Cancer Mortality Attributable to Tobacco by Selected Countries Based on the WHO Global Report

Abstract

In order to compare the impact of tobacco on cancer risk across different countries of the world, we abstracted the estimated adult (age 30 years and above) deaths attributable to tobacco for all-malignant neoplasm, trachea, bronchus and lung cancer, and all other malignant neoplasms from the WHO Global Report entitled, Mortality Attributable to Tobacco, which was recently published in 2012. In this publication, WHO region and country-specific death rate per 100 000 and proportion attributable to tobacco (%) in 2004 are available by age and sex. We selected for evaluation all-malignant neoplasm (ICD-10 code: C00– 97), trachea, bronchus and lung cancer (C33– 34), and all other malignant neoplasms (C00 – 97 except for C33 – 34). Figures 1 and 2 show the overall death rates and death rates attributable to tobacco by selected countries for all-malignant neoplasm, trachea, bronchus and lung cancer, and all other malignant neoplasms in males and females, respectively. Crude rates and the proportion of mortality attributable to tobacco are presented. For males, Poland had high tobacco-attributable death rates for all three disease groups. France, the UK, Japan and Korea also had high tobacco-attributable death rates. The USA had high tobacco-attributable death rates for lung cancer. Brazil, Australia and China are characterized by a low tobacco-attributable death rate for three disease groups. For lung cancer, China had a higher tobacco-attributable death rate than Brazil in spite of a lower proportion attributable to tobacco (55% versus 82%). For females, the tobacco-attributable death rates were lower than those for males. The USA and UK had high tobacco-attributable death rates and proportion attributable to tobacco for all three disease groups.