Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month;

(2) acknowledges that more than 9,100 Australians are diagnosed with lung cancer every year;

(3) recognises that lung cancer claims the lives of more Australians than any other cancer with only 14 out of 100 Australians surviving five years beyond their initial diagnosis; and

(4) calls on Australian and state and territory governments to work together to improve the survival rates of Australians diagnosed with lung cancer by encouraging early detection and providing access to high quality health care treatment and support.

It is very important in Lung Cancer Awareness Month that we take time to raise awareness of this very difficult and devastating disease. It is important to note that lung cancer can hit anyone. It is a cancer that affects both smokers and non-smokers. While obviously reducing smoking can be a good preventative measure, it is important that we do not stigmatise people with lung cancer and place those with any other form of cancer above them. Research shows that diagnoses of lung cancer can be compounded by feelings of guilt, shame, distress and isolation, which can cause delay in people seeking the treatment that they need. If there is any message that comes out of Lung Cancer Awareness Month, it should be that if you believe that you are having symptoms please go and get help, because early diagnoses could very much be the difference between getting a treatment that ensures that you can continue to live and not being able to survive this devastating disease.

We should acknowledge the great support services and information that is available. It is important that those who are diagnosed get the support and information that they need. The Cancer Australia website has a lot of practical information about the disease and organisations such as the Lung Foundation Australia also have a lot of information, as well as a patient support line to help those through this difficult time of diagnosis.

Only 14 out of every 100 people who are diagnosed with lung cancer survive beyond five years. It claims more lives in Australia than any other cancer. It is also the fifth most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia, accounting for 8.9 per cent of all new cancers. This is a disease that is having a devastating effect on those who are diagnosed with it and do not make it through but also on all the families—the children, spouses and parents who are also affected by this disease.

Early diagnosis is important. As I have already mentioned, it is important to seek help. Some of the key symptoms can include a new cough that persists for longer than three weeks, a changed cough, coughing up blood or a chest infection that will not go away. For anyone who is experiencing thee symptoms, it is important not to delay getting help from a doctor. You should go and visit your GP. There are many new and improving treatments for lung cancer entering the market. These will, I very much hope, continue to improve outcomes. It is important that we continue to work on and develop new treatments so that that statistic of a survival rate of 14 in every 100 can become much higher.

I was very proud of the previous Labor government's investment in cancer care and patient support. Indeed, there was a record investment—close to $4.1 billion for cancer detection, treatment and research—between 2007 and 2013. My motion today calls on the Commonwealth, state and territory governments to work together to really improve these survival rates—and I do hope that the new government will not take its foot of the pedal when it comes to investing in cancer prevention, treatment and early diagnosis. Of course, one of the very important steps that were taken by the previous government was the plain-packaging legislation for cigarettes. I was very proud to vote for that legislation, and what we are seeing while it is still in its infancy is that reports are showing that plain packaging has lowered the appeal of smoking and increased the urgency of quitting among existing smokers. As I said earlier, not only smokers get lung cancer. We need to reduce the stigma around this, but prevention is a critical part, and reducing the number of people who take up smoking and also helping people to quit is a really important step. I am pleased that the coalition finally came to the party o plain packaging of cigarettes and hope that this will continue. So I commend the motion to the House and hope that all members do support it.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion, and I commend at the outset the member for Kingston for this motion and commend her for her advocacy of Lung Cancer Awareness Month and everything she is doing in her electorate and in wider regions to combat the ills of smoking. This is above politics. The member for Kingston acknowledged the work the previous government had done in this space, and certainly I know that the new Minister for Health, Peter Dutton, is also working very hard and committing a lot of funds. There will never be enough funds to fight the ills of smoking and to fight the perils of lung cancer. But I know that the Liberal-Nationals government is committed to ensuring that we do everything we can with the support of the opposition to fight smoking and to fight lung cancer.

