This is an easy question but it has a very significant small detail: lung cancer risk indeed is lowered radically by not smoking but still, one can get it even without smoking.
People generally think that lung cancer is caused only or almost only by smoking, which is true. Tobacco smoke has several carcinogens in it that cause the damage of lung cells over time, and the smoking is by far the most common cause of the lung cancer in the world. Nevertheless, it is true that lung cancer can be found in people who have never smoked. Actually, according to studies, the proportion of lung cancer patients who never smoked or have smoked hardly at all is estimated at 10–20%.
Lung Cancer in Non-Smokers
There are still some ways that non-smoker’s lung cancer risk can be raised without tobacco exposure:
- Passive-Smoking : When someone inhales the smoke of a smoker, carcinogens are introduced into their lungs, thus increasing the risk.
- Radon Gas: The invisible, natural gas that can enter homes and buildings through cracks in the walls or floor. Being exposed to it for a long time is the second most common reason for lung cancer among non-smokers.
- Environmental Pollution : Lung cells are constantly being damaged while their DNA is getting mutated by the minute particles in dirty air. This leads to cancer over time.
- Inherited Gene Changes : Some individuals are heir to gene changes that make their lung cells more prone to becoming cancerous.
- Workplace Exposure : Coming into contact with asbestos, exhaust fumes, benzene, and other carcinogens can lead to lung cancer.
So What’s the Bottom Line?
Your chances of getting lung cancer if you don’t smoke are really minute compared with those of a smoker. The majority of lung cancer surgeons put a lot of emphasis on this fact: not smoking is the single best step that you can take to lower your risk.
Nevertheless, “no risk” does not literally mean zero risk. Lung cancer cases that are caused by the environment, genetics, or sheer coincidence still occur. So these are some of the reasons why it is important to have regular medical examinations and to be on a lookout for symptoms (like cough that persists, shortness of breath, or weight loss without any obvious cause) that are characteristic even of non-smokers.