Lung cancer has caused 20 million deaths in the 20th century. Up to 92 per cent of lung cancer in men and up to 80 per cent in women is caused by smoking. It is the leading cause of cancer death among European men.
In Ireland some 2,000 new patients a year need treatment, almost all of whom will die from the disease within 12 months of diagnosis.
Two decades ago it was predominantly a disease of men. The number of women who develop lung cancer secondary to smoking now almost equals that of men. Deaths per year among Irish women is now exceeding that from breast cancer.
Moreover, small cell lung cancer, accounting for 88,000 new global cases a year, continues to be a cancer characterised by "rapid spread, recurrence and resistance to drugs".
Some 2,300 of the world's leading medical experts on lung cancer, who form the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, do not need reminding of lung cancer's colossal demands on global health services. But they are in Dublin as the political climate towards the tobacco industry is changing dramatically, led by the United States. The industry is being forced to account for selling an addictive product and for targeting young people.
What is likely to be the most controversial of more than 300 oral presentations is a paper on how cigarette production has been manipulated "to cause and enhance addiction".
