About this Video
Lung cancer remains a deadly disease and most cases are caused by cigarette smoking.
Using data from IARC ( International Agency for research on Cancer) in Lyon, France, Hans Rosling shows the dramatic differences between men and women, between countries and between different decades in the same country. They are due to variations in tobacco smoking in the world. Most people in low income countries cannot afford many cigarettes, and hence have low risk for lung cancer. Middle income countries have the highest frequency of tobacco smoking, and hence of lung cancer. In most high income countries health education and regulations are having effects, tobacco consumption is reduced and so the risk of lung cancer in men. But unfortunately smoking and lung cancer is still increasing in women in many countries. Iceland is the first country to reach equal smoking frequencies in men and women and now also have the same risk for lung cancer in both sexes.
In spite of growing concerns for environmental toxins, tobacco smoking remains the most important avoidable cancer risk in the world.
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New cases of lung cancer per 100 000 men vs. per 100 000 women in Gapminder World.
Very nice site! Great statistics!
I have a little critique: The presentation of the percentages are somehow confusing, because the women do not make up 10% of the men. I would find it more appropriate, if you present a percentage of the entire population as ca. 10% and then 40$ instaed of 66%. OR present the ratio between number of men and women. I know that’s what a percentage can represent. However, ordinary perception and associations are commonly different.
Best wishes.
I also wonder if people in the ultra-low income countries grow old enough to show up in long cancer statistics. Lung cancer usually starts at an ‘older age’. You of course first have to get to that age…
PS. Great side, superb videos, very nicely presented (both in graphics as in speech).
I’d also like to point out that poor countries do not have adequate health care to properly diagnose lung cancer, so that might skew the data.