Lung cancer isn't just a smoker's disease: Doctor explains how air pollution, genetics, and everyday exposures may quietly increase your risk
Medical experts are highlighting that lung cancer is increasingly affecting non-smokers due to factors like air pollution, genetics, and occupational hazards. The article emphasizes that persistent symptoms should not be ignored by those who do not smoke.
Why it matters
It challenges the public stigma that lung cancer is exclusively a smoker's disease, potentially leading to earlier diagnosis and better health outcomes for non-smokers.
For years, lung cancer has carried one overwhelming assumption: it happens only to people who smoke. That belief has become so deeply rooted that many non-smokers ignore persistent symptoms, believing they are "not at risk." Doctors say that mindset needs to change.Across the world, specialists are seeing more cases of lung cancer in people who have never touched a cigarette. While smoking continues to be the biggest risk factor, it is no longer the only one that deserves attention.
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