The motion of the member for Kingston acknowledges that more than 9,100 Australians are diagnosed with lung cancer every year. That is a troubling statistic and one that we want very much lowered, if it cannot in fact be completely eliminated. The motion recognises that lung cancer claims the lives of more Australians than any other cancer, with only 14 out of 100 Australians surviving five years beyond their initial diagnosis. My father Lance was one of those who died from lung cancer, on 1 September 2008. Dad succumbed: he fought the good fight, but in the end it was too much. I know that Dad, in his dying days, stressed to my children—Georgina, Alexander and Nicholas—not to ever take up smoking, and thankfully they have not. And I know they will not, having seen their favourite 'Pop Lance' unfortunately succumb to lung cancer. My father-in-law, Bernard Shaw, also died from cancer, and he too smoked. Unfortunately, he found out all too late that he just should not have done it.

I must say that in my local area the Relay for Life has proven to be a wonderful fundraiser to fight cancer. In the Wagga Relay for Life on 12 and 13 October this year, remarkable generosity was shown by many, many participants and their supporters. They raised nearly $¼ million to fight cancer. Bill Wood and his hardworking committee made such a great effort to promote this tremendous event. More than 120 teams and 2,000 walkers took part. Duncan and Narelle Potts were very much in the thick of things, with Duncan, in his capacity on the radio, getting the word out there. And Dave Webster and his Australian Army cadets did such a terrific job promoting too, and working on the day. The Relay for Life at Griffith, on 23 and 24 March this year, was a truly inspirational event. More than $130,000 was raised to help in the fight to find a cure for cancer. They are doing their bit, these Relays for Life. I cannot recommend them enough. It is hard work walking around and around an oval, but every step is one closer to finding cures, because of the money that goes to research to fight cancers, and certainly lung cancer.

I know Annabel Macdonald, who works very hard locally in my Wagga Wagga area in the space of raising awareness about cancer, is fighting the good fight, along with many other people right throughout the Riverina. She was very pleased that I was going to speak on this motion. As she said, lung cancer, as it is elsewhere in Australia, is the most common cause of cancer death in New South Wales. The symptoms of lung cancer are detected when the cancer is advanced, sadly, and are often confused with other conditions or the side effects of smoking. If you are a smoker and you have symptoms, including a new dry cough or a change in a chronic cough, chest pain, breathlessness, repeated bouts of pneumonia or bronchitis, or coughing or spitting up blood, you need to consult your doctor or health professional. It is so important, as earlier detection is so vital in advancing the medical treatment you can receive and advancing the years you might have left.

Continued investment in community education, cancer research, improved treatments and early detection means that two out of every three people diagnosed now survive cancer, for all cancers combined. And that is very encouraging. As I said, this is above politics. We need to do all that we can as a government, as an opposition, as parliamentarians in this place and as Australians to raise awareness of lung cancer and to find money for research to fight cancers.

Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Kingston for putting forward this motion on Lung Cancer Awareness Month and am pleased today to speak in support of it. Lung cancer caused the death of 209 people in the period 2006 to 2010 in the Ipswich and Somerset regions in my electorate of Blair. Between 2007 and 2009 the West Moreton Hospital and Health Service, which covers most of the electorate of Blair, reported an annual average incidence of 101 patients presenting with lung cancer. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, lung cancer was the underlying cause of death for 1,560 people living in my home state of Queensland in 2011. This year an estimated 2,485 new cases of invasive lung cancer were diagnosed in Queensland, and close to 2,000 of those will not survive. There has been a 20 per cent increase in death from lung cancer since 2009. This year, despite the fact that Queensland tragically and often colloquially is called the 'skin cancer capital of the world', more people in Queensland will die from lung cancer than from any other cancer.

