Lung Cancer… At Risk Even If You Don’t Smoke
Smoking just one cigarette a day can shorten your life, especially for young people who work hard, frequently go out, party a lot, and have a habit of smoking or being exposed to secondhand smoke from various sources. This can increase the risk of lung cancer, which is one of the top five most common cancers.
Nowadays, lung cancer is increasingly being found in people under 40 years old, which is concerning for the younger generation. If the body accumulates cigarette smoke for a long time, it can eventually lead to cancer. Today, Muang Thai Life Assurance will help you understand cigarettes—one of the major culprits behind lung cancer—and examine the health risks associated with e-cigarettes.
40 People Die from Lung Cancer Every Day
In Thailand, there are 47 new cancer cases per day or 17,222 cases per year, with an average of 40 deaths per day. Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in men and the fifth in women. Smokers are 10-30 times more likely to develop lung cancer because the chemicals in cigarettes can damage lung cells, causing abnormalities. The risk increases with the number of cigarettes and the number of years smoked.
However, non-smokers should not be complacent; even if you are healthy and have no risk factors, you can still be exposed to carcinogens from cigarette smoke, including secondhand smoke and toxins left on surfaces like roads, tables, chairs, or other surfaces. In addition, exposure to environmental toxins and pollutants such as radon gas, asbestos, radiation, incense smoke, exhaust fumes, air pollution, and PM2.5 dust, when inhaled directly, can cause various respiratory inflammations, which can also increase the risk of lung cancer.
Which is More Dangerous: Regular Cigarettes or E-Cigarettes?
According to data, both regular cigarettes and e-cigarettes pose similar health risks. E-cigarettes can damage DNA and increase the risk of cancer just like regular cigarettes. E-cigarettes use electrical mechanisms to create heat and vapor that contain nicotine, a substance that can be addictive, similar to regular cigarettes.
This reduces blood flow to various parts of the body. Additionally, e-cigarettes contain other harmful toxins that can cause coughing, lung irritation, and increase the risk of asthma, heart disease, stroke, and acute lung inflammation.
Regular cigarettes contain over 4,000 chemicals and toxins, including more than 60 carcinogens, posing risks for serious diseases like cancer, emphysema, pneumonia, heart disease, vascular disease, and diabetes.
How to Quit Smoking
As we know, both regular and e-cigarettes can increase the risk of health problems directly for smokers and indirectly for those around them. Quitting smoking is not just for your own health but also for those close to you and society as a whole, who may be affected by secondhand smoke. You can start quitting smoking with the following methods:
- Find a good motivation, such as improving your health to stay with loved ones for longer.
- Choose an appropriate day to quit smoking, like New Year’s Day, your birthday, or another significant day in your life.
- Gradually reduce the amount you smoke or quit abruptly, depending on what suits you best.
- Seek assistance, like nicotine replacement or quit-smoking medications, as advised by a doctor.
- Avoid triggers that make you want to smoke again, such as lighters and cigarettes, and refrain from behaviors that make you crave smoking again.
The beginning of serious diseases like lung cancer, beyond the main cause of smoking, also includes risks from air pollution, various pollutants, and PM2.5 dust, all of which increase the likelihood of developing lung cancer. Nowadays, health is no longer tied to age—young people can also get sick. Having health insurance before you fall ill can reduce the risk of medical expenses and increase confidence by having health coverage that ensures medical expenses are taken care of. Enhance your confidence with D Health Plus, a health plan designed for the new generation, covering medical costs up to 5 million Baht(1), from minor to severe illnesses, with premiums as low as 53 Baht per day(2). Or increase your coverage with Care Plus, covering medical expenses for cancer and chronic kidney disease at all stages, providing comprehensive health protection.
✔️ Receive care anytime—hospitalization is covered under a single limit, including standard single rooms, ICU rooms, doctor fees, medication, examinations, and surgeries.
✔️ No waiting for hospitalization—stay in a standard single room at any hospital.
✔️ Flexible plans—choose a plan with a deductible to lower premiums, and upgrade when you reach retirement.
✔️ Prepare now by increasing coverage with Care Plus to cover medical expenses for cancer and chronic kidney disease at all stages, both IPD and OPD, up to 10 million Baht per year(3).
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(1) In case of choosing Plan 5 MB which is a benefit per any treatment
(2) For a male policyholder aged 25 years, selecting Plan 5 MB with annual premium payment mode
(3) In case of choosing 5 MB coverage for cancer and chronic kidney failure
- D Health Plus Rider must be purchased to be attached to the policy which is still effective.
- Coverage period of the rider must not exceed the coverage period of the life insurance policy that this rider is attached to.
- Care Plus Rider covers medical expense benefits for cancer treatment and/or chronic kidney failure for the treatments specified by the Company.
- Premium is eligible for tax deduction. Conditions are as specified by the Revenue Department.
- Underwriting is subject to the Company’s rules.
- Conditions are subject to the medical standards and necessity.
- Please study the details of coverage, conditions and exclusions before making a decision to purchase insurance.
Sources: Retrieved on 23/05/2023
🔖 Chulalongkorn Hospital (data as of 04/02/2023)
🔖 hfocus (data as of 21/02/2023)
🔖 Thai Health Promotion Foundation (data as of 27/12/2022)
🔖 Samitivej Hospital (data as of 18/06/2019)