Breathing in toxic air filled with pollution and smog can cause lung cancer besides asthma, a health expert said on Monday, urging citizens to adopt lifestyle measures to protect lung health and reduce the risks of lung cancer.
Talking to the PTV news channel, Dr Sherman Yasmin said that living in air pollution for a long time can damage the human lungs, which causes asthma and upper respiratory allergies, as well as lung cancer, heart diseases and the risk of neurological diseases increases.
She said the main sources of outdoor air pollution are transportation, stationary power generation, industrial and agricultural emissions, and residential heating and cooking.
While explaining signs of Lung cancer, she said that early signs are chronic cough, wheezing, COPD, asthma, blood in cough, difficulty in breathing, weakness, change of voice and finally cancer formation.
She suggested measures like staying away from wood and coal fires, reducing smoking and minimizing your exposure by checking real-time air quality before stepping out.
Replying to a query, she said ‘Lung cancer’ is a significant public health concern which was causing a considerable number of deaths globally, adding, that early treatment can prevent lung cancer from becoming worse and spreading to other parts of the body.
Children and the elderly are especially vulnerable due to their less efficient or impaired particle clearance mechanisms, she added.
It is pertinent to mention that Research has found that exposure to PM 2.5 air pollution can be associated with lower lung function and an increased risk of cardiac arrest, among other health problems. One study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2019, estimated that air particulate matter was responsible for 107,000 premature deaths in the United States in 2011, costing society $886 billion.
“The same particles in the air that derive from the combustion of fossil fuels, exacerbating climate change, are directly impacting human health via an important and previously overlooked cancer-causing mechanism in lung cells,” Swanton said in the news release.
“The risk of lung cancer from air pollution is lower than from smoking, but we have no control over what we all breathe,” he said.
