[Lung cancer mortality and cigarette smoking in Europe, North America, Japan, and Australia: regional differences...

Trends and regional differences in lung cancer mortality and cigarette smoking are examined for 26 developed countries. "In 1975, lung cancer mortality figures for females aged 55 to 64 years...showed 12 to 60 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, for males 60 to 270 deaths. In nearly all countries the mortality rates of males have been increasing since 1958.... For females the rise in lung cancer mortality is particularly steep...." An increase in cigarette smoking between 1935 and 1973 is also noted, and it is found that "the ranking of the countries by cigarette consumption essentially corresponds to that by lung cancer mortality." (summary in ENG)