Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control

Cancer

Lung Cancer

An estimated 18,800 deaths due to lung cancer will occur in Canada in 2003, and an estimated 21,100 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed this year alone.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of death due to cancer in Canada, representing an estimated 30% of the cancer deaths in males and 25% of the cancer deaths in females.

Tobacco use is the single most important preventable cause of lung cancer. A comprehensive, intersectoral approach to tobacco control including a variety of interventions, from educating the public about the adverse health effects of tobacco use, advertising restrictions to taxation, have contributed to significant decreases in its use over the past several decades.

For more information on lung cancer, please refer to:

• Canadian Cancer Statistics at http://www.cancer.ca/ccs/internet/
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• Disease Surveillance Online at http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/dsol-smed/

For questions about cancer, call the Canadian Cancer Society's Cancer Information Service at 1-888-939-3333.

For information on smoking cessation, as well as on tobacco use, please visit Health Canada's Tobacco Control Programme at: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs-sesc/tobacco/