Countries Ban Asbestos to Reduce Mesothelioma Deaths

ByHolly Zink
Countries Ban Asbestos to Reduce Mesothelioma Deaths
A new study published in BMJ Global Health has found that most countries ban asbestos to reduce mesothelioma cases.

A new study published in BMJ Global Health has found that most countries ban asbestos to reduce mesothelioma cases.

This study was an international collaboration. Authors were based in research centers located in Japan, Taiwan, and Australia.

The authors found a strong relationship between asbestos bans and pre-ban mesothelioma burden in the country. Countries with a high number of mesothelioma cases were more likely to ban the use of asbestos.

Asbestos Causes Cancer in Humans

Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. The Global Burden of Diseases Study estimates that 29,300 people around the world die each year from mesothelioma.

Asbestos is a naturally occurring material found throughout the world. It is almost impossible to set on fire. It is also nearly impossible to corrode. Asbestos can be woven into other materials and is cheap to buy.

Asbestos has been classified as a known human carcinogen (a substance that causes cancer) by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the EPA, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer. A leading cause of mesothelioma is asbestos exposure.

The best way to reduce mesothelioma cases is to ban the use of asbestos. About 60 countries have banned the use of asbestos. Many countries still use asbestos in manufacturing. The current global use of asbestos is over a million tons each year.

Global Burden of Diseases

The authors of this study looked at data from 198 countries. They used data from the Global Burden of Diseases Study. This data is collected by over 3,600 researchers around the world.

Countries that banned asbestos were more likely to report mesothelioma deaths to the Global Burden of Diseases Study. Countries that reported mesothelioma deaths were also more likely to ban asbestos.

The odds of a country banning asbestos increased in response to rising mesothelioma deaths before the ban.

The authors believe that there is a strong relationship between asbestos bans and reporting mesothelioma deaths. They recommend that the world should use a strategy for eliminating mesothelioma that combines the asbestos bans with the identification of this disease.

Source

Chimed-Ochir O, Rath EM, Kubo T, Yumiya Y, Lin RT, Furuya S, Brislane K, Klebe S, Nowak AK, Kang SK, Takahashi K. Must countries shoulder the burden of mesothelioma to ban asbestos? A global assessment. BMJ Glob Health. 2022 Dec;7(12):e010553. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2022-010553. PMID: 36543384. https://gh.bmj.com/content/7/12/e010553

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