News

The number of Lung/Bronchus Cancer drop in El Paso County

September 5, 2014

A recent report indicates that the incidence (# per 100,000 residents) of lung/bronchus cancer in El Paso County has dropped from 48/100,000 in 1995 to 30.9/100,000 in 2011. This is about a 35% drop. The state incidence dropped about 30% during the same period. El Paso’s age-adjusted rate is also much lower than the state’s overall.

Decreased adult smoking likely contributed to the reduction in the incidence of lung cancer in El Paso.

A Smoke Free Paso del Norte is associated with a reduction in adult smoking from 21.5% in 1996 to 14.7% % in 2012. This history of success largely is due to the comprehensive and coordinated approach, which is based on the CDC’s best practice model. The elements of this model include:

 •   preventing initiation among youth and young adults;

 •   promoting quitting among adults and youth;

 •   eliminating exposure to secondhand smoke; and

 •   identifying and eliminating tobacco-related disparities among population groups.

Key successes include a strong clean indoor air ordinance, a regional quitline (534-QUIT), research-based media campaigns, a strong tobacco control network, and an internet-based cessation service (http://www.smokefree.quitnet.com/).

Recent successes include the implementation of a tobacco-free policy at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and the implementation of smoke-free policy in all communities in the Housing Authority of the City of El Paso by January 2015.