In a review the authors hail as the most comprehensive to date, evidence is presented which confirms that cancer is certainly not completely driven by either heredity or fate but rather can be influenced by our environment and behaviours.  Cancer typically has multiple causes and thus one cannot identify whether an individual’s cancer is caused by a particular disease vector, but understanding this can assist in predicting the number of potentially preventable cancers.

As the study analysed gender specific causes of cancers, the best recommendations for women are to avoid smoking, overweight and excess alcohol consumption; for men the top line recommends stopping smoking, increase consumption of fruit and vegetables and reduce alcohol intake.

Lead author is Professor Max Parkin, epidemiologist at the Wolfson Institute of Preventative Medicine, Queen Mary University, London.

An important fact to note here is that the probability of death before age 70 has been halved during the past 40 years and that during the next few decades it could be cut by half again with improvements in treatment and focusing attention on the avoidable causes of disease.

Sources: BBC Health, ‘Over 40% of Cancers Due to Lifestyle, Says Report‘, 7 December 2011; D.M. Parkin et al., ‘The fraction of cancer attributable to lifestyle and environment factors in the UK in 2010′, British Journal of Cancer 105:S2, 6 December 2011; NHS Choices, ‘Lifestyle changes could slash cancer rates, 7 December 2011; Cancer Research UK: Cigarettes, diet, alcohol and obesity behind more than 100,000 cancers (press release), 7 December 2011.

Although the long term impact on smoking – particularly on heart health and a range of cancers – has been known for decades, recent research shows that smoking is capable of causing damage to the body in minutes, not just years. According to this report, published in Chemical Research in Toxicology, chemicals that are responsible for the development of cancer form soon after an episode of smoking.

Professor Stephen Hecht, from the University of Minnesota, said that the study is unique, as it is the first to identify the effects of the specific chemicals (associated with the formation of cancers), and differentiate them from the effects of other factors that influence cancer, such as diet and air pollution. This novel experimental design bolsters the evidence that smoking does have very harmful short-term effects.

Researchers from the study make a strong recommendation against starting smoking, as the formation of these cancer-causing chemicals is much quicker than imagined. The habit has also been discouraged because it has proved to be a major burden to countries as it is the cause of several life-threatening diseases. It has also been a major contributor to low life expectancy, especially in the United States – a new report (Explaining Divergent Levels of Longevity in High-Income Countries) published by the National Academy of Sciences, said that the US mortality rates are still facing the health consequences of smoking three to five decades ago:  ‘Smoking appears to be responsible for a good deal of the differences in life expectancy [between countries], especially for women.’

Sources: The Independent, 30 January 2011; BBC News, 16 January 2011; Chemical Research in Toxicology, 27 December 2010

Source: Prehypertension.org.

Individuals can:

• Find out their stroke risk
• Check or review their lifestyle
• Measure their blood pressure
• Learn the signs of stroke
• Spread the message to friends and relatives

Community groups, associations or societies can:

• Set up a place for people to check their blood pressure
• Run a stroke seminar
• Write to local authorities
• Talk to the local newspaper, radio or television stations about a true life story on stroke, symptoms, or prevention
• Run a social event for stroke survivors
• Publish local statistics and get associated with media
• Form a stroke self-help group or a support group for carers

Governments can:

• Set up stroke units
• Set up brain and blood vessel imaging
• Make sure people can access stroke units
• Improve access to fast stroke care
• Improve supports for people living with stroke

Patients can:

• Follow advice about medications
• Control risk factors
• Live a healthy lifestyle

The report also assesses ways of controlling the increase in the disease (and the associated costs), including prompt investment in large-scale programmes to combat the disease on multiple fronts. It says that implementing effective measures now could go a long way in containing the spread of the disease in the future.

The report was compiled with the assistance of seven organisations, including the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Diabetes Australia and the Pharmacy Guild. It was commissioned by Eli Lilly, which has led some to question its impartiality – but the report has been strongly supported by Professor Laurie Brown, NATSEM’s research director (health), who said that any perception that the report was tainted was ‘without foundation’.

Sources: Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian, 27 October 2009.

In the latest effort to raise public awareness of the dangers of smoking, and encourage a new anti-smoking culture, China’s most successful Chinese NBA player – Yao Ming – and well-known soprano – Peng Liyuan – are to appear in advertisements. They will encourage people not to smoke in public places (which is already banned, but rarely implemented), and  to give up the habit.

Tobacco use kills about a million Chinese each year, with a further 540 million affected by passive smoking.

Source: Xinhua, 12 October 2009.