A review of media effects: implications for media coverage of air pollution and cancer

Air pollution is responsible for 7 million global deaths annually, including from non-communicable diseases such as cancer. Despite the fact that air pollution-related diseases and deaths are preventable, global action for clean air has been slow. Given the media’s vital role in social and policy change, this article reviewed the existing literature on how the media portrays air pollution and the implications this has on perceived links between air pollution and cancer. The paper concludes with recommendations on how media can play a more effective role as an interlocutor of complex scientific information, enabling an accurate understanding of air pollution and its impacts on health in general and cancer in particular.