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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 extraordinary
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. Pacing 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".
Smoker s clinics have been started up and down the country
and their methods and degree of success are being critically
studied.
In spite of these rather gloomy comments it must be borne in
mind that it is only because so many major causes of death have
been eradicated and also that more money is available to spend
on cigarettes and a great variety of confectionary that these
diseases of the older age groups are rising in importance.
With each decade not only are many more infants living to
reach their second year, but this second year seems almost like
a spring-board to give them a flying start in life so that the
loss of life up to the age of 45 is almost negligible. On the
basis of 1962 s statistics, of 811 live births 790 babies
would survive to reach the second year In Wood Green's total
child population from the age of 1 year to 15 years the total
deaths were 6 and between the ages of 15 and 45 they totalled 15
Immunisation has played a very large part in this success
story but it requires constant vigilence to ensure that it continues
at its present high level. Diphtheria and poliomyelitis
are still menacing diseases that could return again as a cause
of death and crippling.
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