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92
marked with respect to alcohol and smoking if only those
who died from cancer of the mouth and throat are considered.
Of 60 persons dying from cancer of the lips, tongue, jaws,
fauces, larynx, oesophagus, and cervical glands, 28 or 47
per cent, took alcohol excessively, while 44 or 73 per cent.
smoked excessively. 21 of these smoked chiefly a clay pipe,
14 a briar or other form of pipe, and 9 sometimes a clay,
and sometimes a briar, 2 cigarettes, and 1 cigars. There
were only four out of the 21 cases of cancer of the mouth
or tongue who did not smoke; two of these had bad teeth.
Among the non-cancer cases all the smokers smoked pipes
(29 clay and 19 briar and 3 both), except one who smoked
cigarettes. Of 108 cases with cancer of other parts than the
mouth and throat, 23 per cent. took alcohol excessively, and
,22 per oent. smoked excessively. It would appear then that
both alcohol and smoking (especially aloohol) have some little
general effect in promoting cancer, but chiefly exert the.r
injurious influence locally.
The following case is interesting: A stoker in the navy
died of enlarged prostate at the age of 78. He was stated
to have been formerly a large smoker, and consumed 3½ ozs.
a week of tobacco. He got cancer of the tongue and was
operated on at the age of 62. After this he gave up smoking
and the cancer did not return. He was always an abstainer
from alcohol.
Of the 60 cases of cancer of the mouth and throat, 17,
or 28 per cent., were excessive tea drinkers. Tea drinking
does not seem to be specially injurious locally or generally
as far as cancer is concerned. If the injurious effect of
smoking were chiefly due to the local effect of heat one would
have expected excessive drinking of hot tea to have had a
similar bad result.