Tobacco Documents Online

:C=,- .-i CGG - :.NE -1O. -32 = ::c 2°4 f1a^. etttecnatienai Agency for Researeh an Cancer I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I PRESS RELEASE Page t ot t WHO N' 120 PASSIVE SMOKING AND LUNG CANCER IN EUROPE On Mamh 8, 1998, two Brftlah newspapers (Sunday Telegraph and Sunday Times) reported that the restills of an allsgedly negatlve study of the World Heatth Crganization (WHO) on passive smoking had been withheld from publication, The investigation refemed to is a European muitlcantre casecontrd study on the risk of lung cancer in non-smokers exposed to peeslve smoking, coordinated by the Internatlonal Agency for Research on Cancer QARC). The principal etatements in the newspaper artioles were false and misleading: (1) No withholding of results has ever taken place. In line with scientlflc practice, a manuscrfpt repordng the main etudy results has been submitted several weeks ago to an international soientttlc Joumal, The working document of the etudy, containing pnmary data from all centres involved, will be made publicly available once the cdqlnal paper is accepted, (2) The ail" negativity of the study is in sharp contrast to what is reported in the article submitted. An increase of 18% in the risk of lung cancer for non-snwking spouses of smokers. and a 17% iricrease for exposure to passive smoking at the workplace were observed. For both eXposures, iher® wae a dcse-responsa relatlonship, 1.9. great6r exbent of exposure was associated wtttt a hLgher rlck. No Inctt+ased rlsk was found for lung canoer in adults who were exposed to passive smoking during childhood but other studies have shown that passive emokinp by children worsens asthma and may cause several disease conditions, induding bronohitis and pneumonia. The etudy, qonducted in 12 centnes from seven European countri68, included E50 cases of lung cancer and 1642 conirols and is the largest etutly oarr,ed out in European populations to date.The reeulty support previous studlee In Eurape end the U.S.A, which Indicate that passive ®moking In+nae the risk of lung cancer in humans. I por more (niom+.don. please contact pr ao~doolfo~Sa~raUooJ~(+133 472 7'3 e+t 0a %~ ara.frl~' or W tl H331th organtritlon orsenbaflon mandiale d1 ta SarK: Irtt.rnations~ADoncy tor Research on Carwsi' Centre International do Recherr.tte sur Is Cancer I 100, ceuts Albart-Thomas 69371 Lyon Cedex 08 (Frattoe) 1 T41: 33 4727a 84 sSS Tifiqr S t1NICANOPJt-LYON httts: wvrw.lare.fr T6lecaptes 33 47173 a5 75 I