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[EN VIDÉO] Interview: the unsuspected risks of passive smoking Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 different substances, of which more than 60 are carcinogenic, for smokers as well as for those exposed passively. Futura-Sciences interviewed Professor Paul Hofman, director of the pathology laboratory in Nice and a pioneering researcher in the detection of lung cancer, to learn more about the risks of passive smoking.
Nearly 10% of cancers in Europe are linked to pollution in various forms, warned the European Environment Agency (EEA) on Tuesday June 28, 2022, which stresses that the majority of cases are preventable. ” Exposure to air pollutionairto passive smokingrays ultravioletat theasbestoscertain chemicals and other pollutants cause more than 10% of cancer cases in Europe “, notes the European agency in a statement.
However, this figure could drastically decrease if existing policies were rigorously implemented, particularly in the fight against pollution, according to the organization. ” All environmental and occupational carcinogenic risks can be reduced said Gerardo Sanchez, an AEE expert, ahead of the publication of the reportthe agency’s first on the link between cancer and environment.
” Cancers determined by the environment and due to radiation or carcinogens chemicals can be reduced to an almost negligible level “, he assured during a press briefing. According to agency data, air pollution is responsible for 1% of cases and about 2% of deaths, a share that rises to 9% for lung cancer.
Of occupational origin, these cancers appear long after
Recent studies have also detected a correlation between long-term exposure to particles, a air pollutant major, and leukemia in adults and children“, underlines the European organization. Radona gas A natural radioactive substance likely to be inhaled, particularly in poorly ventilated accommodation, is considered to be responsible for 2% of cancer cases on the continent.
According to the European agency, ultraviolet rays — of mainly solar but also artificial origin — are responsible for nearly 4% of all cancer cases, in particular melanomaa severe form of skin cancer which has increased sharply in Europe in recent decades.
Some chemicals used in the workplace and released into the environment are also carcinogenic. Lead, arsenicchrome, pesticides, bisphenol A and per- and polyfluorinated alkylated substances (PFAS) are among the most dangerous to the health of Europeans, along with asbestosbanned since 2005 in the EU but still present in some buildings.
In the EU, 2.7 million people are diagnosed with cancer each year and 1.3 million of them die. The continent, which represents barely 10% of the world’s population, accounts for 23% of new cases and 20% of deaths.
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