French Oncologist: Alternative Smoking Reduces Mortalities but Still Harmful

An international expert in medical oncology said the concerned organizations should adopt a more realistic approach to banish smokers from cigarettes. AP
An international expert in medical oncology said the concerned organizations should adopt a more realistic approach to banish smokers from cigarettes. AP
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French Oncologist: Alternative Smoking Reduces Mortalities but Still Harmful

An international expert in medical oncology said the concerned organizations should adopt a more realistic approach to banish smokers from cigarettes. AP
An international expert in medical oncology said the concerned organizations should adopt a more realistic approach to banish smokers from cigarettes. AP

The World Health Organizations (WHO) estimates that there are around one billion smokers worldwide, a number that is not expected to decline in the foreseeable future and will likely remain steady until 2025.

An international expert in medical oncology said the concerned organizations should adopt a more realistic approach to banish smokers from cigarettes using an effective scientific methodology.

Dr. David Khayat, a renowned professor of oncology and medical oncologist in France, told Asharq Al-Awsat that “smoke-free alternatives could deliver a 10-fold reduction in smoking-attributable deaths; however, they are not harm free,” noting that “non-contagious diseases are the leading cause of death in the Middle East, accounting for 72 percent of mortalities.”

He also said “some common practices such as online shopping, regular dining in restaurants and humid weather encourage a lazy lifestyle.”

“The fundamental approach we adopted over the three past decades essentially relied on chemotherapy and hormone interventions. But the scientific research and innovation led us to advanced, more precise alternatives like the targeted therapy and immunotherapy,” he said. Khayat hailed “the discovery of another cancer-fighting treatment that targets the mutating proteins by killing the cells that contain them. These proteins are believed to be the reason behind the ability of endless division that some cancerous cells have.”

The French oncologist said “it’s important to know that cancer survives through mutations and single-cell DNA repair turnovers, which could be fought with targeted therapies,” adding that “other newly-discovered treatment methods, including stereotactic radiotherapy (or radiosurgery) help destroy tumors with high precision.”

The oncology professor said “in 2016, two researchers from Japan and the US discovered why cells sleep. Cancer is so malignant that it secretes somnifera - a sleeping pill - into the white blood cells, which causes them to go dormant. Then, scientists developed an innovative new approach: immunotherapy, a treatment method that contains antibiotic drugs to prevent lymphocytes from becoming inactive. This solution has changed the diagnosis of many cancers, including those found in the lungs, stomach and skin.”

“Nicotine, although addictive, is not the primary cause of smoking-related diseases such as cancer; smoking a cigarette means inhaling the smoke and the resulting burning ash, and this combustion process is the main reason behind many risks and toxins,” said Khayat.

Products that prevent combustion, such as electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products and oral nicotine pouches, are “a less harmful alternative to conventional smoking.”

“While nicotine, the addictive substance, is still present in different levels in these alternatives, and thus does not make them completely risk-free, it is sufficient to shift smokers' interest away from inhaling cigarette smoke,” he concluded.



SpaceX Starship Explodes During Routine Test

Flames rise as a SpaceX rocket explodes in Brownsville, Texas, US, June 18, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. TheRocketFuture via X/via REUTERS
Flames rise as a SpaceX rocket explodes in Brownsville, Texas, US, June 18, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. TheRocketFuture via X/via REUTERS
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SpaceX Starship Explodes During Routine Test

Flames rise as a SpaceX rocket explodes in Brownsville, Texas, US, June 18, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. TheRocketFuture via X/via REUTERS
Flames rise as a SpaceX rocket explodes in Brownsville, Texas, US, June 18, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. TheRocketFuture via X/via REUTERS

One of Elon Musk's SpaceX Starships exploded during a routine test late Wednesday in Texas, law enforcement said, in the latest setback to the billionaire's dream of turning humanity into an interplanetary species.

The Starship 36 suffered "catastrophic failure and exploded" at the Starbase launch facility shortly after 11:00 pm (0400 GMT Thursday), a Facebook post by the Cameron County authorities said, according to AFP.

A video shared with the post showed the megarocket attached to the launch arm, and then a flash and a towering, fiery explosion.

Musk's Space X said the rocket was preparing for the tenth flight test when it "experienced a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase," without elaborating on the nature of the complication.

"A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for," Space X added on social media.

"There are no hazards to residents in surrounding communities, and we ask that individuals do not attempt to approach the area while safing operations continue."

The Starship was not scheduled for launch on Wednesday evening when the explosion occurred during a "routine static fire test," according to the Cameron County authorities.

During a static fire, part of the procedures preceding a launch, the Starship's Super Heavy booster would be anchored to the ground to prevent it from lifting off during the test-firing.

Starbase on the south Texas coast, near the border with Mexico, is the headquarters for Musk's space project.

Standing 403 feet (123 meters) tall, Starship is the world's largest and most powerful rocket and central to Musk's long-term vision of colonizing Mars.

The Starship is billed as a fully reusable rocket with a payload capacity of up to 150 metric tons.

The latest setback follows an explosion of a prototype Starship over the Indian Ocean in late May.

The biggest and most powerful launch vehicle ever built had lifted off on May 27 from the Starbase facility, but the first-stage Super Heavy booster blew up instead of executing its planned splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.

The previous two outings also ended poorly, with the upper stage disintegrating over the Caribbean.

But the failures will likely do little to dent Musk's spacefaring ambitions.

SpaceX has been betting that its "fail fast, learn fast" ethos, which has helped it dominate commercial spaceflight, will eventually pay off.

The company has caught the Super Heavy booster in the launch tower's giant robotic arms three times -- a daring engineering feat it sees as key to rapid reusability and slashing costs.

NASA is also increasingly reliant on SpaceX, whose Dragon spacecraft is vital for ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in early May approved an increase in annual Starship rocket launches from five to 25, stating that the increased frequency would not adversely impact the environment.

The decision overruled objections from conservation groups who had warned the expansion could endanger sea turtles and shorebirds.