I've got two questions which I do not understand...
a)In the early 1920's, shortly after world war I, smoking became fashionable for men. Why did lung cancer rates not increase until the 1950's?
&...
b)Suggest a reason why no comparable increase in lung cancer in women occured during the same period.
It takes decades for the cancerous effects to develop. Smoking was not seen as fashionable for women during that period.
However, since this is not my area of expertise, I searched Google under the key words "smoking 'cancer trends' history" to get these possible sources:
(Broken Link Removed)
http://news.google.com/archivesearch?client=safari&rls=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=smoking+%22cancer+trends%22&um=1&scoring=t&sa=X&oi=archive&ct=title
http://www.newash.org.uk/ash_ll0izj46.htm
In the future, you can find the information you desire more quickly, if you use appropriate key words to do your own search.
I hope this helps. Thanks for asking.
a) The delay between the increase in smoking popularity in the early 1920s and the rise in lung cancer rates in the 1950s can be attributed to various factors. One reason is that lung cancer has a long latency period, meaning that it takes a significant amount of time for the disease to develop after exposure to carcinogens. In the case of smoking, it takes several decades of consistent smoking for the risk of lung cancer to significantly increase.
Another factor is that the cigarettes smoked in the early 20th century were different from those smoked in later years. In the 1920s, most cigarettes were unfiltered and contained lower amounts of tar and other harmful substances compared to the cigarettes that became prevalent in the mid-20th century. The increase in lung cancer rates can be linked to the introduction of filtered cigarettes, which became more popular in the 1950s and were found to still contribute to lung cancer risk.
Additionally, during the period between the 1920s and 1950s, there were other contributing factors to lung cancer that were not as prevalent after the 1950s. These include occupational exposures to carcinogens like asbestos, radon, and certain chemicals that were more commonly encountered during that time.
b) The absence of a comparable increase in lung cancer rates in women during the same period can be attributed to differences in smoking trends and patterns. In the early 20th century, smoking was primarily a male-dominated activity. It wasn't until later decades that smoking became more prevalent among women, especially after the mid-1900s.
The smoking habits of women differed from those of men during this period. Women were more likely to smoke fewer cigarettes per day, smoke cigarettes with lower tar and nicotine content, and start smoking at a later age compared to men. These differences in smoking behavior may have contributed to the lower incidence of lung cancer among women.
Furthermore, societal factors also played a role. Smoking among women was historically less socially acceptable compared to men, and there were cultural and societal pressures that discouraged women from smoking. This could have limited the exposure and subsequent risk of developing lung cancer among women during that time.
It's worth noting that although the incidence of lung cancer in women did eventually rise, it was still lower compared to men. Changes in smoking habits, social norms, and increased overall tobacco consumption among women in more recent decades have led to an increase in lung cancer rates among women.