Vandana Mahajan, Palliative Care Counselor, Cancer Counselor, Patient Advocate, and Cancer Survivor, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“India cannot breathe in denial
“There is no conclusive data establishing a direct correlation between higher AQI levels and lung diseases,” the Government of India told Parliament.
As an Indian, I find this statement deeply disturbing.
A 22-year-old. A 24-year-old. A 28-year-old. A 21-year-old. A 34-year-old.
All non-smokers ( I know of many many more) ….All diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer.
These are not isolated cases. Oncologists across India are seeing an alarming rise in lung cancer among never-smokers, particularly young adults and women.
What does the science say?
- The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 4.2 million deaths every year are linked to ambient air pollution, including deaths from lung cancer and chronic respiratory diseases.
- Global Burden of Disease (GBD) studies consistently identify particulate air pollution (PM2.5) as a major contributor to respiratory illness and cancer, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
- Large-scale international studies show strong associations between long-term pollution exposure and lung cancer — even in never-smokers.
- Global oncology leaders increasingly recognize air pollution as a major cause of lung cancer in non-smokers.
Why India cannot ignore this
India shows a notably higher proportion of lung cancer among non-smokers compared to global averages — a trend that mirrors our chronic exposure to hazardous air, both outdoor and indoor.
Dismissing this by debating the semantics of “AQI vs pollutants” misses the point.
AQI reflects levels of PM2.5, PM10, NO₂, SO₂, ozone — pollutants with well-established links to lung damage and cancer.
This is not an environmental issue alone. This is a public health emergency.
DENIAL DELAYS ACTION
DELAY COSTS LIVES
It is time for patients, physicians, scientists, civil society, and responsible leaders to come together and demand:
- Honest acknowledgment of air pollution as a health crisis
- Urgent, measurable action to improve air quality
- Policies rooted in science, not convenience
We Indians deserve to breathe clean air. We deserve to see our young thrive, not fight terminal illness.
Silence and denial are no longer options.
It’s time to act.”
More posts featuring Vandana Mahajan.