Even non-smokers should be aware of lung cancer, here’s why

It is no news that smoking is detrimental to your health regardless of age or fitness level.

Cigarette smoking harms nearly every organ of the body, exposing one to many diseases and worsening the health of smokers in general.

Even the cigarette pack has a warning in bold stating, “cigarette smoking is harmful to your health”. Smoking hosts a number of serious medical complications such as heart diseases, stroke, aneurysm, tuberculosis, lung cancer, oesophageal and throat cancers.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cigarette smoking causes more than 700,000 deaths each year in the world. This is nearly one in five deaths.

When it comes to lung cancer in particular, smoking appears as the number one risk factor. The recent report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) shows that over 70 per cent of all lung cancer deaths have been due to cigarette smoking for the past few years.

Non-smokers are at a risk too

However, do not be fooled by the concept that only smokers get lung cancer. If you think you’re safe from lung cancer because you’ve never smoked, think again. Being a non-smoker doesn’t mean you cannot get lung cancer. Yes, smoking is the main cause of lung cancer, but non-smokers can get it too. Here are a few reasons why.

1. Secondhand smoke: Few cases of lung cancers in non-smokers may be caused by secondhand smoke or passive smoke.

There are two different types of secondhand smoke. Sidestream smoke is when a non-smoker inhales smoke from the lighted end of a person’s cigarette or cigar . Mainstream smoke is when a non-smoker inhales the exhaled smoke from the smoker. And this is more toxic. Some groups are more susceptible to getting lung cancer from secondhand smoke, including people exposed to it in childhood and those living in poverty.

2. Air pollution: This is another risk factor for non-smokers to acquire lung cancer. When you think of risk factors for lung cancer, what comes to mind? Most of us think about the risk associated with smoking cigarettes, but did you know that air pollution can also cause lung cancer? Overwhelming evidence shows that particle pollution in the outdoor air we breathe—like that coming from vehicle exhaust, coal-fired power plants and other industrial sources—can cause lung cancer. Particle pollution increases the risk of early death, heart disease and asthma attacks, and it can also interfere with the growth and function of the lungs. The World Health Organisation estimates that up to 2,000 lung cancer deaths per year may be attributable to breathing polluted air, and it’s medically proven that prolonged exposure to highly polluted air can carry a risk for the development of lung cancer similar to that of passive smoking.

Like the rest forms of cancers, lung cancer is a very tricky diseases. It has so many risk factors and some of them, we can’t even control. you can abstain from smoking, or being exposed from polluted environment, but still you may fall victim to this disease due to other risk factors for instance hereditary factors, which are totally out of control. That’s why regular screening is always advised for smokers and non-smokers too. If the disease is caught earlier, the treatment can be more effective.