The WHO African Region recently marked World Cancer Day. In his declaration the Regional Director of the WHO in Africa, Dr. Luis Gomez Samba, said cancer is a series of serious, non-communicable and potentially preventable diseases which represent a major threat to public health on the continent.

He noted that in 2002 the number of new cases of cancer per year was estimated at 582,000. He claimed that if cancer prevention and control was not stepped up by the year 2020 there will be an estimated one million new cases of cancer with a mortality rate of 50%.

He stated that smoking is one of the major risk factors involved in cancer and said that mortality among smokers is about three times higher than among non-smokers. He says the toxic effects of tobacco are well known and that many epidemiological studies have shown the effect of such toxicity on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems of people.

Dr. Samba said smoking causes cancers of all parts of the human body particularly of the lungs, the mouth, the larynx, bladder and kidneys.

He added that while harmful to the adult smoking has a very serious effect on the foetus and young children. He said the effect of second hand smoke on a foetus was as bad as if the pregnant woman herself smoked.

This leads to a higher risk of miscarriage, stunted foetal development and low birth weight in babies.

Dr. Samba revealed that in 2000 the prevalence of smoking was 29% among men and 7% among women and this led to 200,000 smoking related deaths.

He called on WHO member states to increase the awareness of their populations through methodologies adapted to suit local realities in order to foster a change of lifestyle and reduce the incidence of both smoking and cancer.