On the Cancer Research website there’s a very interesting PDF for download which illustrates the differing cancer incidence and mortality across the world. (The file is available here.)
What this infographic tells us – apart form the fact that the disease continues to be a major health issue no matter which country you are resident in – is that some cancers are more prevalent in the developed world. In fact, according to the World Cancer Research Fund International, “The rate for all cancers (for cancers that occur in men and women) was 1.7 times higher in more developed compared with less developed countries” at the last count.
One of the starkest differences is that of lung cancer incidence, with the WCRFI quoting 31.3 per 100 000 people for the developed world versus 19.1 for the less developed countries.
Lung cancer rates are of course partly determined by the prevalence of tobacco use. And while developed countries are often able to offer a high level of healthcare, lifestyles and prevention will be the key to bringing it under control. One recent measure in England – as anyone living there who’s visited their local supermarket will know – has been the banning of cigarettes on display in larger retailers. The health secretary Andrew Lansley has even gone as far as to state that “we no longer see smoking as a part of life”.
Smoking prevalence has seen a more or less uninterrupted fall over the past few decades, albeit with some noteable blips. Could this latest assault on the visibility of cigarette branding bring the number of new smokers down even further? Time will tell.
