Philip Morris
Smoking and Health Summary and Report of the Royal College of Physicians of London on Smoking in Relation to Cancer of the Lung and Other Diseases
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- 2083038087-8094 The Pathologic Effects of Smoking Tobacco on the Trachea and Bronchial Mucosa
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- 2083038145-8164 An Epidemiological Investigation of Cancer of the Bladder
- 2083038166-8175 Smoking Habits and Age in Relation to Pulmonary Changes
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- 2083038178-8188 Polluted Urban Air and Related Environmental Factors in the Pathogenesis of Pulmonary Cancer
- 2083038190-8225 Lung-Cancer Mortality As Related to Residence and Smoking Histories. II. White Females
- 2083038227-8238 Mortality in Relation to Smoking: Ten Years' Observations of British Doctors
- 2083038240-8247 Mortality in Relation to Smoking: Ten Years' Observations of British Doctors
- 2083038249-8258 Evidence on the Effects of Giving Up Cigarette Smoking
- 2083038260-8263 Cigarette Smoking and Cancer of the Bladder
- 2083038265-8387 The Dorn Study of Smoking and Mortality Among U.S. Veterans: Report on Eight and One-Half Years of Observation
- 2083038388 The Dorn Study of Smoking and Mortality Among U.S. Veterans: Report on Eight and One-Half Years of Observation
- 2083038390-8400 The III Effects of Cigarette Smoking in Dogs
- 2083038402-8479 Smoking in Relation to the Death Rates of One Million Men and Women
- 2083038481-8544 Mortality of British Doctors in Relation to Smoking: Observations on Coronary Thrombosis
- 2083038546-8570 Carcinogenic Action of Cigarette Smoke Condensate on Mouse Skin
- 2083038572-8581 A Method for the Experimental Induction of Bronchogenic Carcinoma
- 2083038583-8589 Asbestos Exposure, Smoking and Neoplasia
- 2083038591-8593 Epidemiologic Studies on Carcinoma of the Kidney
- 2083038595-8602 Risks of Lung Cancer in Smokers Who Switch to Filter Cigarettes
- 2083038604-8612 Carcinogenic Response of the Respiratory Tract of Syrian Golden Hamsters to Different Doses of Diethylnitrosamine
- 2083038614-8618 Lung Cancer in Women
- 2083038620-8637 Coronary Heart Disease, Stroke, and Aortic Aneurysm
- 2083038639-8650 Life Expectancy of American Men in Relation to Their Smoking Habits
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S1VlOKTNG _ AND HEALTH
Sumniary and Report of
The Royal College of Physicians of London
on Smoking
in relation to
Cancer of 'ihe Lung
t
and
Other Diseases
PITMAN PUBLISHING CORPURATION'
NEW YORK '1'ORONTO LONDON
First published in Great Britain by Pitntan Medical Pnb7isliing Co. Ltd.
@ 1962 by The Royn1 College of Physicimar of London
CoPyrigltt © 1962 by Pitmnn Publishing Corporation
2 West 45 5treet, New York 36, N Y.
Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 62-15794
M8EUS8UZ
I. , I

SUMMARY
Introduction
Scveral serious diseases, in particular lung cancer, affect smokers
mrne ofien than non-smokers. Cigarette smokers have the greatest
risk of (lying from these diseases, and the risk is greater for the
heavier smokers. 'fhe many deaths caused by these diseases present
n challenf;e lo medicine, in so far as they are due to smoking they
,Ix)nld be prevcntnble. 7'hi.s report is intended to give to doctors
and oth,t<; evidence on the hazards of smoking so that they may
deciile vh:u should he done (Paras. r_3).
History of Smoking
rlficr its inttodnction to Europe in the r6th century, tobacco
smokiug, mostly in pipes, rapidly became popular. It has always
had its advocates and opponents, but only recently has scientific
study produced valid evidence of its ill-effects upon health.
