LUNG cancer remains the most common form of the disease in Scotland, according to new figures from Cancer Research, which is calling for blank packaging of cigarettes to make them less marketable to children.
The charity's figures show that Scotland is the only nation in the UK where lung cancer remains the most common form of the disease.
While breast cancer is the most common type of cancer for the UK overall, as well as in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, only Scotland bucks the trend with more cases of lung cancer than any other type.
In 2009 – the most recent year for which statistics are available – a total of 4989 cases of lung cancer were diagnosed, compared to 4392 for breast cancer. The breakdown included around 2600 cases of lung cancer in men and 2350 in women, who have seen an 11% increase in their incidence over the past 10 years – mainly driven by Scotland's ageing population.
Jean King, Cancer Research UK's director of tobacco control, said changes in marketing would be vital to preventing new cases of lung cancer in future. She said: "Tobacco advertising hasn't appeared on UK TV since 1965, but that didn't stop the marketing of cigarettes. New, more sophisticated marketing techniques have lured many thousands into starting an addiction that will kill half of all long-term smokers.
"It's vital that the UK closes one of the last remaining loopholes that portrays smoking as something glamorous and safe, rather than the lethal product it truly is. Putting all cigarettes in plain packs with large health warnings is key. No-one wants to see children take up smoking, and while plain packs won't stop everyone from smoking, it will give millions of children one less reason to start."
Lung cancer was the most common cancer in the UK until 1997, when it was overtaken by breast cancer.
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