Perception of people regarding cancer risk factors worldwide 2019

As of November 2019, around 63 percent of people aged 16 years and older worldwide believed that tobacco use increases a person's risk of getting cancer. This statistic illustrates the percentage of people worldwide who thought the following increase a person's risk of getting cancer as of 2019.

Percentage of people worldwide who thought the following increase a person's risk of getting cancer as of 2019

Characteristic	Percentage of respondants
Tobacco use	63%
Exposing your skin to harmful UV rays	54%
Exposure to tobacco smoke from others	50%
Eating an unhealthy, unbalanced diet	43%
Exposure to air pollution	41%
Drinking alcohol	35%
Eating red or processed meats	31%
Drinking sugar sweetened drinks	30%
Being overweight	29%
Infection with certain viruses or bacteria	28%
Lack of exercise	28%
Don’t know	6%
Other	5%
Prefer not to say	4%
I don’t think anything increases risk	3%

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Release date

January 2020

More information

Region

Worldwide

Survey time period

October 25 to November 25, 2019

Number of respondents

15,427 respondents

Age group

16 years and older

Method of interview

Online survey

Supplementary notes

Respondents were from 20 countries around the world: Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United States.
Original Question: Which, if any, of the following do you personally think increases a person’s risk of getting cancer? Please select all that apply.

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