Abstract
The global burden of cancer is escalating as a result of dramatic increases in the use of tobacco in the developing world. The use of tobacco is linked to the development of a broad variety of cancers, mainly lung cancer, the single most common cancer in the world. Tobacco smoking-attributable deaths extends beyond cancer and include stroke, heart attack and COPD. Widening disparities in cancer-related mortality have shifted towards a more dramatic burden in the developing world. Appropriate interventions must be implemented to reduce tobacco use and prevent global mortality that has escalated to epidemic levels. Tobacco control policies, including public health advertisement campaigns, warning labels, adoption of smoke-free laws, comprehensive bans and tax policies are highly effective measures to control tobacco use. Clinicians and academic institutions have to be actively committed to support tobacco control initiatives. The reduction in cancer related morbidity and mortality should be viewed as a global crisis and definitive results will depend on a multilevel effort to effectively reduce the burden of cancer, particularly in underprivileged regions of the world.
Highlights
The global burden of cancer is escalating, largely due to dramatic increases in the use of tobacco in less developed nations [1]
The reduction in cancer related morbidity and mortality should be viewed as a global crisis and definitive results will depend on a multilevel effort to effectively reduce the burden of cancer, in underprivileged regions of the world
There are several investigators who have argued that the tobacco industry propagates disinformation, manipulates research, and generates faulty information concerning the effects of tobacco use and second-hand smoke [7, 45]
Summary
The global burden of cancer is escalating, largely due to dramatic increases in the use of tobacco in less developed nations [1]. Global changes in tobacco use may eventually produce large disparities in cancer-related mortality rates between the developed and less developed countries of the world [4]. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the trend towards increased tobacco use and the increasing cancer burden in developing countries and suggest steps that might be taken to reverse this alarming trend. Even though its health risks have been acknowledged for centuries, tobacco use throughout the world continues to increase. Most people who use tobacco regularly do so because of their addiction to nicotine, a major component of cigarettes. The behavior of smoking is not a matter of addiction, nor one of poor self-image, and occasionally to underlying mental illness [8]
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