?300 DNA test could save smokers' lives

[gmb45]

THOUSANDS of smokers could be saved by a new ?300 DNA test which rates their chances of getting lung cancer.

A patient's saliva is collected with a mouth swab - and lab tests show the likelihood of that person developing the disease.

Some genes make a smoker TEN TIMES more likely to become a victim.

The Respiragene test combines DNA analysis with other risk factors to come up with a score.

In trials, half of all smokers scored under three, a moderate risk.

But 30 per cent scored a "high" four to five.

And 20 per cent scored six to 12, a very high risk.

These people are 200 TIMES more likely to develop lung cancer than a non-smoker.

The test's developers, based in New Zealand, hope it will help smokers quit.

When quizzed, 88 per cent of users said they would be more likely to stop if tests showed they had an above average risk of lung cancer.

Researcher Dr Robert Young, of the University of Auckland, said: "All smokers face an increased risk of developing lung cancer, along with other health problems.

"But for some the risk is much greater than for others. With this test, doctors will be able to identify those at greatest risk while there is still time to help."

Despite a drop in smokers, lung cancer still kills nearly 35,000 people a year in the UK - one every 15 minutes.

About nine out of ten cases of the disease are linked with smoking.

But genetic factors also play a part, which is why not all heavy smokers fall victim.

Anyone who stops smoking can expect their health to improve.

Two years without ciggies halves the threat of coronary heart disease.

Dr Young said the ?299 Respiragene test could also spot those who might benefit from a follow-up check, so cancer can be diagnosed early.

It is thought unlikely that the test will be available on the NHS any time soon.

However, a recent report said illnesses linked to smoking place a "huge burden" on the Health Service, costing more than ?5billion a year and draining 5.5 per cent of the overall budget.

[cM iPro v3]

i dont believe this one bit

[firemouth]

i dont believe this one bit

, you are right too. having the gene, in no way makes it sure you will get cancer. and those who don't carry it suffer too.
its a device to get money, offering nothing in return. what would you do if you did have the gene? exactly, there is nothing you can do. money down the drain, to ****er$ who have worked out a scam. this seems to be the advice, "independent", doctors give when asked about such services.

[Lainie]

if that was true i still dont think it would stop some smokers as they are all too aware of the dangers of ciggies. many diff types of cancer and lung cancer is just one of them.

[chroma]

thats like 60 packs of smokes for a test.

[50pounds]

Yea one big con i think

Smoke if you want to quit if you feel you need to

ive quit now as i got really bad chest infections so i thought to my self do i need this in my life im only 25 so ive been smoke free for 4months now

[starviewblackout]

So if we score low......

.......should we just smoke away?

Also, the 5.5 bln cost to the nhs is more than offset by the 8bln approx generated by tax on fags.
And while I'm here, non-smokers die too and cost just as much... 10 years later that is.

[melloned]

Put my missus down for one of these smoking experiments , she'd love it ! , i've give up trying to stop her
, she'd smoke a sweaty sock ! .
It'd save us a fortune in fag money and with the cash she earned from the experiment she could buy some fags !

[chroma]

Step1: Obtain one off those huge waterbottles for watercoolers.
Step2: start stealng the remnants of the ashtray and hiding them in bags in the loft for a few weeks.
Step3: fill the bottle with fagbuts and ash, add in some milk and leave uncapped in the loft for a week or so till ripe.
Step4: show her the contents after that week and let her bask in the ambiance of the smell.
Step5: vomitus and vows to quit this shit.

Or just go to the butcher and get some lungs, bovine is good but sheep are easier to come by. Pour a couple of black ink refill bottles (for a printer) down the asophagous of one, liberaly puncture it with the needle that came with the kit to allow good penetration and airflow to asist drying. Leave to "cure for a day" then slice liberaly to display the inside of "tar" poisoned lungs, in comparison to the healthy one

PS: neither has worked on me, ive got a lead belly and seen worse previously.

[firemouth]

Yea one big con i think

Smoke if you want to quit if you feel you need to

ive quit now as i got really bad chest infections so i thought to my self do i need this in my life im only 25 so ive been smoke free for 4months now

there is good evedence this might be true. as yet, no "real" correlation can be done on the deaths of smokers v none smokers. it seems sure that smoking causes cancer. but we can never truly tell. because the only way to ascertain "if" someone developed cancer from smoking, would be to see if the person would "not" have developed it, if they had not smoked. the practice if marking all deaths as "smoking related", providing that the patient has, at any time ,smoked or lives in a smoking environment, has not helped. hundreds of thousands of peoples deaths are put down to "smoking related" illnesses, yet no test, exists, to prove that smoking had a direct effect at all. there is actually a far higher correlation between the mass expansion of the internal combustion engine, than with smoking.

if you add this to the ?2-4 billion profit (after treatment of those, supposedly, effected by smoking) the government makes on tax from the smoker and industry. there seems no clear indication that us giving up smoking will do anything but cost the country money. though i guess the "do gooders" will feel happy, till they get their next tax bill.
cancer is caused by faulty genes, not ciggs. if you aint got the gene, you can smoke like a train, but wont get cancer. you can have the gene, and smoke like a train, and still not get cancer. others have the gene, never smoke, and still develop it. there is no clear pattern. yet, you would not believe it to talk to a Health pro.