Premature Mortality Due to Tobacco-Related Malignancies in Poland

INTRODUCTION: Although in Poland at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, tobacco consumption per capita was one of the highest in the world as a result of specific political and social conditions, nicotinism was the most common preventable cause of death that reduced life expectancy by 10 years on average. The aim of this study is to determine the level of premature mortality and its trends by age and sex for tobacco-related malignancies in Poland in the years 2008–2017. METHODS: The standardised premature mortality rates as well as mortality rates for five-year age ranges according to the patients’ sex were used. The Joinpoint model was used to determine the time trends. RESULTS: Premature mortality due to all tobacco-dependent cancers analysed decreased in Poland throughout the analysed period in both male (2.5% per year) and female (1% per year) populations. A detailed analysis of individual diseases showed that a decrease in premature mortality was observed for almost all malignancies with the exception of malignant liver cancer among males, malignant oesophageal cancer among females and malignant lip, oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer in both sexes. The reduction in mortality from all tobacco-related cancers in the male population was greatest between 40 and 44 years of age, reaching 5.6% year on year. Similarly, in the case of females, the decline in mortality was greater in the younger age cohorts and decreased in those aged over 50. CONCLUSION: The favourable phenomenon of decreasing the level of premature mortality caused by tobacco-related malignancies may be associated, among others, with the policy of primary prevention of these diseases in the form of a widespread ban on smoking in public places, intensive information campaigns on the harmfulness of tobacco smoking and increasing taxation on tobacco products.