Experts reporting from a recent meeting of cancer organisations across the world said smoking and other forms of tobacco use are the main drivers of a growing global burden of cancer.
“The number of people diagnosed with cancer across the world is increasing. But there are clear actions that all countries can take which will go a long way to reducing both the numbers diagnosed from cancer and deaths from the disease,” said Harpal Kumar of the charity Cancer Research UK in the report.
Those actions included higher taxes on tobacco products, ensuring health workers set an example by not smoking, deglamourising the habit and protecting poor countries from increased marketing efforts by the industry, said Kumar.
Some 12.7 million people are diagnosed with cancer every year worldwide and cancer now accounts for more than 15% of annual deaths globally. The number of is cancer cases set to surge by more than 75 percent by 2030, with particularly sharp rises in the developing world.
The report also said more needs to be done to ensure access and uptake of cancer-preventing immunisations – like the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine against cervical cancer – is as high as it can be.
Source: Reuters Health
