mortality would drop sharply with younger generations without tobacco, according to a study

This is one of the first works to model the impact of a “tobacco-free generation”.

“Tobacco is taboo, we will all get rid of it!” Banning the sale of tobacco to young people born between 2006 and 2010 could prevent nearly 1.2 million deaths from lung cancer by the end of the century, according to a study led by the lung cancer agency. WHO, IARC, and published Thursday October 3. Smoking is the main risk factor for lung cancer, the most common and deadliest cancer in the world.

If the current trend continues, more than 2.95 million deaths from lung cancer could affect people born between the beginning of 2006 and the end of 2010, estimate the authors of the study published in The Lancet Public Health. But if tobacco sales were banned for this generation, nearly 1.2 million of these deaths could be avoided by 2095, according to this modeling work, one of the first to assess the impact of a “tobacco-free generation”.

Overall, more deaths from lung cancer are potentially avoidable in men (45.8%) than in women (30.9%), estimates the study, which covers 185 countries and is based in particular on data from mortality and cancer incidence on five continents. A trend “probably linked to the higher prevalence and earlier onset of smoking among men”note the researchers.

However, a “tobacco-free generation” policy will not be enough to deal with the scourge of smoking, underline the authors of the study. To reduce it, they recall the importance of proven measures, such as increasing taxes, tobacco-free places or support for cessation.