Lung Cancer News:

Scientists Conclude That Secondhand Smoke Puts Millions at Risk of Lung Cancer

Millions of people exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased risk of developing lung cancer because passive smoking causes the disease, according to health experts.

Scientists convened by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a branch of the World Health Organization, said the risk of cancer from smoking is even higher than previously noted, and added that their research definitively proves that secondhand smoke causes cancer.

"Involuntary smoking -- breathing in secondhand smoke -- is carcinogenic to humans," said Professor Jonathan Samet of Johns Hopkins University. "There is elegant evidence ranging from what can be measured in air to what can be measured in the body fluids and urine of non-smokers to show that those carcinogens are being breathed in. They are being absorbed into the body."

While some countries have concluded secondhand smoke can cause lung cancer, Samet said that to his knowledge this was "the first time an organisation with global sweep has reached that conclusion."

Source: Medical Week staff, week of June 23, 2002