Reducing tobacco usage among youth is the best hope for long-term reduction in lung cancer. There is no effective screening tool. Forty percent of lung cancer deaths occur among individuals under the age of 65.
Tobacco use is the single most important preventable cause of lung cancer.
Nevertheless, nearly one third of Canadians over the age of 15 still smoke, and the number of young people starting to smoke may be on the rise. Furthermore, environmental tobacco smoke is the number one risk factor for lung cancer among nonsmokers. However, the absolute number of lung cancer cases burdening the health care system will continue to rise as the large number of baby boomers age. Rates are standardized to the age distribution of the 1991 Canadian population. Lung cancer mortality rates in 1995, for both males and females, were significantly lower than expected on the basis of past trends.