Smoking is a major cause of death in the west and increasingly also in the Asian Pacific area, some of the countries of which have the highest smoking rates in the world. While lung cancer incidence may demonstrate a better general correlation with numbers of cigarettes smoked rather than percentages of smokers, clearly the emphasis should be on quittingas well as not starting smoking. For this purpose the cooperation of the general physician is essential. Helping persuade these individuals to themselves refrain from their own habit as role models for their societies, increasing their counselling ands support of patients, and generating a comprehensive understanding of the most effective approaches to prevention by taking into account the myriad of interacting factors, is one of the most important tasks of the APJCP in 2000 and the new centur y.
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