Primary prevention

Prevention is the most cost-effective means of fighting lung cancer on the national and global scales. While in most countries industrial and domestic carcinogens have been identified and banned, tobacco smoking is still widespread. Eliminating tobacco smoking is a primary goal in the fight to prevent lung cancer, and smoking cessation is the most important preventative tool in this process.

Policy interventions to decrease passive smoking (e.g. in restaurants and workplaces) have become more common in various Western countries, with California taking a lead in banning smoking in public establishments in 1998, Ireland playing a similar role in Europe in 2004, followed by Norway in 2005 and Scotland as well as several others in 2006. New Zealand has also recently banned smoking in public places. (See Smoking ban).

Only the Asian state of Bhutan has a complete smoking ban (since 2005). In many countries pressure groups are campaigning for similar bans. Arguments cited against such bans is criminalisation of smoking, increased risk of smuggling and the risk that such a ban cannot be enforced.