Tobacco blamed for predicted 50 per cent rise in cancer cases

The aggressive marketing of cigarettes in the developing world is a key factor in a predicted rise of global cancer rates over the next 20 years, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said yesterday. "The deadly smoking habit is particularly worrying in central and eastern Europe and many developing and newly industrialised countries," according to the WHO's World Cancer Report, the most comprehensive global examination of the disease. "The tendency of youth around the world to start smoking at younger and younger ages will predispose them to substantial risks in later life." The report also highlighted an ageing world population and health issues stemming from the Third World developing a taste for Western lifestyles as factors. Global cancer rates are predicted to increase by 50 per cent by 2020, which means that the number of new cases diagnosed in the world each year will rise from about 15 million to more than 20 million. Most of this increase would be due to longer lifespans, because the risk of cancer becomes higher with age, but a substantial proportion would be due to smoking, diet and more sedentary lifestyles adopted by the developing countries, said Bernard Stewart, co-editor of the report and director of cancer services in the Sydney health service.