Stop Smoking Way

District warned about dangers of tobacco after it caused 80 per cent of local lung cancer deaths

WEST Berkshire residents are being warned about the dangers of tobacco smoking after it emerged that 80 per cent of lung cancer deaths are caused by it. Figures released recently by the Office of National Statistics, the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, show that 68 people died because of lung cancer in West Berkshire last year. Of all the wards covered by the Newbury Weekly News, Lambourn Valley and Calcot were the worst in terms of fatalities, with five people from each ward dying last year (2007) as a result of lung cancer.

Seven wards, which are assigned using the National Statistics Postcode Directory (NSPD), had just one fatality caused by lung cancer last year and there were no wards where a death was not attributable to the cancer.

There is currently no effective method of screening for lung cancer and treatment is rarely curative, so stopping smoking is the only effective way of reducing this preventable cancer.
Clinical nurse specialist in lung cancer at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, Kate Rawlings, said: “With close to 90 per cent of all lung cancers being caused by smoking, the biggest preventative measure is to stop smoking.

“We need to get the message across and we need to educate people on recognising the symptoms, which can include losing your voice, coughing up blood and chest pains.” Deaths caused by lung cancer are more common in the over 65s, with statistics showing that 403 people aged 65 or above died between 2003 and 2005 across West Berkshire. Mrs Rawlings said: “Lung cancer is still predominantly an elderly problem although more and more younger women are smoking and we are seeing an increase in lung cancer amongst the young.” Nationally, cancer is the second highest cause of deaths, with only circulatory diseases causing more and lung cancer accounts for just over one fifth (22%) of all cancer deaths.

A study by Berkshire West Primary Care Trust into the Health of the Population last year said: “Many conditions have common risk factors relating to lifestyle, such as smoking, lack of physical activity and obesity.”

However, some patients are affected by lung cancer just from being around a smoking environment, which Mrs Rawlings said “can be hard to quantify.” Currently, there are no support groups operating in West Berkshire, although the national charity working to try and defeat lung cancer, The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, can offer support for patients and their families. The foundation, set up in 1990, researches ways to defeat lung cancer, provides patient care and plays an active role in smoking cessation.

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