Cancer mortality attributable to cigarette smoking in 2005, 2010 and 2015 in Qingdao, China

Introduction Cigarette smoking is among the most important public health concerns worldwide and the leading preventable cause of illness and death associated with cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Although Qingdao, China implemented smoking control measures in 2007 and smoke-free legislation in 2013, smoking-attributable cancer mortality remains at a high level. The present study aimed to facilitate changes in policy-making, intervention implementation, monitoring and evaluation by estimating and comparing the burden of smoking-attributable cancers in Qingdao during 2005, 2010 and 2015. Methods This study used the disease list from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study to quantify the burden of smoking-related cancer. Sex and age-specific smoking-attributable mortality data were collected from the Qingdao Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention using an online reporting system. The population-attributable fractions (PAFs) of smoking and smoking-attributable cancer mortality in 2005, 2010 and 2015 were estimated using the smoking impact ratio (SIR) and relative risks (RRs) and by multiplying the smoking-attributable fraction by total cancer mortality, respectively. Results The numbers of smoking-attributable cancer deaths increased from 2484 in 2005 to 2999 in 2010 and 4148 in 2015, with corresponding PAFs of 26.41%, 25.76% and 29.13%, respectively. The PAFs were higher among men (vs. women) for all cancers except cervical cancer. In 2005, lung, liver, esophageal and stomach cancers were most frequently associated with smoking-associated cancer mortality, and lung cancer had the greatest PAF, followed by nasopharyngeal, oral and esophageal cancers. Similar patterns were observed in 2010 and 2015. In 2015, 1 in 3 and 1 in 5 cancer deaths in men and women, respectively, were attributable to smoking, and 95% of these deaths were associated with lung, liver, esophageal or stomach cancer. Over time, downward and upward trends in smoking-attributable cancer deaths were respectively observed among people younger than and older than 50 years. Conclusions The smoking-attributable cancer burden in Qingdao remains considerable, despite the implementation of tobacco control and smoke-free measures. Tobacco control efforts should remain a major public health priority.