I think an important variable in the smoking/cancer equation is the impact of
the other factors that influence health; i.e. social determinants of health.

British researchers routinely include income and class as variables and find
that smoking interacts strongly with class and income to produce its effects.
If you are wealthy and have a secure job, smoking isn't that bad for you!
apparently.

But don't be poor and smoke.  it is a one way ticket to the morgue!

That is not to say that the solution is to focus our efforts on poor people to
stop smoking.  That may make the situation worse by diverting attention from the
being poor aspect of the equation and that our societies are working hard to
create more poor people.

see Jarvis, M.J. & Wardle, J. (1999).  Social patterning of individual health
behaviours: the case of cigarette smoking.  Chapter 11 in M. Marmot & RG
Wilkinson (eds).  Social determinants of health.  Oxford UK: 1999.


Dennis Raphael, PhD
Associate Director and Undergraduate Program Director
School of Health Policy and Management
Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies
York University
4700 Keele Street
Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3
416-736-2100, ext. 22134
email: [log in to unmask]