Predicted Reduction in Lung Cancer Risk Following Cessation of Smoking and Radon Exposure

Recently there has been considerable public and regulatory concern that radon, produced by the decay of naturally occurring uranium, can accumulate in homes, offices, and schools at levels that may substantially increase the risk of lung cancer. The major cause of lung cancer is smoking, and radon appears to interact multiplicatively with smoking in causing lung cancer. Thus, the most effective way to reduce the increased risk of lung cancer resulting from radon exposure is to cease smoking. In this paper, a model for the risks associated with radon exposure that was developed by a committee of the National Academy of Sciences is used to calculate the benefits, in terms of reduction in lifetime risk of lung cancer, of ceasing to smoke, ceasing radon exposure, or ceasing both. Ceasing to smoke is considerably more beneficial than ceasing radon exposure, and thus policymakers addressing the health effects of radon should place priority on encouraging individuals to stop smoking.