WOMAN AND LUNG-CANCER - A COMPARISON OF ACTIVE AND PASSIVE SMOKERS WITH NONEXPOSED NONSMOKERS

Prior to the 1920s, lung cancer was a rare disease. However, the curre nt increase in lung cancer appears to parallel the increase in smoking for both men and women with a 30- to 50-year delay. National lung can cer deaths continue to rise, with over 168,000 total deaths estimated in 1992. Women are now showing higher percentage increases in lung can cer than men from active smoking. The data from the Erie County Study on Smoking and Health (ECSSH), a population study, were used to measur e the effects of both active and passive smoking on women's lung cance r mortality. The three major categories of exposure (no known or minim al exposure, passive smoking exposed, and active smoking) were used in the analyses. The results from the population data in Erie County, PA , were based on 528 nonexposed nonsmoking women, 3138 exposed nonsmoki ng women, and 1747 smoking women. Deaths due to lung cancer as a perce ntage of total deaths excluding traumatic deaths were 0.2% for the non exposed nonsmoking women, 0.9% for the exposed nonsmoking women, and 8 .0% for women who smoked. The data showed that women smokers died of l ung cancer at a rate 9 times greater than exposed nonsmokers and 42 ti mes greater than nonexposed nonsmokers.