A new study from American Cancer Society (ACS) found that almost 4 million lung cancer deaths have been avoided in the United States from 1970-2022.
ACS attributes this process to “substantial reductions in smoking prevalence driven by tobacco control,” according to their release.
Nearly 76 million years of life have been given back to Americans. Approximately 22.4 years were given back to women and 17.9 were given back to men. Additionally, the amount of avoided lung cancer deaths “accounted for 51.4% of the estimated declines in overall cancer deaths and was substantially greater in men (60.1%) than women (42.7%).” When analyzing averted cancer deaths by race, “this proportion was 53.6% in the White population (62.6% in men, 44.6% in women) and 40.0% in the Black population (44.4% in men, 34.7% in women).” The authors are calling for stronger resources and campaigns to help people quit or avoid smoking.
The study is published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