Cigaretics have largely replaced other forms of smoking in the past
sevent y years, during which time tobacco consumption has steadily
increased. It is still increasing. Women hardly ever smoked before
1920: since then ihey have smoked steadily increasing numbers of
rigareues {Pig,rne 1, p. 3) (Paras. 5-6).
Present Smoking Habits
17irce-quarters of the men and half of the women in Britain
sninl=c. A4en stnokc more heavily than women. Smoking is now
t:idesprcad atnong schnolchildren, especially boys. (Pigreras 2 and
_7, pp. S mrJ 7) (Parae. 7-8). Many doctors have given up smoking
vinte ih(, dangots of'thc habithave become apparcnt: only half of
S2
them now smoke and less than a third smoke cigarettes (Figrfres 4
and s, pp. 9 and 7t) (paras. 9 and ri).
Advertising of Tobacco. 'Phere has been a steep increase in
expenditure on advertisements of tobacco goods recently. Over n
million pounds was spent on such advertisemetns in i96o (Tab(e 1,
p. 6; Pigrrre 6, p. 13). The increase has mostly been devoted to
advertising cigarettes and many recent advertisements have been
aimed at young people. It cannot, however, be assumed that
advertisements arc responsible for the continuing increase in
tobacco consumption today (Paras. ro-i71.
Chemistry and Pharmacology :of Tobacco Sraoke
Tobacco smoke is complex in composition. Its most important
components are: nicotine which acts on the heart, blood vessels,
digestive tract, kidneys and nervous system; ntinute amounts of
various substances which can produce cancer; and irritants which
chiefly affect: tlte bronchial tubes. Thc anrounts of carbon tnonoxide
and arsenic in the smoke are probably too small to be harmful
(1laras. 12-22).
Smn)ing and Cancer of the Lung
There has been a great increase in deaths from this disca,c in
many countrics during t:fte past 45 years (Pip,rrre 7, P. 15). Some of
this increase may be due to better diagnosis, but much of it is due
to a real increase in incidence. Men are much more often affected
than women. (Table II, P. i¢) (Paro,c. 23-24,)
Surveys. Many comparisons have been made in different coun- '
tries between the smoking habits of patients with lung cancer a.ud
those of patients of the same age and ses with other diseases. All
have shown that more lung cancer patients are smokers, and more
of them heavy smokers than are the controls. 'fhe association
between smoking and lung cancer has been confirmed by pr'ospec-
tive studies in which the smoking habits of large numbers of men
have been recorded and their deaths frorn various diseases observed
subsequently. [l.ll these studies have shown that death rates from
lung cancer increase steeply with increasing consumption of ,
cigarettes. Heavy cigarette smokers may have thirty times the
death rate of non-suiokers. (Pigrrre 8, p. 17). They have also shown
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that cigarette smokees are much more affected than pipe or cigar
smokers (Figure 9, p, rg) and that those who had given up smoking
at the start of the surveys had lower death rates than those who had
continued to smoke (Figrrre zo, p. 21). Various criticisms, based on
possible errors of selection and of diagnosis, which might have_
caused a spurious association between smoking and lung cancer
in these studies, are discussed (paras. 25-29).
1'athology of Smokers' Lungs. Of three types of lung cancer,
only the two commoner types are associated with smoking. The
lungs of smokers without cancer show changes of chronic irritation,
of the sort which might precede cancer, more often than the lungs
of non-smokers (paras. 3o-3r).
Interpretation of the Evidence. The association of lung cancer
with cigarette smoking is generally agreed to be true but various
i ossible explanations of this association other than that of cause
and effect have to be considered These are (para. 32).:-
(i) that people who are going to get lung cancer have an
increased desire to smoke throughout their adult lives:
(ii) that smoking produces cancer only in the lungs of people
who are in any case going to get cancer somewhere in the
body, so that smoking determines only the site of the
cancer:
(iii) that lung cancer affects people who would have died
of tuberculosis in former times but have now survived
with lungs susceptible to cancer:
(iv) that smokers inherit their desire to smoke and with it
inherit a susceptibility to some other undiscovered agent
that causes lung cancer:
that smokers are by their nature more liable to many
diseases, including lung cancer, than the "self-protective"
minority of non-smokers:
(vi) that smokers tend to drink more alcohol than non-
smokers so that drinking and not smoking may cause
lung cancer:
(vii) that motor car exhausts, or-
(viii) that generalised air pollution may render the lungs of
smokers more liable to cancer.
