2023-09-20 08:21:31
The International Agency for Cancer Research (IARC), one of the agencies of the World Health Organization (WHO) classifies carcinogenic factors into 5 levels. Some as well-known as alcohol, processed meats or tobacco are at the top level. That is, they cause cancer. Added to this group are processed meats, air pollution and, possibly when there is sufficient data, electronic cigarettes or vaping products.
Remembered by Elisabete Weiderpass, one of the greatest experts in research that seeks to discover what habits or substances increase the risk of developing the disease, who participated in Madrid in a conference organized by the National Cancer Research Center (CNIO), during which he warned that The entire world may face a veritable tsunami of deaths and new cases of cancer, avoidable through prevention. As? It is enough to remember that 20% of cases are associated with smoking, alcohol or an unhealthy diet.
«The IARC, through a team of scientists, has developed a very specific methodology to evaluate the danger of certain chemical and physical substances, occupational exposures, etc., that is, to everything that we are exposed to in our lives in the world. cancer development.
In group 1 are those substances for which there are enough studies to show that it is a substance that promotes cancer. «And alcohol falls into this category. There is no amount of alcohol that is beneficial.; It is not good for the heart, or for anything… It is a question of dosage; “The greater the amount of alcohol, the greater the risk of multiple diseases,” he warns.
Within this group there are more than 200 agents, including sun exposure, ionizing radiation, etc.
For years there has been confusion among health professionals about the benefits of drinking alcohol. But the director of the IARC is blunt: «Alcohol is not beneficial at all. Spot».
What happens is that the population is “fed up with government recommendations and they no longer pay attention.” But, he points out, «our responsibility is to report scientific information and this is clear. “Alcohol is not beneficial.”
Like all carcinogens, he says it’s a matter of dosage.
More than 80% of the world’s large cities exceed established pollution limits that are scientifically related to cancer
And the same goes for the consumption of processed meats. He explains that there are enough studies, more than 800, that show that sausages, hamburgers and all types of delicatessen cause colorectal cancer. «Science says that there are enough human studies that show the relationship between the consumption of processed meats and cancer; And not only the IARC says it, but all the organizations that have carried out these studies.
ButWhat is the amount of dose from which eating processed meats is dangerous?? That, says the expert, is the responsibility of the WHO. [Según la OMS, España multiplica por ocho el consumo recomendado de carnes procesadas].
The decision of the quantities or at what level of contamination is harmful to health, Weiderpass laments, is something political that depends on governments and/or administrations. For example, he says “are there the same limits regarding air polluting particles in Madrid as in Beijing?” “Clearly not, but it is a political decision not a scientific one.” And he warns that more than 80% of the world’s large cities, including Madrid or Barcelona, exceed established pollution limits that are scientifically related to lung cancer or a greater risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Both IARC and WHO have to face disinformation or data debunking campaigns by many large companies that are affected by their research.
The tactics, says Weiderpass, of different companies to discredit science are well known. For example, “we have the now classic example of the methods of discrediting and disinformation of the tobacco industry, now with almost 70 years of experience, which are based on direct attacks on scientists, not only on the quality of science, but also on personal very violent Part of our job is to respond with science to these attacks, although it is a struggle unequalbecause companies have many more economic resources than scientists and agencies like ours.
The WHO has a very clear position: there is no reason to recommend the use of electronic cigarettes
A current example of this pressure is found with electronic cigarettes, which some companies in collaboration with health professionals are trying to become a substitute method for quitting smoking.
In this sense, Weiderpass emphasizes that “the WHO has a very clear position: there is no reason to recommend the use of electronic cigarettes, and even less so in adolescents. “It is a cocktail of addictive chemicals and the impact on a teenager’s brain is very serious.”
In your opinion, The tobacco industry’s strategy is to develop a “new generation of citizens addicted to products that they will sell for the next 50 years.”».
From a Public Health perspective there is no reason to use these devices. “People who want to quit smoking have other methods available to them that are equally or better in terms of effectiveness.”
And the sweeteners? In this sense, Weiderpass clarifies that some sweetenerslike aspartame, are in level 2b, that is, there are studies that indicate that there is possibly a risk of promoting cancer in humans, but the amount of research is insufficient.
Asked about the reasons why the French government has decided to withdraw the iPhone 12, Weiderpass acknowledges that she is not an expert in the field of ionizing radiation but that the reasons given are that the iPhone 12 does not meet the requirements in at least two different tests. One of them is the maximum limit for a distance of 0 mm (direct contact with the skin or inside a pants pocket, for example), which is 4 W/kg. This device would have reached 5.74 W/kg in this analysis. “This figure, she says, is well below the maximum level in the European Union, which is 40, while in France it is 10 times lower, that is, 4.”
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