Poor air quality behind rise in lung cancer cases among non-smokers: DAK

Srinagar, Aug 01: On World Lung Cancer Day, the Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Tuesday said lung cancer cases are on the rise among people who have never smoked because of increasing exposure to toxic air.
“Poor air quality is behind the spike in lung cancer cases among non-smokers,” DAK president Dr Nisar ul Hassan said in a statement issued here. He said the evidence has shown that polluted air is associated with an increased risk of lung cancer which is the most prominent cancer in Kashmir.
A new groundbreaking study conducted at Francis Crick Institute and University College London has revealed that poor air quality can increase the odds of lung cancer in individuals who do not smoke, he said, adding that researchers have found that increased exposure to fine particles – typically seen in vehicle exhaust and smoke from fossil fuels trigger inflammation which causes a cancerous state in lung cells.
The DAK president said the air quality in Kashmir has been constantly deteriorating for the past few years due to the increasing number of vehicles, constructions, brick kilns, cement and other factories which emit pollutants and significantly pollute the air. This is contributing to an enormous burden of lung cancer in the valley, he said.
Dr Nisar said while smoking continues to be an important risk for lung cancer, in Kashmir many people who have never smoked are diagnosed with lung cancer and air pollution is a big factor. “It is a wake-up call about the damaging impact of air pollution on human health. We cannot ignore climate health. If we want to address human health, we have to address climate health,” he said, adding, “There is an urgent need to control air pollution to reduce the burden of lung cancer in the community and save precious human lives.”