More men die of lung cancer than women. In fact, the incidence among men is 56 per cent higher than among women and male death rates are double those of women. A significant cause and risk factor for lung cancer is age, but clearly Indigeneity is an issue as well. Until recently, about 47 per cent of Indigenous adults smoked. Recent reports indicate a 10 per cent reduction in smoking rates amongst Indigenous adults, and that is a very good thing. Still, we see about 15,000 people across the country die each year from smoking related diseases in Australia. According to Paul Jelfs, division head for Social, Health and Labour at the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there has been a significant decline in smoking in urban areas, but it remains stubbornly high in remote areas and there is still a very high smoking rate for Indigenous people compared with the non-Indigenous population, so we have a very big health challenge ahead of us. On a more encouraging note, he went on to say that young Indigenous people are quitting, or not taking up smoking, in large numbers. Amongst 15- to 24-year-olds, 54 per cent of Indigenous young people have never smoked and 10 per cent are ex-smokers. That is a very good outcome and an encouraging statistic.

In May 2013 the former federal Labor government established the Rural Health Outreach Fund and the Medical Outreach—Indigenous Chronic Disease Program as part of its $179 million investment in health services for Australians living in rural and remote areas. Nevertheless, we know that the figures are still stark and concerning in terms of lung cancer. But the former Labor government had the runs on the board when it came to acting on its commitment. In August 2012 the former federal Labor government was vindicated when it won a historic High Court victory over tobacco giants who had taken their case to the High Court of Australia, challenging our world-first plain-packaging laws for all cigarettes and tobacco sold in Australia.

When an estimated 90 per cent of lung cancer in males and 65 per cent of lung cancer in females is a direct result of tobacco smoking, acting against tobacco companies is morally and ethically the right thing to do. In addition to the plain packaging laws that came into effect, there are many other things that we did, including listing nicotine patches on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme to reduce the price of them. We also produced a round of anti-smoking ads and the like.

Locally, I want to congratulate Ipswich City Council for its stance against smoking and banning smoking in the pedestrian malls such as the Nicholas Street Mall and d'Arcy Doyle Place in the Ipswich CBD. In 2009, the then Labor government introduced the Australian National Preventive Health Agency Bill, and a report relevant to the bill and to the member for Kingston's motion today was prepared by the National Preventative Health Taskforce and entitled Australia: the healthiest country by 2020national preventative health strategythe roadmap for action. Recently retired Professor Robert Bush from the Ipswich campus of the University of Queensland was a participant in that report and did some terrific work along with his colleague Professor Helen Chenery, including the work they did on the Ipswich study.

I would like to commend and congratulate William Darbishire for his excellent work as the CEO of the Lung Foundation and make special mention of the Lung Foundation's very successful awareness campaign, Show Us Your Lungs, which they also brought to Parliament House. I have a great T-shirt, which I wear running around the streets of Ipswich, which I managed to pilfer from that particular event. So I want to congratulate William for that. We also made a great commitment. When we were in government after 2007, we put $3.5 billion—$226 million in last year's budget—towards improving the prevention, detection and treatment of cancer. As the then Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, I am proud to be part of that decision. I thank the member for Kingston for her motion and fully support it. (Time expired)

Ewen Jones (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I too rise to support the member for Kingston's motion on Lung Cancer Awareness Month and I do so with the admission that I am an addict. I no longer use, but I still recognise myself as a smoking addict. Nicotine is the greatest drug in the world for those people who like it. I was a reasonably heavy smoker and I took after my father with that. My father was one of those people who could smoke a hundred cigarettes in a day. They say that when you roll over in your sleep at night there is a moment where you wake up. My dad would roll over, get up, smoke two or three cigarettes and go back to bed.

I only smoked between 40 and 50 cigarettes a day, and the reason I gave up was that my then wife and I were going to have a family. She said that if I wanted to keep on smoking I would have to go outside. So it was not the packaging; it was not the messages on the bottom. It was the pure laziness of having to go outside for a smoke that made me give up. Those people who do smoke make fun of absolutely everything. In my day, at the bottom of your packet of cigarettes there were messages that smoking causes lung cancer and heart disease. I tried to make sure that I bought packets of cigarettes that said that smoking damages your fitness or that smoking is harmful if you are pregnant, because those things did not hurt me. When you are a smoker, you will rationalise absolutely everything for it, but it is broader than that.

