Smoking bans have curbed lung cancer

Lung cancer, one of the most common types of cancer, is marked worldwide by November as "Lung Cancer Awareness Month" and 17 November as "Lung Cancer Awareness Day."

In a statement for World Lung Cancer Awareness Day, Medical Oncology Specialist Prof. Dr. Mutlu Demiray drew attention to the fact that, thanks to the long-standing tobacco policy, the rates of lung cancer among both women and men in Turkey have fallen compared with previous years.

Noting that, according to Ministry of Health statistics, the incidence of lung cancer in Turkey ranks first among men and fourth among women, Prof. Dr. Mutlu Demiray said: "56.5 percent of lung cancers are diagnosed at a late stage. According to the annual report of the U.S. National Cancer Institute published in October, lung cancer appears to be on a downward trend in both women and men. We believe this welcome news is largely linked to greater awareness about smoking. According to TÜİK's 2019 data, 28 percent of the population in Turkey uses a tobacco product every day, while 54.5 percent report never having used cigarettes or similar products. Looking at our daily lives, we observe that measures against smoking have limited tobacco use."

"Smoking is like playing Russian roulette"

Defining lung cancer as a malignant tumour that arises from the uncontrolled proliferation and growth of cells in the lung, Demiray said: "When we examine malignant tumours, we detect certain changes occurring at the DNA level that we call mutations. Mutations disrupt the way cells work and function, causing them to proliferate uncontrollably and excessively. According to a study published in the American journal Science, every 50 cigarettes smoked cause one cancer-linked DNA mutation in lung cells. The study was carried out by comparing the tumour DNA of 2,500 smokers and 1,000 non-smokers in New Mexico. We know that some smokers do not develop cancer despite thousands of mutations, but this is entirely a matter of luck. Smoking is like playing Russian roulette: the more you play, the higher the chance of hitting the genes that lead to cancer."

Touching on how smoking causes cancer, Demiray explained: "When the toxins in cigarette smoke come into contact with a cell, they cause changes at the DNA level that we call mutations. DNA is the library of our body. Think of our body as a city; everyone in that city carries out their daily work according to the information they get from the library. If there is an error in the information in the library, there will be errors and disruptions in daily work — and even major accidents in the city. All of us have certain genes in our DNA that suppress cancer formation. If a mutation occurs in these genes, the function of the genes that protect us from cancer is impaired, and cells begin to proliferate uncontrollably."