Less lung cancer death from passive smoking

Lung cancer: number of deaths from secondhand smoke has dropped
Smoking endangers not only one's own health but also the health of others. Hundreds of Germans die from the smoke every year, even though they do not smoke themselves. However, a new study shows that the number of passive smoking deaths has fallen.

Smoking also endangers fellow human beings
Smoking not only harms one's own health, but is also dangerous for others. According to previous World Health Organization (WHO) international data collection, passive smoking kills 600,000 people annually. Studies have shown that passive heartbreaks can cause heart diseases such as heart attacks, respiratory diseases such as asthma and lung cancer. In Germany, however, the number of deaths from lung cancer due to secondhand smoke has fallen significantly in the last 20 years.

The number of lung cancer deaths attributable to secondhand smoke has dropped significantly over the past 20 years. Experts attribute the decline to improved non-smoker protection. (Image: Kitty / fotolia.com)

Fewer lung cancer deaths from secondhand smoke
Passive smokers, like smokers, are at an increased risk of developing lung cancer. However, the number of lung cancer deaths attributable to secondhand smoke has fallen in the past 20 years despite a generally aging population.

This is what scientists at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) have determined in a study published in the journal "International Journal of Public Health".

As a comparison, a study was used, the UKE study director Prof. Dr. med. Heiko Becher had already carried out 1994 with the then current numbers on this topic, it says in a statement.

The researchers assume that the decline is due to the increased protection of non-smokers since then.

With nonsmoker protection could be made even more
An improved nonsmoker protection prevents numerous deaths. However, Germany could do a lot more here.

"Tobacco control is one of the last places in Europe," said Prof. Dr. med. Heino Stöver from the Institute for Addiction Research of the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences (Frankfurt UAS) in a statement.

"In addition, comparatively little is done in Germany for effective tobacco prevention. Germany is the only country in Europe that still allows tobacco advertising to go unrestricted, which should not be, "says the expert.

Again and again experts demanded a tobacco advertising ban. According to the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Germany is still a smoker's paradise.

Number of lung cancer deaths from passive smoking more than halved
According to UKE, around 47,000 people died of lung cancer in 2012. These included around 41,000 smokers and around 6,000 non-smokers.

Based on these figures, the researchers calculated that 7.6 percent of male and 4.7 percent of female lung cancer deaths in non-smokers are due to secondhand smoke.

"According to our estimates, 167 lung cancer deaths a year are attributable to passive smoking. This number has dropped significantly compared to 1994, at that time it was 400 ". Heiko mug.

The lead investigator further stated, "Despite population aging and a concomitant rise in overall cancer deaths, fewer deaths from lung cancer from secondhand smoke than 20 years ago are reported. This positive trend should be strengthened by further measures in the area of ​​non-smoker protection. "

In 2012, a quarter of non-smoking women and about 40 percent of non-smoking men were exposed to secondhand smoke.

In 1994, when a risk assessment of passive smoking was last carried out in Germany, about 60 percent of men and 70 percent of women were exposed to passive smoke, meaning that they were exposed to cigarette smoke by their smoking partner, at work or during their free time. (Ad)