London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Lewisham 1959
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Lewisham Borough]
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15
Lung cancer
I have to report a further increase in lung cancer deaths
during 1959. The male deaths increased from 1.14 to 118 and the female
deaths from 21 to 22, giving a total of 140 cases as against 135 in the
previous year. At the same time the total deaths from all forms of
cancer also increased—from 472 to 532 and this slightly lowers the proportion
of cancer deaths due to lung cancer, as is shown in the following
table which gives similar figures for the past eight years.
Table 10
| Year | MALE | FEMALE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All cancer deaths | Lung cancer deaths | (c)as % of(b) | All cancer deaths | Lung cancer deaths | (f)as % of(e) | |
| (a) | (b) | (c) | (d) | (e) | (f) | (g) |
| 1952 | 246 | 77 | 31 | 238 | 9 | 4 |
| 1953 | 237 | 83 | 35 | 215 | 13 | 6 |
| 1954 | 238 | 76 | 32 | 192 | 13 | 7 |
| 1955 | 303 | 102 | 34 | 226 | 19 | 8 |
| 1956 | 259 | 96 | 37 | 226 | 12 | 5 |
| 1957 | 267 | 101 | 38 | 229 | 21 | 9 |
| 1958 | 271 | 114 | 42 | 201 | 21 | 10 |
| 1959 | 297 | 118 | 40 | 235 | 22 | 9 |
In the 1957 report I gave a taible, based on figures supplied by the
Tobacco Manufacturers, of the consumption of cigarettes in the U.K.
in representative years since 1920. The table is reproduced below,
brought up to date.
Table 11
Consumption of cigarettes in the UK in representative years
| Year | Adult males (lbs. per head) | Adult females (lbs. per head) | Ratio M:F (F = 1) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 | 5.1 | ? | |
| 1924 | 4.6 | 23.0 | |
| 1928 | 5.6 | 0.3 | 18.7 |
| 1932 | 6.0 | 0.5 | 12.0 |
| 1936 | 7.1 | 0.8 | 8.9 |
| 1940 | 7.9 | 1.3 | 6.1 |
| 1944 | 9.0 | 2.5 | 3.6 |
| 1948 | 7.6 | 2.0 | 3.8 |
| 1952 | 7.7 | 2.5 | 3.1 |
| 1956 | 8. | 3.1 | 2.6 |
| 1957 | 8.2 | 3.3 | 2.5 |
| 1958 | 8.3 | 3.3 | 2.5 |