More women have lung cancer, while fewer men suffer from the disease, says a government report.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare released a report indicating that the rate of lung cancer cases in women has increased to 72 percent, and decreased by almost a third for men in the years between 1982 and 2007.

The has been minimal improvements in the survival rate of both men and women, remarks the Sydney Morning Herald. Eleven percent of men are still alive after five years from being diagnosed with lung cancer, while the rate is 15 percent for women.

Experts responsible for the AIHW report believe that the rising lung cancer cases involving women reflect the "effective catch-up of the long term effects of smoking." Smoking is known as the leading cause of lung cancer.

Lung Cancer in Australia

The report says that tobacco smoking was the biggest single cause of lung cancer in Australia. Ninety percent of lung cancers in men and 65 percent in women were caused by tobacco smoking. It adds that compared to people who do not smoke, smokers have greater than a 10-fold increased risk of developing lung cancer.

"The different pattern of lung cancer incidence rates in males and females would have been affected by different histories of tobacco smoking," the report said. "The rate of male smoking began to decline in the middle of the 20th century, which resulted in a sharp decline in the lung cancer incidence rate for males from the 1980s onwards. The prevalence of smoking in females peaked much later than in males (around the mid-1970s), which may explain the continued increase in the lung cancer incidence rate for females."

In 2007, a total of 4,715 men and 2,911 women died from lung cancer. These figures make lung cancer the leading cause of cancer-related deaths for both men and women, continues the Sydney Morning Herald report.

When statistics per state are examined, the biggest number of lung cancer cases among men was from the Northern Territory of Australia. On the other hand, the highest number of lung cancer cases among women was recorded in Tasmania. For both men and women, the lowest number of cases was seen in the ACT.

The AIHW report, which was released on Friday, was the "first comprehensive summary of national statistics on lung cancer in Australia

Professor Ian Oliver, Chief Executive of the Cancer Council Australia states that the sharp rise of lung cancer cases among women calls for more extensive efforts to "de-glamourise" smoking.

"If you look at the number of cigarette brands targeting women today, you can see how much effort the tobacco companies put into making the pack a sleek, stylish fashion accessory," he said. "The rate of smoking among Australian teenagers aged 14 to 17 is higher for girls than boys, so it's important we remove the glamour that some young women associate with smoking."

"Federal parliament has an ideal opportunity to do that now by passing the plain packaging for tobacco bills."