[Report 1962] / Medical Officer of Health, Aylesbury Borough.

  • Aylesbury (England). Borough Council.
Date:
1962
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1962] / Medical Officer of Health, Aylesbury Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Already this is being referred to as “ the cancer scare.” This is a pity because the word scare suggests a temporary fright and it was not intended that people should regard this as a temporary warning or be frightened by it. Until the elements in tobacco smoke which cause cancer of the lung can be eliminated those who smoke will continue to expose themselves to a greater risk than non-smokers. The extent of the risk is roughly in proportion to the amount of tobacco smoked and is reduced somewhat if it is smoked in a pipe. These facts should not frighten us but should make us pause and assess our own position in relation to them. If we feel strongly enough about it we should give it up altogether. If we accept the facts, and there can be no doubt about them, but do not feel strongly that we should give up smoking altogether we can change to a pipe or cut down cigarettes to a few per day. This is at least a gesture in the right direction. Whether smokers or non-smokers we should do all we can to dissuade young people from starting to smoke. Health Educators have an uphill struggle before them, and need the support of parents and the adult population generally. The sharp initial public reaction to the Report has died down and it seems that the pendulum has swung back a little so that some idea of the resistance to giving up smoking can be obtained now. It is hardly surprising that this long standing social habit which has an element of addiction should die hard. It could take a generation or more to bring about a complete change of attitude towards smoking, even with constant pressure from health minded people. Towards the end of the year the campaign was getting into its stride with lectures, exhibitions and film shows at schools and youth clubs. It is early days yet to assess the impact, but it is certain to be reduced unless parents are prepared to give their active support. A comparison of the statistics for 1962 with those of the previous year shows that the population rose by roughly 2,000 and the birth rate was higher, but so also was the percentage of illegitimate live births. The rise in illegitimate births has been a national feature and was commented on by the Chief Medical Officer of the Ministry of Health in his Report for 1961. There was virtually no change in the death rate, but there was a small rise in the infant mortality rate, although this was not above the average for the country. 1 am glad to report that there was no case of paralytic poliomyelitis notified di ring tie year. It is, however, too soon to claim that this is the result of the vigorous immunisation campaign, cr to say with confidence that poliomyelitis will never return in epidemic proportions. There was a small rise in the number of new cases of tuber- culosis notified during the period under review, and a more appreciable rise in the number of known cases moving into the Borough. Transfer cases are placed under the periodic supervision of the Chest Clinic as soon as they arrive.
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