Ten thousand smokers in Scotland are set to undergo testing for symptoms of lung cancer under a new institutive to fight the disease.The Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, Sir Harry Burns pointed out the disease is not usually diagnosed until the advanced stage when it is difficult to fight the disease.

The screening will include all those who have smoked at least 20 cigarettes a day for more than 20 years. A part of the participants will simply go though a simple blood test that detects the earliest stages of development of the disease.

About half of the 10, 000 subjects will be screened with the blood test that is capable of identifying cancer up to five years before other ways. On the other hand, the other half will not be screened. If the disease is detected earlier, it improves the chances of survival.

Sir Harry said: "The earlier a cancer is diagnosed the greater the chance it can be treated successfully, and currently 85% of patients with lung cancer remain undiagnosed until the disease has reached an advanced stage.

The screening programme will begin within this year and the first results will come out by 2014. The initiative is a part of Detect Cancer Early programme, which aims to increase the early detection of cancer by 25 per cent.

Scotland has the highest rate of lung cancer in the world.