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Hospital, for making the x-rays and equipment available to me.
Although it is extremely difficult to assess the success of a health
education campaign such as this, the specially prepared anti-smoking booklet
appears to have stimulated a great deal of interest and was obviously read
by a large section of the community,, Numerous congratulatory letters were
received from Chelsea residents many of which were from parents asking for
further copies of the booklet to give to their teenage children. The
number of critical letters received was surprisingly small and in practically
every case they came from residents who were aggrieved by the recent increase
in the Borough rate, In this respect it was unfortunate that the campaign
coincided with the despatch of the new rate demands.
Apart from the local interest created by the distribution of the
anti-smoking booklet it is most gratifying to record that in response to an
excellent write-up in "The Lancet", congratulatory letters and requests
for booklets poured into the office from all over the British Isles and
from many parts of the world including - Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark,
Eastern Nigeria, Gibraltar, India, Kuala Lumpur, New Zealand, Norway,
Southern Ireland, Southern Rhodesia, Sweden, United States of America and
Western Germany, These requests resulted in over 1,400 copies of the
booklet being sent at home and abroad to government departments, local
health authorities, medical institutes, research institutes, chest clinics,
hospitals, schools, large companies, universities, welfare centres, doctors
and members of the general public.
Besides the valuable publicity given in "The Lancet", many editorials
and articles expressing approval of the booklet appeared in medical journals
in other parts of the world, particularly in Canada and the United States of
America, Complimentary references to Chelsea's campaign were made during
'Question Time' in the House of Lords on the 16th July, and letters were
received from the Ministers of Health, and Housing and Local Government,
stating how impressed they were with the Chelsea Borough Council's enterprise
and initiative in producing such an excellent booklet.
It is interesting to report concerning the supply of booklets to an
anti-smoking clinic. Although the clinic provides a variety of leaflets and
literature, it appears that the method of approach used in Chelsea's booklet
has made a deep impression on many of the patients in their efforts to break
the tobacco habit, and several requests have been received for additional
copies of the booklet to meet the growing demand.
It is difficult to judge the success of this venture but, if as a
result of our efforts only one person has been saved from lung cancer, the
Council's decision to proceed with this campaign, has been completely
justified.
Finally, the following extract from the Canadian Medical Association
Journal has been selected from various editorials and articles which have
appeared in medical journals at home and abroad:-
"A Cool Breeze from Chelsea
A particularly happy and, hopefully, successful blend of fact and