Lung cancer and exposure to tobacco smoke in the household

Article Abstract:

Concern about the health effects of passive smoking was first raised in 1972 by the Surgeon General. Passive smoking occurs when a person who is not smoking inhales the tobacco smoke of a smoker; this may occur in the workplace, public places, and at home. Since the first report, studies of the consequences of passive smoking have varied in their findings from no increase in risk, to a moderate (two-fold) increase in risk for diseases such as lung cancer. The most common way of studying passive smoking has been to evaluate the non-smoking spouses of smokers. This study examined the lifetime exposure to tobacco smoke in the homes of 191 persons with lung cancer and 191 persons without this disease; none of the subjects had ever smoked. The subjects were asked for the number of smokers in the household in each of the places they had lived throughout their lives. The number of smokers in the home was multiplied by the years living in that situation to determine exposure, expressed as 'smoker-years'. It was found that exposure to 25 or more smoker-years during childhood and adolescence doubled the nonsmoker's risk of developing lung cancer. This level of exposure would be reached if both parents smoked for 12.5 years each during the time the child lived with them. Exposure to fewer than 25 smoker-years in childhood and adolescence did not significantly raise the risk of lung cancer. Typically, exposure later in life to the spouse's smoking accounted for less than one-third of the total lifetime exposure, and had no effect on lung cancer risk. The results demonstrate the consequences of passive smoking in childhood and adolescence. The authors estimate that 17 percent of lung cancers occurring in nonsmokers are due to passive smoking at these young ages. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Children, Demographic aspects, Child health, Passive smoking

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Nonoccupational exposure to chrysotile asbestos and the risk of lung cancer

Article Abstract:

A model developed by the Environmental Protection Agency to predict the number of lung cancer cases due to non-occupational asbestos exposure appears to overestimate the risks of such exposure. Researchers used this model to predict the number of lung cancer cases among women living in two asbestos-mining areas in Quebec and then determined the actual number. The EPA's model predicted a doubling of the risk of lung cancer in this population, causing about 75 excess deaths. The actual risk was not elevated at all, suggesting 6 or fewer excess deaths from lung cancer.

Mining industry, Asbestos industry

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Ethnic and racial differences in the smoking-related risk of lung cancer

Article Abstract:

The difference in the risk of lung cancer associated with cigarette smoking among African-Americans, Japanese-American, Latino, native Hawaiian and white men and women are investigated. The results revealed that among cigarette smokers, African-American and native Hawaiians are more susceptible to lung cancer than whites, Japanese-American and Latinos.

New England States, Smoking, New England

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