Is Climate Change the New Smoking? Unraveling the Emerging Risk Factor for Lung?Cancer
Dr. Adam Tabriz
“Founder @ PX6 Medical Systems | Innovating Cyber-Physical Healthcare Solutions | Transforming Patient Care & Management”
Exploring the Shifting Landscape of Lung Cancer Risk Factors: From Tobacco to Climate?Change
Lung cancer is among the deadliest of all cancers, and today many people continue to succumb to the disease. For many years, smoking has been widely attributed to be the cause of lung cancer. The statistics for instance have shown us that about 90% of lung cancer incidence is attributable to smoking. However, new and old research and workers are raising new awareness of climate change as a potentially substantial?—?and potentially increasing?—?risk factor for lung cancer. The statistics have long supported this, with around 90% of lung cancer cases linked to smoking. However, recent studies and experts are bringing new attention to climate change as a potentially significant?—?and potentially growing?—?risk factor for lung cancer. Has the influence of environmental factors at large and aggravated by climate change, superseded other factors that raise the rate of lung cancer? Here we establish a platform between both camps with looking at how climate change and smoking may be affecting the lungs.
The Dominance of?Smoking
Over three quarters of a century, smoking was considered the leading cause of lung cancer in people and the statistics still have much to tell. Statistics reveal that 9 out of 10 lung cancer patients began smoking. Smokers with a pack-a-day habit or more are at especially great risk, and the association between smoking and lung cancer has been studied extensively for over four decades.
Smoking prevention campaigns have paid off in the measure of lung cancer; therefore smoking and lung cancer are known to have a rapport. Lung cancer incidence has decreased in many regions alongside reductions in smoking rates, affirming the conventional wisdom that smoking remains the principal cause of lung cancer in people.
The Emergence of Climate Change as a Risk?Factor
The nature of our environment is rapidly changing and as such, there is a growing interest by some researchers in the effects of climate change on the risk of developing lung cancer. Almost all forms of air pollution that are worsened by climate change have been identified as causal factors of lung cancer. Fires such as the one experienced recently, which are aggravated by the increasing temperatures, emit cancerous substances and other pollutants to the atmosphere. These particles are inhaled by millions, though that could contribute to increasing incidence of lung cancer even for non-smoking populations. Air pollution as pointed out by World Health Organization could be held responsible for over 3 million deaths annually and many of them are from respiratory ailments inclusive of lung cancer (WHO Air Pollution).
Natural disasters including the recent fiery campaigns and hurricanes are on the rise due to climate change. Wildfires emit known carcinogens, and heat makes pollution levels in cities much higher, keeping people exposed to such damaging particles that can travel deep in the lungs for extended periods. Many of these environmental changes happening due to climate change might be affecting lung cancer risks in yet unexplored ways.
Comparing the Evidence: Smoking vs. Climate?Change
The proof that smoking is the primary predisposing factor cannot be easily dismissed. Science literature for the past 40 years has accumulated the evidence and not a single doubt can be cast as to the causal relationship of smoking to lung cancer. It is still personal decision to smoke, while quitting smoking reduces an individual’s risk of cancer.
As for the second part of the argument attributing climate change as a major risk factor, its pros are still rising but have not reached the top. Although the link between climate and lung cancer is not as immediately apparent as with COPD, air pollution, temperature changes, and wildfire smoke create worse respiratory health and a few studies recommend that they can cause lung cancer.
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On the other hand, the argument for climate change as a major risk factor, though growing, is not yet as conclusive. The connection between climate change and lung cancer tends to be more indirect?—?air pollution, temperature changes, and wildfire smoke can worsen respiratory health, and some studies suggest they may contribute to lung cancer. Of course, establishing causation is much trickier, because many of these external factors are intertwined with other illnesses and other socio-determinants, thus making it impossible to pinpoint that climate change is the root cause.
However, any lung cancer being caused by multiple factors, they entail various risk factors most of which are unchangeable. The environmental causative agents of lung cancer may, therefore, increase in significance and potentially overtake smoking especially with continued effects of climate change.
Implications for Public?Health
If climate change does become more important by affecting lung cancer incidence then there would of course be significant consequences for health policy. Air quality, regulating emissions and readiness in the face of natural disasters can become as relevant as ongoing efforts in combating smoking. Also, they are calling for more extensive investigations for the quantitative effects of climate change on lung cancer and the possibility of innovative preventive measures.
There is a potential to switch from lavish identity concentrated around personal vices like smoking to broader environment policy concepts; it implies a different way for lung cancer prevention in the future. This wider understanding of risk could feed into new campaigns for behavior change that do not just target individuals but the structural environment they occupy.
Conclusion
There remains controversy as to whether climate change can become as important a risk factor for lung cancer as has smoking. Smoking without any doubt continues to cause lung cancer, but where and what we develop vulnerability to the disease may shift as the nature of our exposure to environment continues to change. Are we ready to change our strategy on how to prevent lung cancer given the new climate? Whether or not climate change is really the “new smoking,” it seems patently obvious that all potential sources of risk with regard to lung cancer will be an important factor in the battle against this disease.
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