None of these explanations fits all the facts as well as the obvious
one that smoking is a cause of lung cancer. There are other causes,
including air pollution and substances which may be met in a few
S4
occupations, but none of them is of such general itnportance as
smoking (para. 33).
There are a few facts which may be considered to conflict with
this conclusion namely:-
(i) that lung cancer occurs in only a minority of smokers:
(ii) that death rates from this disease are lower in some
countries than would be expected from their cigarette
consumption:
(iii) that there is some conflicting evidence on the effects of
inhalation of smoke:
(iv) that no animal has yet been given lung cancer by exposure
to cigarette smoke.
:Conclusion. These facts are discussed (paras. 33-40) and none
of them is found to contradict the conclusion that cigarette smoking
is an important cause of lung cancer. If the habit ceased, the
number of deaths caused by this disease should fall steeply in the
course of time (para. ¢z).
Smoking and Other Lung Diseases
Chronic bronchitis is a common and distressing disease in
Britain and causes many deaths, especially in middle aged and
elderly men. Smokers, particularly cigarette smokers, are much
more often affected than non-smokers (Figure 11, p. 29). Other
agents, of which generalised air pollution is the most important,
are involved and it may be that damage done to the bronchial
tubes by cigarette smoke makes them more susceptible to these
other agents. Many men and women who are now disabled by
chronic bronchitis might have remained well had they not smoked
(para.s. 42-50).
Smoking may possibly contribute to the development of pulmon-
ary tuberculosis, especially in the middle-aged and elderly (paras.
51-52).
Smoking and Diseases of the Heart and Blood Vessels
Coronary heart disease is a more frequent cause of death in
smokers, particularly cigarette smokers, than in non-smokers,
although the latter are also commonly affected (Table III, p. 3q).
Those who give up smoking have a reduced death rate (Figure 12,
p. 33). Many other factors, such as mental strain, sedentary
occupation and diet, may explain some of the association of this
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disease with smoking, but cigarette smoking probably plays a
significant part in rendering men in early middle age more liable
to its serious effects. (paras. 53-57).
Smoking appears to play a part in causing other arterial diseases
but not high blood pressure (paras. 58-59)
Smoking and Gastro-intestinal Diseases
Smoking affects the movements and secretion of the gut in many
ways and may cause symptoms such as nausea and discomfort. It
depresses appetite and may reduce weight. It does not.appear to
cause gastric or duodenal ulcers but interferes with their healing
(paras. 6o-65).
Cancers of the mouth, throat and gullet occur more frequently
in smokers than in non-smokers (para. 66).
Smoking and Other Conditions
Several relatively uncommon diseases occur more often in
smokers than non-smokers (paras. 67-69). Smokers may be more
liable to accidents than non-smokers (para. 70). Women who smoke
tend to have babies that are underweight (para. 7r). Smoking
may impair athletic performance (para. 72).
The Psychological Aspect of Smoking
Vcry little is known about why people smoke. Children tend to
R llmw their parents' smoking habits. Intelligent children smoke less
than duller children. Adults claim that smoking gives a sense of
relaxation, helps them to concentrate and gives them relief when
they are anxious, but these claims are difficult to test. Psychologists
have suggested various unconscious motives for smoking (paras.
73-78)
Smokers tend to be more restless, less dependable and more
neurotic than non-smokers. Cigarette smokers are more extra-
verted than non-smokers, pipe smokers are more introverted. That
the tendency to smoke tnay be partly inborn is shown by studies of
the smoking habits of twins (para. 79).
Smokers may be addicted to nicotine. They may wish to stop
smoking for a variety of reasons, chiefly because of expense or fear
of ill health. It appears that social factors play a bigger part in
S6
determining smoking habits than internal drives or needs (paras.
