Work-related carcinogens


A new study has highlighted the role of work-related carcinogens (cancer-causing substances) and pollution in contributing to lung cancer in people who have never smoked. 


The study was published as trade unionists marked International Workers’ Memorial Day in April with a call for employers to get dangerous substances out of the workplace


The Public Health England review, Lung cancer in never-smokers: a hidden disease, is published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine and reports that lung cancer in people who have never smoked is increasing but is under-recognised. 


As a result, they often experience long delays in diagnosis, reducing their chances of receiving successful treatment. 


It says around 6,000 people in the UK who have never smoked die of lung cancer every year. Major contributors to these deaths include second-hand smoke, occupational carcinogen exposure and outdoor pollution.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/apr/26/one-in-six-people-dying-of-lung-cancer-in-uk-are-non-smokers-experts-say