I recognise the words of the member for Blair that kids today are so much better off than we are. My son is 11 years old. We sit at our dinner table. My daughters, as far as I am aware, have never smoked. My son is 11 years old and has his heart set on playing half-back for the Cowboys. We were talking about smoking and he asked me if I smoked. I said, 'Yes, I smoked.' He said, 'So let me get this right, dad: you knew it was bad for you?' 'Yes.' 'You knew it could give you cancer?' 'Yes.' 'You knew it could give you heart disease?' 'Yes.' 'You knew about all of those things that come off it—blindness and all those things?' 'Yes.' 'And yet you still did it?' 'Yes.' 'Let me go through that again, dad.' He cannot for the life of him figure out why I smoked. Being cool and being a little bit rebellious when you are in primary school or early high school is not enough.

I note the words of the member for Blair and the words of the parliamentary secretary earlier in relation to men's health. I think it is something that we go do through and that we do have to recognise. I have spoken at and been to prostate awareness things where men do not look after themselves. Women are so much better at discussing matters amongst themselves, going to the doctor and getting things tested, because it is part of their lives. For men, be it diabetes, depression, lung cancer or prostate, it does not matter how much sense it makes, there is reluctance to go and get themselves checked, to sit there and have that conversation and that relationship with the doctor. Men will go to the doctor when they are near death. Men will go to the doctor when they are very, very ill and need drugs. We do not go to the doctor to get ourselves checked, and we do not go to the doctor and get our blood pressure checked often enough. We do not go and get our vital signs checked up.

As previous members have mentioned, men were 56 per cent more likely to die of lung cancer than women because we do not keep our relationships with our GPs current. Lung Cancer Awareness Month must push that men develop that relationship with their GP. For mine, I think the message is that we can get out there. I was a smoker because it appealed to me. I got hooked and I loved it and I still do. That is the wonderful thing about cigarettes—you can rationalise anything you want! You can be standing outside a building in 45-degree heat, sucking on a burning stick, sweating profusely whilst everyone is inside drinking cold beer, eating prawns and you are thinking you are the lucky one. That is what smoking can do for you. When you are a smoker, an addict, you may not be able to make your car payment, you may not be able to make your rate payment or your insurance payment, but you can scrounge enough 5c pieces to get a packet of cigarettes. That is the nature of addiction. That is what we have to attack. That is what we have to fix up. I am sure I am joined by you, Deputy Speaker Broadbent, and the member for Wright in cursing this insidious disease.

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to thank the shadow parliamentary secretary for health for introducing this important motion and for her work not just on Lung Cancer Awareness Month but also in the area of lung health generally. As noted, lung cancer claims the lives of more Australians than any other cancer. In 2010 lung cancer was the leading cause of cancer death for men and women. Some 18 per cent of all cancer deaths in 2010 were due to lung cancer. We know that lung cancer claims the lives of more Australians than any other cancer, with only 14 out of 100 Australians surviving five years beyond their initial diagnosis.

According to the Lung Foundation Australia, more than 9,100 Australians are diagnosed with lung cancer each year. In 2007 there were 7,626 deaths caused by lung cancer. If you are male, the risk of been diagnosed with lung cancer in Australia is higher. 2009 saw 10,200 newly diagnosed cases of both small-cell and non-small cell lung cancers in Australia. They are fairly confronting statistics and it is certainly why Lung Cancer Awareness Month is a month of promotion about the importance of lung health and lung care. We know that cancer is still placing an intolerable burden on our community. We have all been touched by this disease somehow. We have a family member, a friend or someone in our own lives who has been burdened with cancer. But I believe that, if governments at all levels work together, we can improve the survival rate of Australians diagnosed with lung cancer.

