Cigarettes, combined with air pollution and agricultural chemicals, have led to a concerning spike in cancer in Lebanon, according to one researcher.<\/p>\n
What’s happening?<\/p>\n
Ali Mokdad led a global survey<\/a> on cancer rates, finding that his native country of Lebanon is experiencing the fastest increase in incidence and deaths. NPR summarized<\/a> his research, which found that the frequency of new cancer cases in the country spiked 162% from 1990 to 2023, and cancer-related deaths increased by 80% over that period.<\/p>\n Though pollution and agricultural chemicals are contributing to the issue, Mokdad told the news outlet that a lot of the cancer can be attributed to a strong smoking culture in the nation.<\/p>\n “There is no more taboo about smoking,” Mokdad said. “Everybody smokes. Kids smoke in front of their parents. Yesterday, I went with some of my friends for dinner. You come home, you stink of tobacco.”<\/p>\n Why is this study important?<\/p>\n NPR noted that cancer rates are also increasing worldwide. While smoking may be the main culprit in Lebanon, we are now confronting a number of pollutants and chemicals that are increasing our risks for different types of cancers.<\/p>\n For instance, air pollution, which Mokdad noted is prevalent in Beirut, has been linked to a number of health problems, including respiratory issues and cancer. In fact, one new study found that women who live in more polluted areas suffer increased risks for breast cancer.<\/p>\n Airborne microplastics \u2014 which can be inhaled \u2014 also put people at risk for lung cancer, per another recent paper.<\/p>\n What’s being done about cancer-causing pollutants?<\/p>\n It’s tough to prevent exposure to all cancer-causing pollutants, but one positive step is to quit smoking if you currently do. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has resources and tips<\/a> to help smokers kick the habit.<\/p>\n Another thing anyone can do to reduce air pollution in our cities is to opt for carbon-free modes of transportation, such as biking<\/a>, e-biking, or walking. Using public transportation can also help decrease pollution.<\/p>\n Reducing the amount of new microplastics entering the environment will help limit our exposure. The best way to do this is to stop using<\/a> so many single-use plastics. Some easy swaps include reusable water bottles and shopping totes, and bringing your own sturdy container to restaurants for leftovers.<\/p>\n Get TCD’s free newsletters<\/a> for easy tips to save more, waste less, and make smarter choices \u2014 and earn up to $5,000 toward clean upgrades in TCD’s exclusive Rewards Club<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cigarettes, combined with air pollution and agricultural chemicals, have led to a concerning spike in cancer in Lebanon,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":503767,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[225846,2836,15634,235,210,28326,225847,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-503766","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-agricultural-chemicals","9":"tag-air-pollution","10":"tag-breast-cancer","11":"tag-cancer","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-lung-cancer","14":"tag-smoking-culture","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115865300055633280","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=503766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503766\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/503767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=503766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=503766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=503766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}