Hungary has highest rate of lung cancer deaths in EU

Hungary has the highest rate of lung cancer deaths in the European Union, according to an EU statistical office report released to coincide with World No Tobacco day. Taking the proportion of cancer deaths caused by lung cancer, Hungary tops the list with 27 percent, followed by Greece, Denmark, Poland and the Netherlands, each with 24 percent, Belgium (23 percent) and Britain (22 percent). Portugal and Latvia (15 percent) and Lithuania, Sweden and Slovakia (16 percent) are at the other end of the scale. Smoking, say experts, is a major avoidable risk. Many forms of cancer, cardiovascular disease and respiratory illness are associated with smoking.