08.10.2008 at 08:00
- Category:
Health News Today
Smoking is responsible for nearly nine in 10 cases of lung cancer |
People living in the west of Scotland are 50% more likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer than those in the rest of the UK, a new report has said.
The study of cancer incidence and mortality also showed lung cancer death rates in the west of the country were 50% higher than in the UK.
Experts said the higher levels of smoking and deprivation in that area was the main reason for the gap.
The data is based on new cancer cases and deaths recorded in 2005.
The research was published by the National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN) and presented at the National Cancer Research Institute conference in Birmingham.
| Higher smoking rates in Scotland still account for much of the difference in cancer rates
Professor Sir Alex Markham
NCIN chairman |
Professor David Forman, from Leeds University, said: "Smoking rates are around 5% higher in Scotland than the rest of the UK, and this significantly contributes to the higher rates of lung cancer - smoking is responsible for nearly nine in ten cases of lung cancer.
"We know that smoking rates are linked to deprivation - rates are around 10% higher in working class communities."
In 2005, 77 per 100,000 people living in the west of Scotland were diagnosed with lung cancer, compared with 55 per 100,000 in the north of Scotland and 64 in the south east of England.
Across the UK, 49 in every 100,000 people were diagnosed with the disease.
'Anti-smoking policies'
The figures also suggested that patients from the west of Scotland were 30% more likely to die from lung cancer than those in the rest of Scotland.
Rates of lung cancer among women in the west of Scotland exceeded those of men in some parts of the UK, according to the report.
For example, women were almost 50% more likely to get lung cancer in this area than men in Surrey, West Sussex and Hampshire.
Professor Sir Alex Markham, chairman of the NCIN, said Scotland had led the UK in protecting workers and the public from the dangers of second-hand smoke.
"But higher smoking rates in Scotland still account for much of the difference in cancer rates between England and Scotland," he said.
"It's crucial that we collect and analyse data like this to pick up on variations in lung cancer across the country.
"This information can help target anti-smoking policies where it matters, and this is vitally important."
