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Passive Smoke Fuels Aggressive Cancers, Oncologists Warn
7 Nov
Summary
- Passive smoke causes more aggressive cancer than smoking.
- Bengal has high rates of secondhand smoke exposure.
- Non-smokers constitute 40-50% of lung cancer cases.
Oncologists are raising alarms about the severe impact of passive smoking, particularly during festive periods like Diwali, which exacerbates air pollution and increases lung cancer risks.
Bengal shows one of India's highest secondhand smoke exposure rates, with over 54% of women and 68% of men reporting regular exposure. Doctors observe that non-smoking women exposed to passive smoke exhibit faster cancer growth compared to smokers.
Lung cancer diagnoses in Bengal are significantly higher than the national average. Clinical data indicates that nearly half of lung cancer cases involve individuals who do not use tobacco, attributing this to passive smoke, biomass fuel, and ambient air pollution.
While tobacco smoke is a known carcinogen, environmental factors like air pollution, industrial emissions, and smoke from biomass fuels are increasingly recognized as major triggers for lung cancer, especially among non-smokers. This trend is notably increasing among women in Kolkata over the past decade and a half.
