According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), cancer is now the most economically crippling disease in the world, costing more in lost productivity and lives than any other illness. The ACS contends that the proportion of public and private sector funding for cancer research does not match the disease’s impact on productivity and economic health.
Dismayed by these findings, ACSH’s Dr. Elizabeth Whelan suggests that research geared towards delaying cancer onset should be prioritized. “Ideally, it’s better to prevent it in the first place, but we can’t really do that in the long term because most of these deaths occur at an older age. However we should try to postpone cancer’s onset. This would reduce the cost associated with loss of productivity in the work force.”
ACSH's Jeff Stier looks at it from a different angle: “If the ACS is so concerned about the cost of cancer, why don’t they join us in supporting the use of smokeless tobacco to reduce the toll of cancer from cigarette smoking? Lung cancer is one of the main causes of death among smokers, and the leading cause of cancer death, but you can't get it from smokeless tobacco.”
Dr. Whelan adds, “the payoff in preventing premature death from smoking cigarettes goes way beyond preventing cancer. Switching cigarette smokers to smokeless tobacco or another type of ‘clean nicotine’ delivery system will also save countless lives from heart disease, obstructive pulmonary disease and more.”
