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
Acton 1954
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Acton]
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3
I give below a table showing the number of cases of cancer of
the lung or bronchus which have occurred during the year, in
comparison with the figures for the years 1952 and 1953.
| Year | Total | 25—45 | 45—65 | 65+ | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronchus | Lung | Bronchus | Lung | Bronchus | Lung | ||||||||
| M. | F. | M. | F. | M. | F. | M. | F. | M. | F. | M. | F. | ||
| 1952 | 28 | 1 | 1 | - | 10 | 1 | 3 | - | 8 | - | 3 | - | |
| 1953 | 23 | 1 | - | - | - | 10 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | - | 2 | - |
| 1954 | 26 | 3 | - | - | 7 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | - | |||
It will be seen that cancer of the lung is increasing and
the cause in this particular organ is still under discussion. It is
interesting to note that cancer of the mouth and tongue is not so
common as thirty to forty years ago, when cancer of the mouth
was attributed to smoking strong varieties of tobacco.
The Council decided to increase the staff of sanitary inspectors
by one in April 1954. This post was advertised, but it has not yet
been filled. With the resignation of one inspector to take up the
position of District Sanitary Inspector at a County Borough, we
are now left with 7 district inspectors to do the work of the town,
which is not easy as there is such a large commitment for daily
inspection of slaughtered animals at the largest slaughterhouse in
Middlesex. Should any more inspectors resign and we be unable to
fill their vacancies it will be difficult to carry on the work in a
satisfactory way.
I should like to take this opportunity of expressing to the staff
of the Public Health Department my appreciation of their cooperation
and loyalty throughout the year.
I remain,
Your obedient servant,
George E, B. Payne.