Lung cancer remains the deadliest in the world, and smoking its main preventable risk factor.
- Banning the sale of tobacco to young people born between 2006 and 2010 could prevent nearly 1.2 million deaths from lung cancer by 2095, according to an IARC study.
- Men would benefit more from this measure inspired by initiatives in New Zealand and England, but in certain regions, such as Western Europe, women would be more advantaged.
- To maximize the impact, additional actions such as increased taxes and support for cessation are essential.
Nearly 1.2 million: this is the number of lives that could be saved by the end of the century if we simply banned the sale of tobacco to young people born between 2006 and 2010, according to a new study from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization, relayed by AFP. Smoking, the main risk factor for lung cancer, is at the heart of this modeling which assesses the potential impact of “tobacco-free generation”.
Lung cancers are largely preventable
With approximately 1.8 million deaths in 2020lung cancer remains the deadliest in the world, according to research published in The Lancet Public Healthwhich covers 185 countries. If tobacco consumption continues at its current rate, more than 2.95 million people born between 2006 and 2010 could die from this disease. But if the sale of cigarettes was banned, around 1.2 million deaths could be avoided by 2095.
This radical measure could have major effects, but the proportion of lives saved would vary between regions and genders. Overall, men would benefit more from this decision, with 45.8% of deaths preventable, compared to 30.9% for women. A difference which is explained by a higher prevalence of smoking among men who, in addition to this, start smoking cigarettes earlier. In some Western regions, however, it is women who would benefit the most from a tobacco ban, with up to 77.7% of preventable deaths in Western Europe.
Examples of anti-smoking measures in certain countries
Some countries have already launched policies aimed at banning the sale of tobacco to young people. In New Zealand, a law passed in 2022 banned the sale of cigarettes to people born after 2008, but the conservative government elected in 2023 abandoned this measure. In England, Prime Minister Keir Starmer plans to repeat the project of his conservative predecessor, Rishi Sunak, so that an entire generation will never be able to buy cigarettes legally.
Although ambitious, this concept of “tobacco-free generation” alone will not be enough to eradicate the scourge of smoking, researchers point out. Additional measures are indeed necessary, such as increasing taxes on tobacco, creating non-smoking zones or even supporting cessation.
