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In attempting to prevent the onset of bronchitis and cancer of
the lung, we are up against a habit—smoking—which is even more
deeply ingrained and difficult to eradicate. Only methods of
education that carry conviction will succeed in such an extraordinarily
difficult task. The method which succeeded in the great
proportion of doctors was a cold statistical survey which showed
clearly how many of their colleagues who were smokers were dying
of cancer of the lung.
If the same precipitous drop could be effected in those to whom
children look for example—particularly parents and teachers—the
chances of a drop in smoking would materially increase throughout
the whole population. Since smoking is comparable to drug
addiction, the main effort must be to prevent young people from
starting the habit. Addicts may say " This is my business, it
concerns my life," but there are few individuals whose life is not
precious to someone and whose death does not bring tragedy and
irretrievable loss to others.
The evidence against smoking is now so- overwhelming that
most smokers concede it as a cause of lung cancer and would wish
to give it up. Clever advertising is probably the strongest factor
in defeating the best resolutions and counter propaganda must be
extremely skilful to compete with it. The pipe smoker has much
more control over the amount of tobacco he smokes since he is not
constantly having a tobacco pouch passed to him by his friends. In
face of the tremendous difficulty in eradicating the habit of
cigarette smoking, could it at least be replaced by the pipe smoking
habit—with attractive pipes for ladies ! And since it is a more
mature habit it might even become more attractive to teenagers
who want to be " with it."
Smokers' clinics have been started up and down the country
and their methods and degree of success are being critically
studied.
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