Forget smog, your cooking habits can also up risk of lung cancer

By Dr Kumar Prabhash

Lung cancer is usually associated with smoking, but that is not the case anymore. While it is still the primary cause, air pollution has now emerged as the new cause of cancer, which is why several non-smokers, today, tend to suffer from this deadly disease. In 2013, the experts at International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) found a link between air pollution and cancer.

Air pollution, which is generally linked to respiratory and heart diseases, is now gradually being associated to lung cancer too. In 2016, it was estimated that around 224,000 people might have suffered from the disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that in 2012, 14% of outdoor air pollution-related deaths were due to lung cancer, these numbers are only on a rise.



Earlier, approximately 80 per cent of lung cancer patients would be smokers (mostly men in their 50s). But, today, several men and women, most of whom are non-smokers, in the younger age group of 30 to 40 years show signs of lung cancer.

Despite several measures taken by the Government of India to curtail carbon emissions, the people have been facing many challenges to protect themselves from the polluted air. Most non-smokers are vulnerable to the disease during their metro journeys because the toxic smoke is clogged inside. Moreover, the poor quality of air in Indian cities has impacted the profile of patients currently suffering from this disease.



Tiny dust-like particles called particulate matter (PM), a combination of extremely small solid particles and liquid droplets that are found in the air, puts one at the risk of lung cancer. Nasal hair, mucus and macrophage, which is a type of white blood cell that destroys foreign substances and microbes, helps the body to keep pollutants out of the respiratory system. But, they fail in case of high pollution levels. The association between lung cancer and air pollution is therefore a worldwide phenomenon and not just an Indian one.




Not just outdoors but indoor air pollution has emerged as one of the leading causes of lung cancer among non-smokers, as well. WHO estimated that around 3 billion people around the world cook and heat in their home with solid fuels (wood and coal) or cook over open flames. Therefore, the air indoors gets polluted as well, particularly in most Indian households, thanks to their risky cooking techniques. Coupled with poor ventilation in the house, these practices ignite the chances of lung cancer. This factor mostly plagues rural India or low-income groups, who indulge in such cooking practices. Moreover, with cooking being more of a woman's chore in India, they are at an increased risk of indoor pollution, along with children who spend more time at home.

The link between air pollution and lung cancer calls for efforts to improve the quality of air in cities across the country and save millions of lives, every year.



(The writer is Professor of Medical Oncology, Tata Memorial Hospital Mumbai)

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