Early detection absolutely is the key and I am extremely proud of the work that the previous government did in this area in encouraging early detection and ensuring access to high-quality health care treatment and support. We worked tirelessly to ensure access to early detection, treatment and quality care. In the budget, the Labor government announced some $5.9 million of funding to continue to improve outcomes for people with lung cancer, with Cancer Australia working to deliver best practice cancer care, research and national reporting of lung cancer data. The investment was part of the world-leading cancer care package and the new investment was on top of some $3.5 billion that went into combating cancer since 2007, including $1.5 billion in new cancer medicines. In 2009 alone we announced $6.8 million to improve lung cancer care through identifying research in clinical priorities, providing more consistent data and targeting health professionals to deliver best practice, and we made headway in talking about lung cancer suffering in Torres Strait Islanders and Indigenous Australians.

As we know, tobacco smoking is one of the biggest factors in lung cancer. It is a testament to the previous government that we took on the tobacco industry to reduce the promotion of harmful smoking, removing the last form of advertising for smoking. I want to pay tribute to the previous Minister for Health and Ageing and Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon, as well as previous health minister Tanya Plibersek for their work in this area of tackling smoking, particularly their efforts in plain packaging reform. It was a tough fight but one that was well worth having and one on which I would be exceptionally disappointed to see any backward steps taken.

Through education and investment in critical medical research we can ensure that lung health is a priority across Australia. We remain committed to improving the cancer services provided across Australia. Lung Cancer Awareness Month is a month of promotion and awareness raising and one in which we should redouble our efforts in looking at significant ways to prevent and reduce the rate of lung cancer in Australia. Lung cancer does, of course, have many causes, but tobacco smoking is certainly the largest cause. I know many people struggle. We heard from the member for Herbert on his own personal journey and struggle with smoking, and I want to commend him. I have a pretty strong policy in my office of nagging every single one of my staff who do smoke. As an ex-smoker from a very long time ago now, I feel it is important that not only do I nag them but also they are provided with supportive opportunities to quit and that it is an environment in which we do not see smoking as something that is common within the workplace. I have so far been successful in managing to get four of my staff to take that very difficult challenge of giving up smoking. I acknowledge that it is an incredibly difficult addiction to break; but, when you see young children develop lung cancer and the survival rates are so small, it is incredibly important that during lung awareness week we talk about the opportunities and support for people, whether it be through the Quit Foundation or MBS items on the PBS, to quit smoking so that we improve lung health and the survival rates of people with lung cancer in this country. (Time expired)

Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion by the member for Kingston that we note that November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. There are three other parts to the motion that I also support. It is important that we as parliamentarians on both sides of the House do all we can to help prevent deaths by raising the awareness of the importance of early detection. The Cancer Australia website states:

The symptoms of lung cancer can often be vague and mimic those of other conditions, so it's important to know what your cough is telling you.

For the benefit of my constituents and other people who may read this speech, I will quote from some of the statistics and advice from the website with regard to coughs:

Unexplained, persistent symptoms lasting more than three weeks can include:

These symptoms may be due to other conditions however, if any of these symptoms are experienced, it is important that they are discussed with a GP or healthcare worker without delay.

In 2009 lung cancer was the fifth most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia after prostate, bowel, breast and melanoma of the skin, accounting for 8.9 per cent of all new cancers in Australia. For men and women separately, lung cancer is the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer for men after prostate, bowel and melanoma of the skin; and for women after breast, bowel and melanoma of the skin. In 2009 there were 10,193 new cases of lung cancer diagnosed: 6,034 in men and 4,159 in women. In 2020 an estimated 13,640 people are expected to be diagnosed with lung cancer in Australia. In 2009 the average age of the first diagnosis of lung cancer was 71 years for men and 69.9 years for women.

