NHS issues vital warning to anyone who has ever smoked cigarettes

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The NHS has issued a warning to anyone who has ever smoked cigarettes in the UK. The health body says it's vital that current and former smokers go get their lung checks - as doing so can 'save lives'.NHS chiefs are urging people to take up invitations for lung cancer check-ups after hundreds were diagnosed with the disease in mobile trucks.

The NHS said teams have diagnosed 600 people with the disease in travelling trucks, which visit convenient community sites across the UK, like supermarkets and sports centres, aiming to make it easier for people to access check-ups.

According to Cancer Research UK, smoking tobacco is the biggest cause of lung cancer in the UK. Around seven out of 10 lung cancers are caused by smoking.Even light or occasional smoking increases the risk of lung cancer, or breathing in other people's cigarette fumes.It comes as new figures show only a third (35%) of patients go to their lung health check when invited by the NHS.The NHS said those most at risk of lung cancer, like former or current smokers, are invited for a “Lung MOT” in the mobile trucks.

Those who are highest at risk will also be given an on-the-spot chest scan.The trucks are especially travelling to areas of the country with some of the highest death rates from lung cancer.The teams have also identified thousands of people with other undiagnosed conditions including respiratory and cardiovascular disease, enabling them to access the treatment they need earlier.Dame Cally Palmer, NHS cancer director, said: “These lung checks can save lives – by going out into communities we find more people who may not have otherwise realised they have lung cancer – with hundreds already diagnosed and hundreds of thousands due to be invited.“The