An unsettling fact about lung cancer is that not even clean living can guarantee a free pass. A significant proportion of cases ? 10 to 15 percent ? occur in people who never smoked, and just in the United States, 16,000 to 24,000 a year die.
What causes the disease in nonsmokers is not known, though researchers suspect genetic susceptibility combined with exposure to cancer-causing substances like asbestos, radon, certain solvents and other people?s tobacco smoke.
The study found that among those who never smoked, Asians living in Asia (not those in the United States) and African-Americans had higher rates of illness and death from lung cancer than did people of European descent.
A puzzling and troubling finding is relatively high rates of lung cancer among nonsmoking women in parts of Pacific Rim countries.
?A plausible hypothesis is that the cooking fumes given off by woks contain all kinds of carcinogens,? Dr. Thun said, adding that the most likely culprit was cooking oil, which vaporizes at high temperatures. But he said the problem needed more research.
Dr. Michael J. Thun, the lead author of the study and the head of epidemiologic research for the American Cancer Society. The same Dr. Thun that Lambasted Enstrom/Kabat. I don't see him saying the debate is over. I don't see him saying anything close to being conclusive. What causes the disease in nonsmokers is not known, though researchers suspect? Will the real Michael J. Thun Please stand up!
Original source: http://banthebanwisconsin.wordpress.com/?p=1804
