Smoking Shown to Account for Vast Majority of Lung Cancer Risk, Public Insurer Says (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s National Health Insurance Service said Monday that new medical analysis has reaffirmed smoking as the dominant cause of lung cancer, just days before an appellate court ruling in the country’s landmark tobacco lawsuit.
According to the National Health Insurance Service, an assessment of male lung cancer patients involved in the ongoing litigation found that smoking accounted for more than 80 percent of their cancer risk. The findings are expected to play a pivotal role in the appeals court’s decision, scheduled for Jan. 15.
The analysis was conducted by the NHIS-affiliated Health Insurance Research Institute using a lung cancer risk prediction model developed by researchers at the National Cancer Center.
The model, published in an international medical journal in 2013, estimates an individual’s eight-year risk of developing lung cancer based on factors such as smoking status, daily cigarette consumption, age at smoking initiation, body mass index, physical activity and age.
Smoking Deaths in South Korea Top 70,000 as Economic Toll Rises (Image supported by ChatGPT)
When applied to data from 2,116 male lung cancer patients aged 30 to 80 who are part of the tobacco lawsuit, the model showed that smoking contributed 81.8 percent of overall lung cancer risk. Researchers noted that the share attributable to smoking is likely even higher for specific cancer types targeted in the lawsuit, including small-cell and squamous cell lung cancers.
NHIS officials said the findings provide renewed medical evidence of a causal link between smoking and lung cancer, reinforcing the insurer’s argument that tobacco companies should be held financially responsible for smoking-related health costs.
The lawsuit, first filed in 2014, seeks about 53.3 billion won ($40 million) in damages from major tobacco firms including KT&G, Philip Morris Korea and BAT Korea. The amount reflects medical expenses paid by the national health insurance system for more than 3,400 patients who developed lung or laryngeal cancer after decades of heavy smoking.
After losing at trial, the NHIS appealed in late 2020. The case marks the first time a public institution in South Korea has sued tobacco companies over smoking-related damages, and it has been closely watched as a potential precedent for public health accountability.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
