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78
consumption of 1½ pints of beer or its equivalent, an ounce
of spirits being considered equivalent to ½ pint of beer;
wine was never but an occasional luxury. The standard for
smoke was taken as 2 ozs. of tobacco per week. Persons
consuming: more than these quantities have been classed as
excessive drinkers or smokers.
The correctness of the standard of consumption of alcohol
and tobacco taken for the enquiry does not affect its value,
since the standard is the same for cancer and non-cancer
cases. But it is interesting to find from the recently published
statistical abstract for 1912, that as regards tobacco
the amount consumed in 1911 per head of population of
the United Kingdom was 2.6 lbs., and. allowing one-third of
the population to be adult males, we get an average weekly
consumption by men of 2.4 ozs. in 1911.
In 1901 the weekly consumption was 17 ozs., so that in
ten years the amount of tobacco used by each smoker has
increased more than 25 per cent., and cancer of the mouth
has increased by at least as much.
With regard to tea, food and meat, it was only possible
to accept the opinion of the person giving the information
as to whether the patient used these articles in excess or
otherwise.
As regards the action of the bowels, the cases were divided
into those who had a daily action and those whose bowels
did not act as often as once in a day.
31 of the patients were stated to be exoessive users of
alcohol, 10 took the standard quantity, and 74 below the
standard. There were thus 27 per cent. of exoessive alcohol
drinkers.