Do the Right Thing: Bad Habits Cost Billions in Cancer Treatment ...

German physician Fritz Lickint was working at a Dresden hospital in the 1920s when he noticed that smokers suffered from ulcers and tumors more than other patients. The insight led him to make the link between smoking and cancer and launch early anti-smoking campaigns which, many decades later, yielded smoking bans, graphic anti-smoking ads and, ultimately, saved lives.

Almost a century later, new research has found that other, seemingly benign bad habits and lifestyle choices like inactivity and poor diet, can also impact the risk of cancer and add about $34 billion annually to the global costs related to cancer. The research, which was commissioned by GE Healthcare, found that the global healthcare system could save $25 billion if people cut back on idleness, alcohol and smoking, and ate better.

?The cumulative global cost of bad habits revealed in this research is staggering,? said Jeff Demarais, chief communications officer at GE Healthcare. ?But I am equally encouraged by the potential savings that could be achieved by all of us just making a few small lifestyle changes and committing to a personal monitoring schedule.?

GE Healthcare is trying to encourage such changes through its annual #GetFit campaign. #GetFit is using global social media like Facebook and Sina Weibo, as well as smartphone and tablet apps, to promote healthy habits and exercise.

The research, which was carried out by GfK Bridgehead in May and June 2013, found that the U.S. accounts for more than half of global annual cancer costs (54 percent, or $18.41 billion), followed by China (25 percent, or $8.57 billion), and France, Germany and Turkey (each 4.4 percent, or $1.5 billion).

Half of all cancer deaths can be prevented by making healthy choices, like maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, eating properly, being physically active and undertaking recommended screening tests, according to a GE announcement.

It?s not going to be easy. Last week GE released another study that revealed that many people are still unaware of links between bad habits and diseases such as breast cancer. For example, only 47 percent of American respondents and 28 percent of respondents in Germany and were aware of links between bad habits and developing breast cancer.

Fritz Lickint would not be happy.

Click to enlarge.

Source: http://www.gereports.com/do-the-right-thing/

sound of music foot locker champs champs calvin johnson calvin johnson festivus