What is the good of the anti-smoking law

"If the world ever stops smoking, lung cancer will disappear"

Nadezhda Markina, Newspaper.Roo

On the eve of the entry into force of the anti-smoking law on the impact of smoking on lung cancer and other types of cancer "to the Newspaper.Ru" said corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, President of the Cancer Society of Russia David Zaridze.

– Lung cancer is considered a disease of smokers. Is this true or not at all?

– This is an absolute truth, confirmed by a huge amount of scientific research both abroad and in Russia, including mine. More than 90% of lung cancer cases occur in smokers. If the world ever stops smoking, lung cancer will disappear.

– But there are cases of lung cancer in non-smokers, right?

– Yes, 5-9% of lung cancer remains, which can develop in non-smokers. First of all, people who have an increased genetic predisposition have genetic polymorphisms that provide 2-3% of lung cancer. Another 2-3% occurs in workers of carcinogenic enterprises. Another 2-3% are diagnostic studies related to ionizing radiation.

– Is there a difference in the types of lung cancer?

– There is a slight difference, for example, adenocarcinoma in women is less associated with smoking. But this is not here, but for example, in China, Mongolia, etc., where in villages an open fire is still used indoors for heating and cooking.

– What is the mechanism by which smoking leads to cancer?

– Tobacco smoke contains dozens of carcinogenic substances. These are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons – benzpyrene and others, these are volatile nitrosamides, phenolic compounds and many other substances that are formed as a result of tobacco gorenje. There are carcinogenic compounds in tobacco itself, even when it is not burned, but sniffed, chewed, etc. With repeated exposure to the smoker's body, they damage DNA, which is repaired, damaged again, repaired again, and eventually key genes are damaged in cells, and the repair mechanism no longer works, and the process of carcinogenesis begins.

– Why is smoking most dangerous in adolescence?

– The more a person smokes, the higher the risk of developing cancer. This risk depends on the intensity of smoking, which includes the age of starting smoking and the number of cigarettes per day. If a person starts smoking at a young age, then he will have a long smoking experience.

– What other types of cancer are associated with smoking?

– According to the latest estimates carried out by a group of experts – specialists in chemical carcinogenesis, molecular biologists, epidemiologists, it turned out that smoking is associated with 15 types of malignant tumors. I will list them by importance. First of all, this is lung cancer, then cancer of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, esophagus. Then begin those types of cancer, the role of smoking in which is lower: cancer of the stomach, colon, liver, cervix, kidney, bladder, acute myeloid leukemia, etc. For the first types of cancer, smoking is the main factor, for the second – an additional one.

For example, for stomach cancer, the main factor is the bacterium Helicobacter, but smoking aggravates the disease.

– The anti-smoking law, which will come into effect in a few days, prohibiting smoking in public places, protects people around from smokers. In this regard, please explain how dangerous is passive smoking?

– Passive smoking is less dangerous than active smoking – this is obvious, because the smoker inhales all the smoke formed during the burning of tobacco, and the passive smoker inhales smoke that has dissolved in the air. Gorenje: The degree of risk depends on the size of the room, the degree of ventilation, etc. However, in the so-called side smoke there are carcinogenic substances that are not present in the main stream of tobacco smoke. Why? It depends on the gorenje temperature: when inhaling it is high, and when the cigarette is smoldering, the temperature is lower and the composition of substances changes. So passive smoking is dangerous, it increases the risk of lung cancer in non-smokers. Of course, the risk is much less: if smokers estimate it at 20% or higher, then with passive smoking it reaches 1.5%.

But I must say that this paragraph of the anti–smoking law – the prohibition of smoking in public places - not only protects non-smokers from tobacco smoke, but is also aimed at active smokers. Because by creating inconvenience for smokers, we make smoking less fun for them. It's one thing when a person sits in his office and smokes. And if he needs to go outside, and even in the cold, he starts smoking less. This is an incentive for people to quit smoking.

– And if we turn to the experience of other countries: is there a correlation between anti-smoking legislation and the incidence of lung cancer?

– It's not just the legislation, but the measures taken. Let's start with England, where the carcinogenicity of smoking was first proven.

Then, in the 60s, there were no anti-smoking laws, but there was information about the dangers of smoking – and they began to take measures. England follows the WHO Framework Convention on Smoking Prevention, and due to the ban on smoking in public places, the percentage of smokers has significantly decreased as a result. This is a long process: over three decades in the United States, the percentage of men who smoke has halved. And the process that requires effort – it is doubtful that our adopted law will work immediately, as it happens with other laws. We have a very long way from the adoption of the law to its implementation.

– But the law is correct, from your point of view?

– The law is correct. Although it appeared at a very bad time – at the same time as many other incomprehensible laws, which, of course, deserve criticism. But the anti-smoking law is good, and we must pay tribute to the fact that it was adopted.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru28.05.2013