their male counterparts (never-smokers). For every male never-smoker who is at risk of developing lung cancer, there are two female never-smokers.
According to findings from Lung Cancer Management, an estimated 50 percent of women who have lung cancer have never used tobacco.
What could be wrong?
Several factors contribute to the increasing propensity of never-smokers to lung cancer. I will tell you some.
Never-smokers are significantly exposed to secondhand smoke
Indeed, tobacco consumption is on the decline. Compared to 2005, when about 21 percent of Americans (of minimum 18 years) smoked, 15.5 percent smoked in 2016.
Even with the decline, the number of tobacco users in the United States is still sizable – if not worrisome. According to the CDC, an estimated 38 million American adults still smoke cigarettes daily.
Eventually, this leads to the increased chances of interacting with secondhand smoke for never-smokers. Such secondhand smoke is still dangerous for the lungs. It is revealing that more than 7000 people die every year in the United States from lung cancer caused by secondhand smoke.
It could be family history or genetic mutation
Even if you have never smoked once, if you have a loved one or relative with lung cancer, you are at a sizable risk of developing lung cancer later on in your life.
It is a given that never-smokers with a family history of lung cancer will develop cancer before 50, especially if they have