[Risk of lung cancer and "smoker's prophylaxis" in Austria]

The smoking habits of the Austrian population and their significance for the development of effective smoking control programmes are reported. An increasing trend in the consumption of cigarettes with a lower content of tar and nicotine can be observed as well as a slight reduction of lung cancer death-rates in Austria. An analysis shows that, at present, only the younger male age groups show a decrease of lung cancer risk. Possible relations of these findings to the improvement in the quality of cigarettes are discussed, namely the reduction in the amount of carcinogens.