Jump to full article: WABC-TV Ch. 7, 2002-07-05
Intro: An epidemic of lung cancer deaths is sweeping the Scandinavian country of Denmark. On a recent trip to Copenhagen, we found out that what's happening there provides a cautionary tale for women smokers in this country. Roz Abrams reports.
Nanna Skovaard started smoking when she was 15. At 29, she's still smoking a pack a day.
Nanna Skovaard, Smoker: "It's strange because I quit a year ago and I quit for five months and then suddenly I started again. Now, I'm smoking like a madman."
A lot of Danish women smoke. In fact, Denmark has the highest lung cancer rate among women in the world.
In a tiny Scandinavian country, Denmark is half the size of Maine with at total population of just over half-million. Each year, over 1300 women die from lung cancer. Another 3700 succumb to smoking related diseases like emphysema and bronchitis. . .
So when did all this smoking begin? Well, you have to go back to the 1950's and that's when Danish women started working outside the home.
Dr. Falk: "The women's emancipation thing came rather early in our country. So you know, maybe it was a way to show that I'm in position that I could deal with my own life. I'm not dependent on my husband's salary."
Then there is the quest to be thin. . .
But there is some good news for women who can't kick the habit. Duke University just announced that it is working to develop the first blood test to detect lung cancer in its early stages.
The work being done at Duke University is really important because of women's emancipation, the women's liberation movement hit this country in the 1970's. That means that our wave of lung cancer deaths could be just around the corner.
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