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ADVance 4831 Public Health Department,
Town Hall,
Bethnal Green , E. 2.
June, 1962.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the
Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen ,
I have the honour to submit my report on the health and sanitary
circumstances of the Borough for the year 1961.
During the year the Council decided to speed up its smokeless zone programme.
Originally it was intended to make the whole Borough a smokeless zone by 1965, now this
has been shortened by two years and we shall complete the programme by the end of 1963.
Smoke is not only a nuisance but there is more and more evidence to show that
smoke is a danger to health and it is quite proper for the local authorities to do their utmost
to clean the air in their areas.
Cigarette smoking is still more dangerous. I wrote about this in my last Annual
Report and because I consider it so important I mention it again this year. Smoking is a
major cause of bronchitis and lung cancer and is a contributory factor in coronary heart
disease and other serious ailments. In this Annual Report in the table giving the causes of
death you will find the number of deaths from
lung cancer 29 males and 3 females up to the age of 75
bronchitis 23 ,, ,, 6 ,, ,, ,, ,, ,,
coronary
heartdisease 32 ,, ,, 17 ,, ,,
The marked preponderance of male deaths, as compared with female deaths,
due to lung cancer and bronchitis points to an association between these diseases and
smoking because men smoke more heavily than women. When you examine the deaths
from other causes you find an even distribution between men and women, e.g.
all other
malignant
growths 28 males and 28 females up to the age of 75