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57
amongst men and more particularly amongst those who smoke, are
mounting alarmingly. These cannot be fortuitous occurrences. There
must be some reason for their happening. The statisticians are satisfied
about the relationship between the figures of the deaths from lung cancer
and the consumption of cigarettes, a relationship which is possibly
causal. Many are studying the aetiology of coronary thrombosis, some
fseling it to be related to diet and especially to the consumption of fat.
When the answers have been found to the questions of why these things
are happening, there will then be the responsibility for using that information,
a responsibility which those in the Health Department must share.
The foundations of the environmental health service were laid towards
the end of the last century. Today water supplies are adequate and
wholesome. The arrangements for removing and for treating sewage
are satisfactory. Housing is now very much better and the major diseases
have been controlled or are in the process of being. The first half of this
century has seen the development of the personal services which now in
general are probably adequate throughout the country. But whether these
services are used is a matter which lies with the people. Local authorities
have provided them; they have a further responsibility of letting people
know not only of them but of the benefits of using them. Increasing
attention will have to be given to this side so that all will know why some
have elected to add fluorides to their drinking water, what the statisticians
feel about the relationship between cigarettes and cancer of the lung,
why tuberculin testing and B.C.G. inoculation is advisable for some
members of the population in some districts. They will then be better
able to evaluate the position about poliomyelitis and will realise the
relationship between dirty hands and the transmission of intestinal
disease. " Sanitary instruction is even more essential than sanitary
legislation, for the best laws are waste paper if they are not appreciated
and understood."
Food Hygiene Regulations, 1955. For years the chief powers to
ensure the satisfactory state of rooms where food intended for sale is
prepared for sale or is stored were contained in Section 13 of the Food and
Drugs Act, 1938. The long awaited Food Hygiene Regulations modified
and extended the hygiene requirements. While the section applied to
premises, yards and forecourts, the Regulations include a number of
provisions affecting stalls and vehicles and also certain general requirements
that apply wherever food is handled. Furthermore, whereas
Section 13 relates to sales actual or intended, the Regulations apply
whether or not there is any question of sale. They apply to the supply of
food in the course of a business which is defined so as to include canteens,
clubs, schools and other institutions as well as undertakings carried out
by public and local authorities.
The effects of the chief of the new provisions are that
1- No food business may be carried on in any insanitary premises,
rood premises must comply with certain structural requirements and must
be provided with—
(a) a constant supply of clean and wholesome water;
(b) wash-hand basins with an adequate supply of hot and cold