Conclusions from Smoking-Related Research Published in the APJCP in 2000 with a Brief Review of the Recent Literature.
Perusal of papers published in the APJCP in 2000, as well as the recent literature from the Asian Pacific countries in general, suggests that whereas the scope of the problem posed by tobacco consumption has received a great deal of attention, we are still lacking detailed data for many countries. The impact of second hand smoke in particular requires further stress. While studies of gene polymorphisms for enzymes involved in carcinogen metabolism have pointed to clearly increased risk of cancer development in many organs for smokers with decreased detoxification potential, the question of how to make best use of this information for practical prevention also remains largely unexplored. Similarly, the fact of peer group and family influence in determining initiation of adolescent smoking has yet to be translated into a concrete strategy based on psychological understanding. Cessation programs for adult smokers on the other hand could make use of the positive results obtained in Japan with intervention married to screening programs for early cancers. Political and socioeconomic questions are clearly very important and putting into action principles of tobacco control efforts with collaboration between all of the interested parties must now be stressed. A Practical Prevention Program (PPP) incorporating anti-smoking measures with a comprehensive pilot scheme for both primary and secondary prevention is proposed for this purpose.
Moore
Malcolm A
MA
Chemotherapy and Experimental Pathology Division, National Cancer Center Research Institute, Tokyo, 104-0045, Japan. malcolm812@yahoo.com