Stirring the pot

China is suffering a rapidly-increasing incidence of lung cancer among non-tobacco-smoking women, according to a story on Ecns.cn edited by Mo Hong’e.
The story cited a report by the China Cancer Center as saying these lung cancer cases were the result of non-tobacco-smoking women being exposed to second-hand-tobacco smoke and cooking-oil fumes.
The report, which compiled data from China’s 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, suggested that lung cancer was the most frequently occurring malignancy in the country.
Meanwhile, Liang Chaoyang, vice director of the Department of Thoracic Surgery at Beijing’s China Japan Friendship Hospital, said cooking methods, second- or third-hand smoke and environmental pollution were behind the rise of lung cancer among women.
Liang said also that more than 700 million women and children in China had long been exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke both at home and in public spaces, making China the worst place in the world for second-hand tobacco smoke.
About 55 percent of women aged over 15 were exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke at home on a daily basis.
The story said that some cancer experts had claimed that putting someone else in the way of second-hand tobacco smoke was not only selfish and immoral, but also equated to committing slow murder.
Professor Zhi Xiuyi of the Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Center at the Capital Medical University blamed Chinese cooking methods, such as stir-frying and deep-frying, as a main risk factor in the higher incidence of lung cancer among women.
“They stay in the kitchen for longer periods than men, putting themselves in the path of toxic components, and consequently face a higher risk of lung cancer,” said Zhi
Research led by Zhou Caicun at Shanghai’s Tongji University School of Medicine found cooking oil temperatures directly affected the amounts of fumes created.