Smoking is the main cause of lung cancer.

According to Professor, Dr. Tran Van Thuan - Deputy Minister of Health , tobacco is the main cause of over 90% of lung cancer.

Thứ trưởng Bộ Y tế: Thuốc lá là nguyên nhân chiếm đến 90% gây ra ung thư phổi

Tobacco is the cause of 90% of lung cancer.

Every year, our country records more than 182,000 new cancer cases and over 122,000 deaths. Currently, there are about 354,000 people living with cancer.

The above information was given by Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan on the morning of August 13 at the event launching the communication campaign to raise awareness of early detection of lung cancer in 2023 called "Love your lungs" with the message "Screen now, heal early" organized by the Ministry of Health and the Cancer Patient Support Fund - Bright Tomorrow with partners in Hanoi.

Lung cancer ranks second in new incidence in Vietnam

According to statistics, lung cancer ranks second in new incidence and is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide .

In Vietnam, lung cancer is one of the malignant diseases with the highest number of cases and mortality rates among common cancers in both sexes. According to GLOBOCAN global cancer statistics, in 2020, in Vietnam, the incidence of lung cancer ranked second with 26,262 new cases, accounting for 14.4%, and 23,797 deaths from this disease.

"This shows that we need to quickly implement timely cancer prevention and control measures to reduce the incidence and mortality rate caused by cancer. Lung cancer, like other types of cancer, if detected early and treated early, will be more effective" - The Deputy Minister of Health emphasized this when talking to the press on the sidelines of the event.

Prof. Dr. Tran Van Thuan also made it clear that to prevent lung cancer as well as many other cancers, non-communicable diseases by the following measures: first, it is necessary to quit smoking because smoking is the main cause accounting for over 90% of lung cancer and over 30% of other cancers; smoking increases the risk of lung cancer by 15-30 times compared to other cancers.

Second, you must have a reasonable diet, with reasonable protein and fat content, and increased green vegetables and fruits.

Third, exercise regularly to improve health.

Fourth, everyone must have the habit of regular health check-ups. For those with a history of smoking, we recommend that after the age of 40, after the age of 50, they should be screened for lung cancer in particular, and other cancers in general.

"We expect that through the 2023 campaign to raise awareness of early detection of lung cancer screening, we will contribute to raising public awareness of lung cancer prevention in particular and other types of cancer in general, because cancer and some other non-communicable diseases are a major threat to public health care. Currently, non-communicable diseases account for 75% of the causes of disease," said Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan.

At the same time, the leaders of the Ministry of Health called on the community to join hands to fight lung cancer, businesses and organizations need to include cancer screening programs in general and lung cancer screening programs in particular for high-risk groups in their regular health check-up programs to move towards a strong and healthy Vietnam.

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