The risk of developing lung cancer increases with age. In 2009, 85 per cent of new lung cancers in men and 81 per cent in women were diagnosed in people aged 60 years or older. In 2009, the age standardised incidence rate was 43.2 cases per 100,000 people. This was higher for men than for women: 55.7 cases in 100,000 for men compared with 33.1 cases per 100,000 for women. The incidence of men diagnosed with lung cancer in Australia decreased from 85.2 cases per 100,000 in 1982. The incidence of women diagnosed with lung cancer in Australia increased from 18.2 per 100,000 in 1982. In 2012 lung cancer is expected to be the leading cause of burden of disease due to cancer among men and the second highest burden of disease due to cancer among women.

All these statistics are indicators of how important early detection is. Symptoms of lung cancer in nonsmokers may be different from lung cancer in people who smoke. Sometimes the symptoms may be more subtle, such as shortness of breath with activity, or hard to define, such as fatigue. As a quick aside, talking about lung cancer in nonsmokers is more important than ever. Currently, 20 per cent of women who develop lung cancer in the United States are lifelong nonsmokers. In addition, the majority of people, both men and women, who develop lung cancer at this time are former, not current, smokers. So it is important that even former smokers who think they may be in the clear make sure to have regular check-ups.

Last Friday I represented the Prime Minister at the Asbestos Disease Society's ecumenical memorial service at the Redemptorist Monastery in Vincent Street, North Perth. The service was in remembrance of families, friends, work colleagues and those unknown who have died from asbestos caused diseases and gave us an opportunity to collectively express our compassion and support for many grieving families. This year was the 18th year since the inaugural ecumenical memorial service in 1996, and in this period alone 3,369 of their members and friends have died from asbestos caused diseases. That includes 296 this year. The current epidemic of asbestos caused diseases and lung cancer is alarmingly on the rise in Australia. On behalf of the PM, I lit a candle in memory of loved ones and friends. I also lit a candle in memory of Lauren Mariolis, who died of brain cancer at the age of 10, and my sister Margaret Dix, who fell to her death in 2004. I also wish all the best to Barry Knowles, who sat next to me at the ceremony. God bless him as well. I commend this motion to the House.

Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I take great pleasure in rising to speak on this motion and congratulate the member for Kingston on bringing it to the House. November was Lung Cancer Awareness Month, and earlier this year the Lung Foundation Australia came to this parliament and gave a presentation to all members. That really reinforced the fact that we should be thinking about lung cancer and lung disease, and this motion reminds us of just how common it is. In 2011 lung cancer was the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia after prostate cancer, bowel cancer and melanoma. In 2009 there were 10,193 new cases of lung cancer, and in 2020 it is estimated that there will be nearly 14,000 people expected to be diagnosed with it.

What these facts establish is that lung cancer is a very significant cause of illness in Australia. It is a disease that really needs to be addressed. There are a number of risk factors associated with lung cancer. Obviously the most commonly known risk factor is smoking. By quitting smoking, after five years a person can have halved their chance of getting lung cancer. It is also important to note that making changes to your lifestyle—diet, exercise, reducing alcohol—also helps address issues associated with the risk factors of lung cancer.

Lung cancer is not only caused by smoking. There can also be a number of other environmental issues that contribute to lung cancer: passive smoking, radiant exposure, occupational exposure and air pollution. A family history of lung cancer also contributes to lung cancer. Previous lung disease such as lung fibrosis, chronic bronchitis, emphysema and pulmonary tuberculosis also increases a person's risk of developing lung cancer. So it is not an open-and-shut case.

On 2011 figures, only 14 per cent of sufferers from this cancer live past the first five-year period. So Cancer Australia has been working with affected families, as has the Lung Foundation, in raising awareness. GPs and other professionals have also helped with the diagnosis, treatment and care of lung cancer patients. As the member for Kingston mentioned, it is really important to get an early diagnosis and it is also very important not to stigmatise those people that are living with lung cancer or have been diagnosed with lung cancer.

