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Explaining this, Dr. Nayan Gupta, specialist in surgical oncology, HCG Cancer Centre, Indore, in an interview with HT Lifestyle said, “Hundreds of women, especially in conservative households, spend several hours a day in the kitchen. Cooking, particularly with solid fuels such as coal, wood, or biomass, emits a multifaceted combination of harmful gases and particulate matter.

Cancer-causing substances such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that may initiate malignant transformation in lung tissue following long-term exposure are released in these fumes. Also read | Gynaecologist warns of rising lung cancer risk among women who spend hours in kitchen: ‘Cooking fumes can be dangerous’

1. Poorly-ventilated kitchens

If kitchens have no exhaust systems or have very little ventilation, the level of toxic fumes becomes higher. Through this extended breathing, carcinogenic content is absorbed in larger amounts into the lungs.

2. Lung cancer in non-smoking women is often adenocarcinoma

This type tends to develop in the outer areas of the lung and in some cases does not have early symptoms, making it more difficult to diagnose until it has progressed.

3. Hormonal influence

Estrogen, in association with environmental pollutants, might make a woman more susceptible to cell mutational processes that cause cancer. Also read | Alarming increase in lung cancer among women, children, and non-smokers: Study

4. Some genetic mutations

For example, EGFR gene mutations are often found in lung cancer in non-smokers, particularly women. Such mutations could predispose the cells to more damage from toxic pollutants that can cause cancer.

5. Cooking smoke can cause chronic lung damage over time

Repeated exposure, particularly among women, who cook on a regular daily basis, puts the lungs in a state of constant inflammation, which increases the risk of cell growth abnormalities.

“Women who cook more than two times a day are determined to have a threefold higher risk of getting lung cancer than those who cooked less often. To minimise the risks of indoor air pollution, ventilation is necessary,” the oncologist added. Also read | Lung cancer among non-smokers increases; air pollution could be culprit: Lancet report

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.

The European Commission and the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) have launched plans to ramp up testing for Mpox as African states struggle to increases vaccination and testing rates. 

The Partnership to Accelerate Mpox Testing and Sequencing in Africa (PAMTA) initiative “will support comprehensive diagnostics capabilities and resilience against future health threats,” said the commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) in a statement on Thursday (31 July).

It will fund the procurement and distribution of over 150,000 tests. 

Officials say that it will also support local manufacturing by encouraging the production and validation of Mpox testing kits within Africa. 

The Mpox epidemic in central Africa is still not fully under control, one year after the World Health Organisation labelled it as a public health emergency of international concern, and despite 2.9m vaccines having been pledged by the international community. 

HERA has led the coordination of vaccine procurement and donation among EU member states, with Spain, France and Germany pledging more than 700,000 doses of the vaccine, over 600,000 of which had been delivered to key African countries by mid-2025. 

Africa CDC reports that while Mpox cases have declined across much of Africa, numbers are up in DR Congo, the epicentre of the disease, which has seen a near 20 percent spike in recent weeks. 

Africa CDC officials say that more testing as well as a “tireless intensification of community-based surveillance” is needed to curb Mpox cases.

Testing for mpox remains low in DR Congo.

Meanwhile, Dr Ngashi Ngongo, chief of staff at Africa CDC, has warned that there are serious shortages of Mpox vaccines in Uganda and Sierra Leone. 

There have also been major delays in getting the vaccine shots into people’s arms, a repeat of the slow pace of obtaining and delivering Covid-19 vaccines during the 2020-2022 pandemic.

Only 664,000 people had been vaccinated against mpox by mid-June, according to Africa CDC data. This, and the 2.9m vaccines, fall way short of the 6.4m doses that were needed between March and August this year, say Africa CDC officials. 

The commission has made Africa’s new public health order part of its own global health strategy, and is one of the main financial supporters of Africa CDC. 
  
In March 2024, meanwhile, the EU promised technical and financial support to establish the second pan-African health agency, the African Medicines Agency (AMA), designed to regulate the continent’s pharmaceutical and medical devices sector. 

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