Homework 2: The 360 Degrees of Smoke

The act of inhaling and exhaling fumes from burning plant material is known as smoking.
People smoke because it makes them feel better or more relaxed whenever they are
stressed. According to National Cancer Institute, at least 250 of the over 7,000 chemicals
found in tobacco smoke are known to be dangerous, and 69 of them can cause cancer.
We cannot deny the fact that smoking tobacco is a risk factor for causing lung cancer, but
there are other forms of smoke that also causes cancer, such as exhaust smoke from
cars, smoke from factories, or air pollution in general.

Even if we don’t smoke, the air can be contaminated with cancer-causing substances.
Chemical emissions from factories, vehicles, and the widespread use of pesticides all
contribute to poor air quality, which has an impact on your health. When we breathe, the
body attempts to filter the air we inhale; however, if the particle is too small or too
numerous, the body will be unable to keep up, resulting in health complications. According
to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 80% of people living in urban areas
that monitor air pollution are exposed to air quality levels that exceed WHO limits. While
all regions of the world are affected, populations in low-income cities are the most
impacted. This means that a lot of people are at risk of having lung cancer. This claim is
proven by the study done by (Loomis, Huang, & Chen, 2014) which stated that outdoor
air in China, especially in large cities, is highly contaminated with mutagens, which may
damage genetic material and cause cancer in humans. It was also stated in the study that
the cities in China exceed national and international air quality standards that have been
established to protect health. In fact, particulate air pollution was responsible for
approximately 223,000 lung cancer deaths worldwide in 2010, accounting for nearly 15%
of all lung cancer deaths, with 139,000 of those deaths (9% of all lung cancer deaths)
occurring in China alone (Loomis, Huang, & Chen, 2014).

Air pollution causes a variety of negative effects, including DNA damage. In a study
conducted by (Tovalin, Valverde, Morandi, et al., 2006), 55 outdoor and indoor workers
from México City and Puebla were investigated. Outdoor workers in México City had more
DNA damage and a higher percentage of highly damaged cells; outdoor and indoor
workers in Puebla had comparable DNA damage. PM2.5 and ozone exposure were found
to be positively correlated with the magnitude of DNA damage. Workers exposed to
PM2.5, ozone, and some volatile organic compounds were significantly higher for both
outdoor and indoor workers with 60% of highly damaged cells (highly damaged workers).
Ozone (toxic air pollutants or smog), PM2.5 (particle pollution), and 1-ethyl-2-methyl
benzene exposure were the main factors linked to the highly damaged workers.

This just shows how dangerous is air pollution in general, and what more if we are living
near industrial factories or a place with a lot of cars with few to zero trees at all, where the
air is so much polluted. Smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer because it directly
affects you and, as previously stated, contains a lot of harmful and cancer-causing
chemicals. However, outdoor air pollution is also a great risk especially as we continue
into our technological era where we produce lots of vehicles, and electronics, and create
new discoveries. It is also worth noting that we are losing trees; according to (Ritchie &
Roser, 2021), we deforest approximately ten million hectares of forest worldwide each
year. We all know the importance of trees in helping us control the pollutants that we
create, and with this, air pollution will become more dangerous as time passes by. If there
are not enough forests and trees to absorb gaseous pollutants, we are in great danger.
Air pollution can be just as deadly as cigarette smoking. Studies have shown that particle
pollution and other toxic air pollutants cause cancer and DNA damage. Because our
bodies, specifically the cilia, are incapable of filtering small particles that enter the body,
these pollutants will remain and harm the body. Cancer Research UK agrees with this
statement, stating that tiny particles may accumulate in the lungs and alter cell replication,
potentially resulting in DNA damage and cancer.

Because of previous studies and simply having basic knowledge, it is well known that air
pollution has an effect on our lungs. Air Pollution causes more harm than lung cancer.
According to the American Association for Cancer Research or AACR, there was a new
study that suggests pollution is also associated with an increased risk of mortality for
several other types of cancer, including breast, liver, and pancreatic cancer. While
others focused on what air pollution does to our lungs, other researchers looked at the
long-term effects of particulate matter on cancer mortality for causes other than lung
cancer. The study by (Wong, Tsang, Lai, et.al., 2016) showed that for every 10
micrograms per cubic meter (g/m3) increase in PM2.5 exposure, the risk of dying from
any cancer increased by 22%. The data gathered in this study revealed that cancers of
the upper digestive tract had a 42 percent higher mortality risk, cancers of the accessory
digestive organs, had a 35 percent higher mortality risk, breast cancer had an 80 percent
higher mortality risk, and lung cancer had a 36 percent higher mortality risk. All figures
are based on a 10 g/m3 increase in PM2.5 exposure. This study also shows how PM2.5
affects our bodies by damaging our DNA and causing cancer. The difference is that it
does not only focus on lung cancer but also on other types of cancer.

We can therefore conclude that prolonged exposure to air pollution may cause various
kinds of complications. It has shown us that Air pollution is associated with cancer in
various types of organs. Air pollution is hard to escape for it is everywhere and it can
penetrate our bodies with ease. The effects of pollution are felt not only in the external
environment but also within us. What harms us is the air we breathe and the polluted
particles we consume. However, we are also to blame for the events that are taking place.
Air pollution will not kill us directly, as cigarettes do, but we will bear the consequences in
the long run.
 References:

Air pollution may be associated with many kinds of cancer. American Association for
Cancer Research (AACR). (2020, January 31). Retrieved March 19, 2023, from
https://www.aacr.org/patients-caregivers/progress-against-cancer/air-pollution-
associated-cancer/

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, October 25). What are the risk
factors for lung cancer? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved March
19, 2023, from
https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/lung/basic_info/risk_factors.htm#:~:text=Cigarette%20smoki
ng%20is%20the%20number,90%25%20of%20lung%20cancer%20deaths.

Harms of cigarette smoking and health benefits of quitting. National Cancer Institute.
(n.d.). Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-
prevention/risk/tobacco/cessation-fact-sheet

How can air pollution cause cancer? Cancer Research UK. (2021, September 23).
Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-
cancer/causes-of-cancer/air-pollution-radon-gas-and-cancer/how-can-air-pollution-
cause-
cancer#:~:text=There%20are%20a%20few%20different,damage%20which%20can%20
cause%20cancer.

Loomis, D., Huang, W., & Chen, G. (2014). The International Agency for Research on
Cancer (IARC) evaluation of the carcinogenicity of outdoor air pollution: focus on China.
Chinese journal of cancer, 33(4), 189–196. https://doi.org/10.5732/cjc.014.10028
Ritchie, H., &; Roser, M. (2021, February 9). Deforestation and forest loss. Our World in
Data. Retrieved March 19, 2023, from
https://ourworldindata.org/deforestation#:~:text=Globally%20we%20deforest%20around
%20ten,deforestation%20occurs%20in%20the%20tropics.

Tovalin H, Valverde M, Morandi MT, et al. (2006) DNA damage in outdoor workers
occupationally exposed to environmental air pollutants Occupational and Environmental
Medicine 2006;63:230-236. https://oem.bmj.com/content/63/4/230.info
Wong, C. M., Tsang, H., Lai, H. K., Thomas, G. N., Lam, K. B., Chan, K. P., ... & Thach,
T. Q. (2016). Cancer mortality risks from long-term exposure to ambient fine particle.
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 25(5), 839-845.

World Health Organization. (2016). Air pollution levels rising in many of the world's
poorest cities. World Health Organization. Retrieved March 19, 2023, from
https://www.who.int/en/news-room/detail/12-05-2016-air-pollution-levels-rising-in-many-
of-the-world-s-poorest-cities