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In some matters improvement in public health must depend on national policy
rather than local action. During the war the basic foods were rationed and subsidised
and there were certain supplements for children and the result of this,
oddly enough, was that the children of the country were fed during a long period
of national emergency better than they had ever been fed before. Being better fed
does not of course mean merely having more food but having more of the correct
foods and now that the choice of food is virtually unrestricted it is doubtful
if the children's diets are as satisfactory as they were during the war years.
Rationing and food subsidies are now political matters upon which it would be
inappropriate to comment here but it would be unfortunate if the standard of
nutrition of children which was achieved during the war was allowed to decline.
Several other matters are outstandingly unsatisfactory. It has been proved
without doubt that smoking is in part responsible for the increase in the number
of cases of cancer of the lung and it is essential that young people should be
prevented from acquiring the habit. From a purely medical point of view there
would be every justification for increasing the tax on tobacco or of limiting
imports though doubtless these measures would be objected to by the trade and
others.
It is also well known that the mental health and to some extent the physical
health of children is likely to be less satisfactory where the mother goes out to
work and yet little is done to make it more attractive for a married woman with
young children to stay at home.
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