Radon and smoking: Protect your lungs

What is Radon?

Radon is a colourless, odourless, and tasteless radioactive gas.
Radon forms naturally when uranium in soil and rock breaks down. Outdoors, it mixes with the air and is harmless at low levels.
But when radon builds up indoors, like in homes or workplaces, it can negatively impact your lung health. Over time, exposure to high levels of radon causes lung cancer.

In Canada, radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in people who have never smoked, and the second leading cause among people who currently or previously smoked¹. Radon exposure causes an estimated 3,200 lung cancer deaths each year². Quitting smoking and testing your home for radon are effective ways to protect yourself and your family from lung cancer.

Radon and Smoking: Why the Combination is So Dangerous

Smoking #1 cause of lung cancer³; about 1 in 10 people who smoke will die from lung cancer⁴. Long-term exposure to radon makes this risk even higher.
Radon damages lung cells when inhaled. The higher the radon level and the longer your exposure, the greater your lung cancer risk. About 1 in 3 people who smoke and are exposed to high levels of radon will die from lung cancer.⁴
Combined, smoking and radon multiply your risk of lung cancer. Quitting smoking and testing your home for radon are two of the most important steps you can take to protect your health.

infographic about 4 in 10 people can suffer lung cancer if smoking and exposed to radon

What about vaping?

Research is still underway, but it’s not yet clear if vaping causes lung cancer. We do know that vaping can harm lung health in the short to medium term by causing coughing and shortness of breath. If you vape and live in a home with radon, quitting vaping could help protect your lungs from future damage.

Protect Your Lungs: Quit Smoking and Test for Radon

Two of the most important steps you can take to protect your lung health are:

Quit smoking - Even if you still have radon exposure, quitting smoking can dramatically lower your lung cancer risk. Your lung function starts to improve within months, and after 10 years smoke-free, your lung cancer risk is cut in half! Read more about the benefits of quitting smoking here.
Test your home for radon - Testing is the only way to know if your home has dangerous radon levels.

Testing your home for radon is a crucial step to protect yourself and your family from lung cancer. Radon testing is the only way to know if your home has high radon levels. Once you know if there is radon in your home, you can take steps to reduce it. We will explain more about testing and reducing radon levels below.

The most effective method to quit smoking is a mix of:

Behavioural support - For example, talking with a Quit Coach. You can chat with our coaches and via live chat in over 100 languages. You can also visit quitnow.ca/join to make your own Quit Plan and explore our range of support services.
Quit aids - like nicotine patches, gum, lozenges, or prescription medication. BC residents have access to free supports. Visit our page to learn how to access quit aids through the BC Smoking Cessation Program.

1. Order a radon test kit

You can get a radon test kit to measure the amount of radon in your home. You can purchase a radon test kit online. These kits are easy to use on your own. You can also borrow a test kit from a participating local library for free through the Radon Detector Library Lending Program.

The test kit contains a small radon detector that measures the radon level in your home over time. There are long-term and short-term radon test kits. Health Canada recommend long-term testing, where the detector stays in your home for 6-12 months. Since radon levels can vary day to day, long-term testing is more accurate.

2. Set up the radon detector

Radon test kits come with a radon detector. You can decide where to put your radon detector. You should put the detector in a room where you or your family spends a lot of time, ideally at least 4 hours every day. You should put the detector on a lower level of your home. For example, if your family spends a lot of time in the basement, you would put your radon detector in the basement. But if your family does not use the basement often, place the detector on the main floor of your house, in the room where you and your family spend the most time (like the kitchen or TV room).

Each radon test kit will include specific instructions. Please follow the instructions on your kit.

3. Send the detector for analysis

Leave the radon detector in place for 6-12 months. Your kit will tell you exactly how long to leave the detector in place. Afterward, you will mail your detector to a lab. The lab will analyze the data from the detector. It will calculate the average radon concentration in your home over the test period. The lab will send you your result, and you can compare it to Health Canada’s guideline, which recommends that indoor radon levels be less than 200 Bq/m3 (Becquerels per cubic meter, the unit used to measure radon).

4. Take remediation steps, if necessary

If the radon level in your house is close to or over 200 Bq/m3, you should look into remediation. Remediation is the process of reducing the amount of radon in your home. Remediation could include:

Sealing cracks and openings in basement floors and walls, and around pipes and drains, to prevent more radon from entering your home
Improving ventilation (air flow) in your basement and lower levels of your house by opening windows or using ceiling fans
Ventilating the basement sub-flooring by installing a small air pump to draw the radon from below your house and vent it outside before it enters the building

Certified radon mitigation professionals are available to provide advice and remediation services. To find a radon professional in your area, visit the Canadian National Radon Proficiency Program (C-NRPP) at https://c-nrpp.ca or the Canadian Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists at www.carst.ca.

5. Re-test following remediation

After you have completed the remediation process, order another radon detector and do another long-term test. This test will confirm that the remediation efforts worked to reduce the radon in your home.

Limiting your exposure to radon and to cigarette smoke are two of the most important steps you can take to protect your lungs. Take action today to protect yourself and your family from lung cancer!

Common Questions About Radon

Yes, radon naturally exists throughout British Columbia. Some regions have higher concentrations of radon than others, depending on the rocks and soil in each area. The Interior and Northern regions of BC have the highest radon levels in the province.

The BC Radon Map is an interactive mapping tool that helps you learn about radon levels in your community.

The only way to know if there is radon in your house is to use a radon test kit.

Living in an area with high radon levels does not automatically mean there is radon in your house. In contrast, there could still be radon in your home if you live somewhere without a lot of radon. This is because radon levels vary based on the rocks and soil in your neighbourhood, how your house was built, and how much airflow there is in your house.

Radon is a gas that “lives” in the soil underneath and around buildings. Radon can get into your home through small gaps or spaces, such as cracks in your house’s foundation, gaps around service pipes that go outside, or through the edges of your windows. Radon levels are usually highest in the bottom level of the house, such as the basement, because it is closest to the soil and does not have good ventilation (airflow).