The rate of teenage smoking in New South Wales has dropped significantly. In 1984 about 27 per cent of teenagers smoked in New South Wales, and in 2008 that had dropped as low as 8.6 per cent. The proportion of teenagers in New South Wales who have never smoked increased from 32 per cent to 75 per cent in 2008, and the best way to reduce the rate of smoking is never to smoke. Increases in the cost of cigarettes, advertising bans, public funding campaigns and, of course, the plain packaging legislation that passed through the last parliament have all been very important measures to reduce lung cancer. Governments not accepting political donations from cigarette companies is another important message. I would like to invite members to join the Lung Foundation parliamentary friends group, which will be established over the next couple of weeks, because this is a very important message that goes out into our communities, saying that we as parliamentarians are supportive of good lung health.

Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

November was Lung Cancer Awareness Month, an important month considering the number of Australians who are diagnosed with lung cancer every year. This aggressive cancer claims the lives of more Australians than any other cancer, with only 14 out of 100 Australians surviving beyond five years of their initial diagnosis.

One of the challenges we have is the way in which we develop an awareness for people to look at the symptoms that ultimately impact on them when they are diagnosed with an advanced form of lung cancer. I recollect that my younger brother, who died of an aggressive lung cancer, was coughing up blood and thought it was something that was not unusual, which delayed the diagnosis. By the time he received the diagnosis it was too late; it had spread significantly. He lasted two months after the diagnosis. So lung cancer has always been in the forefront of my thinking, because I have seen so many people over the years affected by the fact that their lung cancer is not only caused by smoking. I have lost two friends who had been doing wood-turning. The dust that people generate in wood-turning is significant, and if they do it regularly without wearing a mask then that is another contributing factor.

It is critical that state and federal governments work together to ensure the best possible prevention and treatment for lung cancer. It is important because I think that sometimes the awareness level is not there and people do not look for the signs and symptoms. When they become aware of them, in hindsight they say, 'Yes, I did have that,' and by then it becomes problematic. But we are getting more and more people surviving lung cancer because of the quality of the treatment that is provided because of the work that is done by researchers.

When we think about it, lung cancer was uncommon before the advent of cigarette smoking. It was not even recognised as a distinct disease until 1761, and different aspects of lung cancer were described further in 1810. Malignant lung tumours made up only one per cent of all cancers seen at autopsy in 1878 but had risen to 10 to 15 per cent by the early 1900s.

Case reports in medical literature numbered only 374 worldwide in 1912. But a review of autopsies showed the incidence of lung cancer had increased from 0.3 per cent in 1852 to 5.66 per cent in 1952, and over the subsequent years we have seen a significant increase in that number. In Germany in 1929, physician Fritz Lickint recognized the link between smoking and lung cancer, which led to an aggressive anti-smoking campaign. The British Doctors Study, published in the 1950s, was the first solid epidemiological evidence of the link between lung cancer and smoking, and I remember that in 1964 the Surgeon General of the United States recommended smokers should stop smoking.

Having worked in a number of roles in the communities in which I have lived and worked, I know the awareness has been much more significant. The work of the cancer foundation and many leading clinicians and those who undertake health promotion campaigns have certainly made us much more cognisant of the importance of early diagnosis, recognising the signs and symptoms. But one group that we do have to focus on is men. I often find that being typical guys we tend not to take seriously the first symptoms that we have: the shortness of breath, the pain of the coughing that comes with it. We tend to ignore it all until it is too late. What I do find, from evidence and certainly from having worked in the health arena, is that women are much more likely to go and have the matter dealt with. I commend the member for Shortland, who is establishing a parliamentary friends of lungs group, because lungs are among the significant organs that are often overlooked in the way in which we deal with health and disease prevention issues and I certainly hope the work undertaken by the group will create a broader and greater awareness amongst our parliamentary colleagues who, in turn, will become advocates in the way in which they engage in discussions within their own electorates.

It is through the educative process that we make others aware, and I would certainly emphasise the need to talk to the fellows in all of this because we have still not learnt that we are not immortal and that we are mortal and that lung cancer is a significant risk factor for those who expose themselves to the range of risks that exist within the environment and within their behaviours.

