Quote:
Originally Posted by geos
That's because most people died before lung cancer could kill them in their 50s and 60s. Dementia and Alzheimers weren't issues in 1900 either.
Most people died before their 50th birthday in 1900, you were lucky to see 55 or 60. Now people live forever and therefore disease rates skyrocket.
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As per Cowperson's link..
http://www.lungcancersurgery.org/lun...er_history.htm
Quote:
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Cancer of the lung was nearly nonexistent in the early 1900's. By the middle of the 20th century, however, an epidemic became apparent throughout the U.S. and the rest of the world. This dramatic increase correlated with the widespread prevalence of cigarette smoking. The tobacco industry had largely multiplied its production immediately prior to WWI. The early part of the epidemic correlated with the typical 20 to 30-year lagging period between initiation of smoking and the actual tumor formation. Despite denial from the tobacco companies the correlation was conclusively established in 1950.
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... therefore the facts are... as the number of smokers skyrocketed, so did the number of lung cancer cases...