London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London

Ilford 1962

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Ilford]

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Table: Proportion of SmokersOf the 201 persons completing the questionnaire, 126 were males and 75 females. Their smoking habits at the time of the lecture may be summarized as follows:-

Proportion of Smokers

Of the 201 persons completing the questionnaire, 126 were males and 75 females. Their smoking habits at the time of the lecture may be summarized as follows:-

Non-SmokersSmokersTotalPer cent Smokers
Males339312674
Females42337544

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These percentages agree closely with the percentages of men
and women who were smokers in 1961 as given in "Statistics of
Smoking in the United Kingdom— 3rd Edition', published by the
Tobacco Manufacturers Standing Committee.
There was some variation from group to group in the proportion
who were smokers. Only 35% of the staff of the Health Department
were smokers and there was little difference between the sexes. On
the other hand the smaller groups of the general public tended to

Table: have a larger proportion of smokers. Combining the Welsh Club, the Chadwell Heath Ratepayers, Barkingside Toc H and the Glenyou Club we have:-

have a larger proportion of smokers. Combining the Welsh Club, the Chadwell Heath Ratepayers, Barkingside Toc H and the Glenyou Club we have:-

Non-SmokersSmokersTotalPer cent Smokers
Males5273284
Females591464

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However, the figures for the different groups are not large
enough to make these differences statistically significant.
Smokers who found the lecture interesting
Of the 126 smokers, 85 (67%) found the lecture convincing
25 (20%) unconvincing and 16 (13%) gave a guarded answer to the
question. Of the latter 7 were Round Tablers, 4 from the Seven Kings
Youth Club and 3 were Health Visitors. A larger proportion of women
than men were interested by the lecture.
Smokers who believe there is an association between smoking and
cancer
Of the 126 smokers, 83 (66%) said they believed there is an
association between smoking and cancer, 19 (15%) denied such a