Deprivation causes extra 33,000 UK cancer cases each year, analysis finds

Lung cancer is the leading cause of the extra cases linked to deprivation, largely because smoking is much more common in poorer areas. Photograph: Sean Dempsey/PA

Health inequalities are causing 33,000 avoidable cases of cancer in the UK every year, a damning analysis suggests.

Ministers have promised for years to tackle differences in health outcomes as part of their declared mission to level up the country. But their long-promised white paper on health inequalities has been ditched and the junk food advertising ban on TV and the web has been delayed until October 2025.