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Almost half of smokers do not indicate smoking as cause of cancer

Among people who smoke tobacco products regularly, only 48 percent points out smoking as the most common cause of the development of lung cancer, according to a public opinion poll conducted as part of the educational campaign entitled “Lung cancer – you know it?.” Smokers also do not know what preventive examinations should be performed in order to detect lung cancer early.

Experts call for decisive action on limiting use of tobacco

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The study was carried out on June 1-11, 2021, by the SW RESEARCH agency at the request of the campaign organisers, i.e. the Polish Lung Cancer Group and the Lung Cancer Forum. As part of the study, 1,040 surveys were conducted among adult Poles who smoked tobacco products at least once a day.

According to Prof. Tadeusz Orłowski, head of the Surgery Clinic of the Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases in Warsaw, the study results indicate that smokers are replacing the actual causes of lung cancer. Less frequently, they indicated smoking as the cause of lung cancer, and more often other factors, such as air pollution, genetic factors. He explained that smoking one pack of cigarettes a day increases the risk of lung cancer by 20 to 60 times in men and by 14 to 20 times in women.

Prof. Orłowski explained, however, that genetic factors also play a role in the development of lung cancer. Passive smokers also account for a large percentage of lung cancer patients.

“After five years of non-smoking life, the risk of developing tobacco-related cancer is reduced, and after 10 years it is already half the rate of a smoker; however, it never goes back to the level of a non-smoker,” Prof. Tadeusz Orłowski said, indicating that the trend can be reversed.

The study also showed that only 40 percent of smokers are aware that lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death. It is diagnosed in about 22,000 people per year. Importantly, the incidence of lung cancer among women has quadrupled in the past 30 years. In the EU countries, Poland is third when it comes to the number of new lung cancer cases. In terms of mortality from this cancer, Poland occupies the infamous second position.

Lung cancer is most often diagnosed in the advanced stage (stage 3 or 4), requiring pharmacological treatment. This is due to the absence of symptoms at an early stage of the disease. The most common symptoms are shallow breathing, chest pain that does not go away, coughing up bloody sputum, hoarseness, repeated lung infections (e.g. pneumonia), constant tiredness, or weight loss for no reason. The study shows that only half of smokers are aware of what symptoms should prompt a doctor’s appointment.



The study shows that as much as 56 percent of regular smokers have never reported prophylactic examinations for pulmonary diseases, and only one in four consumers of tobacco are regularly examined.



Prof. Orłowski recalled that there is currently a lung cancer screening program in place in Poland (National Program of Early Lung Cancer Detection) aimed at people from risk groups from all of Poland. Smokers aged 50-74 can get a screening without a doctor’s referral.

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