Melissa Parke (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am glad of the opportunity to speak in recognition of the importance of Lung Cancer Awareness Month, and I thank the member for Kingston for bringing this motion. Lung cancer is a terrible disease. It is the main cause of cancer death in Australia, and it is a form of cancer with a comparatively poor survival rate. Only 13 in 100 survive five years beyond the initial diagnosis. Thankfully, over the last 25 years the application of public health policy has seen a significant reduction in the incidence of lung cancer. There is no doubt that one of the most significant public health achievements in this country over the last quarter of a century has been tobacco control, which has made a clear difference when it comes to rates of lung cancer.

Cancer Australia's 2011 report to the nation notes that 90 per cent of lung cancer in males and 65 per cent of lung cancer in females is estimated to be as a result of smoking. Of course there are significant other factors involved in causing lung cancer but tobacco is far and away the worst. That is why tobacco control has been so important and effective—because, by dramatically reducing the rate of smoking, we greatly lessen the impact of carcinogens in tobacco on smokers and on those exposed to passive smoking, and the incidence of lung cancer has decreased accordingly.

This has not been easy and it is important to recognise that the hard work of shifting Australia from being a country with a relatively high level of smoking and of smoking related disease and death to the situation today required policy and political courage. Between 1991 and 2010 the proportion of daily smokers aged 14 years and over decreased by almost 40 per cent and smoking rates in Australia are now among the lowest in the world, just as life expectancy in Australia is now among the highest in the world. There is no question that the Labor Party has led this effort or that the Labor government took that work further with our world-leading introduction of plain packaging accompanied by a $27.8 million advertising campaign. I was very pleased to make a contribution to the debate in support of Labor's Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Amendment Bill during the life of the previous parliament. It was legislation that made key improvements to the way in which tobacco promotion through the internet and new technologies was controlled.

There are those who continue to claim that this long hard battle was and is unnecessary—indeed, that it was an improper cause pursued by those with a kind of nanny-state mentality. As I said before, that view stands awkwardly alongside the clear statement of the National Tobacco Strategy 2004-09 which said:

Tobacco is a unique consumer item. Tobacco products cause premature death and disability when used as intended by the manufacturer; and they are addictive. No company trying to introduce cigarettes into Australia today would succeed in getting them onto the market.

I note that the UK government is about to follow in our plain-packaging footsteps and yet a member of the government has expressed the view that smoking and the sale of tobacco should really be left as a matter of individual freedom and individual responsibility. To hold that kind of view you would have to ignore altogether the vast inequitable disparity that exists, on the one hand between a multibillion-dollar corporation with all the advertising resources and techniques at its disposal in its effort to push an addictive product on young people, and on the other hand a teenage boy or girl who, if they succumb to that manipulation, will likely have their life significantly shortened.

The history of tobacco is a reminder that corporate interests are quite capable of putting profits before people's health, and not just inadvertently. It is a reminder that one of the critical functions of government is to act as a balance against the potential for large companies and organisations to put their interests improperly ahead of the interests of individuals and society as a whole. I am glad that the Prime Minister has recently acknowledged that it is wrong to accept donations from tobacco companies, just as Labor did a decade earlier, and it is a welcome development that this approach is now bipartisan. We must have a committed national effort to reducing smoking rates further and to improving the way we diagnose and treat lung cancer.

There are thousands of Australians living with lung cancer, and our thoughts are with all those fighting against this painful, frightening life-threatening illness, and with their families. Lung Cancer Awareness Month is an opportunity to recognise the toll that this disease takes on individuals, families and communities and an opportunity to acknowledge the expertise, research, health care and emotional support provided by health professionals working to combat lung cancer and assist those suffering from it. More than anything, it is an opportunity to remember that lung cancer continues to be a significant cause of death and continues to be a form of cancer that has a comparatively poor survival rate, and for that reason it is a significant issue of public policy. I would like to thank and pay tribute to Lung Foundation Australia for its important work in this area.

Russell Broadbent (McMillan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will made an order of the day for the next sitting.