The British government yesterday pledged to tackle smoking among teenage girls after new research revealed women are more at risk than men from serious lung cancer.
A study, presented at the British Thoracic Society (BTS) winter meeting in London, found that nearly twice as many women as men under the age of 65 are diagnosed with small cell lung cancer, the most lethal form of the disease. Seven out of 10 of these cases could not be helped by surgery.
The study, based at the Royal College of Physicians Research Unit, involves 46 hospitals and is Britain's largest investigation into lung cancer.
Responding to the findings, Britain's Health Minister, Ms Tessa Jowell, said: "Ten years ago one in five 15-year-old girls smoked. That figure is now one in three."