We call on the government to implement serious public health measures to save the health of the nation.

Other campaign issues

Lung cancer is a problem of children and young people – and it’s the biggest cancer killer in the world.

In the UK 450 children start smoking each day and 225 of them will die prematurely from smoking. By the age of 11, one third of children have experimented with smoking. And by 15 around one in four teenagers are regular smokers. It's young people who start smoking and as a result 320 adults die each day from its effects.

The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation specifically demands:

The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation is the only charity in the world wholly dedicated to defeating lung cancer, the biggest cancer killer. The Foundation’s manifesto outlines a series of practical recommendations for changes to healthcare service government policy which taken together could transform the lives of those living with the devastating effects of lung cancer and prevent people getting it in the future.

1. Though a disease of adults, the origins of most lung cancer is in adolescence – when young people start. 450 young people start smoking each day in the UK and the tobacco industry’s policy is target these young people – which is child abuse.
   Children regularly exposed to smoking are three times more likely to contract lung cancer later life than those in non-smoking homes. Parents are role models for children and they have responsibilities to their chidren – who have the right to live in clean air. If a child’s parents smoke they are three times more likely to smoke themselves. Banning smoking in the work place would significantly help children by, for example, the abolition of public smoking areas smoking areas such as an airport lounge. 15,000 children under the age of five are rushed to hospital each year with asthma attacks caused by a parent smoking.
   
   
2. Complete ban on smoking in the workplace including, for example, entrances to all building such as hospitals. This ban would include pubs which do not serve food (more than 66% of pubs in Liverpool, for example) and working men’s clubs. Second-hand smoking causes 11,000 deaths a year, 600 of these are as a result of workplace exposure. Everyone has the right to be protected from second-hand smoke in the workplace. No one should have their health damaged simply to earn their livelihood. NB Research shows that a bar worker is more likely to die as a result of their work than a policeman or a fireman.
   
   
3. Implementation of a government led anti-smoking lifestyle campaign geared towards young people. 450 young people start smoking every day in the UK, 225 of those will die prematurely from a smoke related illness.
   
   
4. A national campaign to raise public awareness of lung cancer to help those at risk to identify symptoms and encourage those with symptoms to seek help at an early stage. Currently 60% of cancer victims die without treatment consequently early diagnosis of lung cancer is vitally important. Survival rates are poor simply because people are diagnosed too late.
   
   
5. Lung cancer is the biggest cancer killer responsible for more than 22% of cancer deaths in the UK – more than leukaemia, breast and prostate cancer combined. Yet the disease only receives 4% of funding for research whereas leukaemia receives 17%. Only 1% of funding goes into researching the early detection of lung cancer, the most common cause of cancer death in men and women in the UK – and virtually all of this is from The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation. Nearly 38,000 people a year are diagnosed with lung cancer in the UK, of whom 33,000 will die because they have been diagnosed too late. Significant government funding is urgently needed for research into the early detection of lung cancer is which vital in defeating the disease. Lung cancer patients are 40 times more likely to survive if the condition is detected early. Significant government funding for research into the early detection of lung cancer is vital in defeating the disease.
   
   
6. A government funded research programme into CT scanners would look at the value of CT scanning and other techniques. All UK patients should have access to PET scanning before surgery. In the UK there are currently only five PET scanners for use in clinical diagnosis compared with 80 in Germany and 14 in Belgium. The UK spends far less on medical technology than the rest of Western Europe, meaning patients do not have access to diagnostics or treatments that can improve their quality of life.
   
   
7. Every lung cancer patient should have access to and support from a specialist lung cancer nurse. There are currently only 320 dedicated lung cancer nurses in the UK for 38,000 patients.
   
   
8. There should be a concerted effort to stop cigarette smuggling. 10% of the world’s smuggled cigarettes are sold in the UK. This tax evasion accounts for more than £2billion a year. Not only is smuggling illegal but a majority of these cigarettes have carcinogens such as arsenic in them far in excess of those in legal cigarettes. It should be an offence to bring in tobacco from outside the EU and there should be a high tax harmonisation of cigarettes throughout the European Union.
   
   
9. EU to stop subsidies for tobacco growers. The Commission’s funding for the tobacco sector amounts to roughly £650million a year. This money could be spent on encouraging tobacco farmers to grow other crops.
   
10. Smoking is the biggest cause of preventable ill health and premature death in the UK, killing more than 120,000 people in the UK every year. Smokers and ex-smokers have a particularly high risk of developing lung cancer and more than 90 percent of people with the disease have been or are smokers. Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals (including 40 carcinogens), including tar, nicotine, arsenic, carbon monoxide, ammonia, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.

 

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