldwide, and the key cause is smoking!

Among the more than 7,000 chemical components contained in tobacco smoke, at least 60 are proven carcinogens. When you smoke, the risk of stroke, cardiomyopathy, aortic aneurysm, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other diseases will increase.

A study published in the academic journal Lung Cancer found that if you quit smoking when lung cancer is diagnosed or shortly after the diagnosis, you can significantly reduce your mortality rate.

Among smokers newly diagnosed with advanced NSCLC (sample size: 646):

The median survival time of lung cancer patients who quit smoking after diagnosis is 659 days

The median overall survival time of lung cancer patients who continued to smoke was only 348 days

The survival time is almost doubled!

However, if the patient relapses after quitting smoking, the treatment effect will be greatly reduced and may even cause the condition to worsen!

So: Quit smoking! Quit smoking! Quit smoking!

Why do some people who don’t smoke still get diagnosed with lung cancer?

There is a very strange point in the statistics of lung cancer incidence in China - the proportion of non-smoking women in new cases of lung cancer is increasing significantly!

According to the gender distribution of lung cancer in my country from 2005 to 2015, the total number of lung cancer cases has increased by 62.9% in the past 10 years, among which the growth rate of lung cancer in women is 71.8%, exceeding the 58.7% of men. If the region is expanded to East Asia, the incidence of lung cancer in women is even on par with that in men!

Why is this happening?

1. Secondhand smoke exposure

Whether at home, in the workplace or in a restaurant, inhaling secondhand smoke increases the risk of cancer.

China is the country with the most serious secondhand smoke problem in the world, with more than 700 million women and children suffering from it! In a room of 122.5 square meters, if you smoke one cigarette, the PM2.5 concentration can reach 800 micrograms per cubic meter; if you smoke two cigarettes, the PM2.5 concentration can reach 1500 micrograms per cubic meter, far exceeding the health standard!

2. Kitchen fumes

Kitchen fumes produced by frying and stir-frying in Chinese cooking are also a major cause of lung cancer.

Kitchen fumes contain a lot of harmful substances, and the higher the oil temperature when cooking, the more harmful substances are contained in the fumes!

Image source: CCTV News

In 1996, the international academic journal Lung Cancer pointed out that cooking fumes can increase the risk of lung cancer in female non-smokers by 3.79 times.

3. Air pollution

Materials such as granite or marble used in renovations may contain excessive amounts of radon gas ;

Artificial boards, pressed wood, etc. may cause formaldehyde to exceed the standard , which are all carcinogenic risk factors.

Outdoor air pollution and frequent smog also pose serious cancer risks!

When you go out on a foggy day, remember to wear a mask and close the doors and windows at home!

4. Personal history of tumors, family medical history, history of chronic lung diseases, etc.

People with a family history of lung cancer have a significantly higher chance of developing lung cancer than others;

The incidence of lung cancer will also increase in patients with a history of chest radiotherapy, chronic lung diseases (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), tuberculosis, pulmonary fibrosis and other lung diseases.

There are so many causes of lung cancer, early screening and early diagnosis are the key!

The reason why lung cancer is so dangerous is not only because there are many causes of the disease and the early symptoms are not obvious, but also because many people do not take it seriously!

If you wait until you have coughing up blood, chest tightness, or chest pain before you seek medical attention, it may be too late...

What are the early symptoms of lung cancer? Let's listen to the professional popular science of Professor Xie Xiaohong , deputy chief physician of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University. Lung cancer is painless in the early stage, so be careful if you have these 6 warning signs in your body!

It is recommended that people at high risk of lung cancer undergo a low-dose chest CT screening once a year:

Aged ≥55 years, smoked ≥30 pack-years, and quit smoking for less than 15 years;

Age ≥50 years, smoking ≥20 pack-years and additional lung cancer risk factors, such as family history, occupational exposure, etc.

(A pack-year is the number of packs smoked per day multiplied by the number of years of smoking. For example, 20 pack-years means one pack a day for 20 years.)

Quit smoking as soon as possible and stay away from secondhand smoke

Take good care of kitchen fume and air pollution

Go to the hospital for regular check-ups

A small change on your part may be the key to your health!

I hope everyone can be healthy and have fewer diseases. Thumbs up for health!