80-82).
Conclusions
The benefits of smoking are almost entirely psychological and
social. It may help some people to avoid obesity. There is no reason
to suppose that smoking prevents neurosis (paras. 83-85).
Cigarette smoking is a cause of lung cancer, and bronchitis and
probably contributes to the development of coronary heart disease
and various other less common diseases. It delays healing of
gastric and duodenal ulcers (paras. 86-89).
The risks of smoking to,the individual are calculated from death
rates in relation to smoking habits atnong.Iiritish doctors (Table I V,
p. 44). The chance of dying in the next ten years for a man aged 35
who is a heavy cigarette smoker is i in 23 whereas the risk for a non-
smoker is only i in 9o. Only 15 per cent (one in. six) of men of this
age who are non-smokers but 33 per cent (one in three) of heavy
smokers will die before the age of 65. Not all this difference in
expectation of life is attributable to smoking (paras. 9o-gr).
The number of deaths caused by diseases associated with
smoking is large (Table V,;p. 47) (para. 92).
The need for preventive measures. Reduction in general air
pollution should reduce the risks of cigarette smoking; but it is
necessary for the health of the people in Britain that any measures
that are practicable and likely to produce beneficial changes in
smoking habits shall be taken promptly (paras. 93-9S).
Preventive Measures
Since it is not yet possible to identify those individuals who will
be harmed by smoking, preventive measures must be generally
applied (para. g6), . ,
The harmful effects of cigarette smoking might be reduced by
efficient filters, by using modified tobaccos, by leaving longer
cigarette stubs or by changing from cigarette to pipe or cigar
smoking (paras. 97-102).
General discouragement of smoking, particularly by young
people, is necessary. More effort needs to be expended on dis-
covering the most effective means of dissuading children from
starting the smoking habit (paras. roj-io7). There can be no
doubt of our responsibility for protecting future generations from
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w
developing the dependence on cigarette smoking that is so wide-
spread today.
Most adults have heard of the risks of cigarette smoking but
remain unconvinced. Doctors, who see the consequences of the
habit, have reduced their cigarette consumption. Some evidence of
concern by the Government is needed to convince the public. The
Government have so far only asked local health authorities to carry
out health education in respect of smoking, but little seems to have
been achieved. The Central Council for Health Education and
Local Authorities spent less than £5,000 on anti-smoking education
in t955-60, while the Tobacco Manufacturers spent Cg8,ooo,ooo
oa advertising their goods during this period (paras. ro8-rrr).
Possible Action by the Government
Decisive steps should be taken by the Government to curb the
present rising consumption of tobacco, and especially of cigarettes.
This action could be taken along the following lines (paras. rr2-
n 9):-
(i) more education of the public and especially school-
children concerning the hazards of smoking:
(ii) more effective restrictions on the sale of tobacco to
children:
(iii) restriction of tobacco advertising:
(iv) wider restriction of smoking in public places:
(v) an increase of tax on cigarettes, perhaps with adjustment
of the tax on pipe and cigar tobaccos:
(vi) informing purchasers of the tar and nicotine content of
the smoke of cigarettes:
(vii) investigating the value of anti-smoking clinics to help
those who find difficulty in giving up smoking.
Doctors and Their Patients
I'here are good medical grounds for advising patients with
bronchitis, peptic ulcer or arterial diseases to stop smoking. Even
a smoker's cough may be an indication that the habit should be
given up. Doctors are better able to help their patients to stop
smoking if they do not smoke themselves. They have a special
responsibility for public education about the dangers of smoking
(paras. 120-121).
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0
22. Arsenic. This is of interest because it is a carcinogen. It used
to be present in tobacco smoke in very variable amounts, being
derived from arsenical insecticides used in tobacco plantations. The
use of these substances has declined1ea and the arsenic content of
cigarettes is now infinitesimal. There has never been enough arsenic
in tobacco for this to be likely to cause cancer by itself'a 4a 60 but it
might have had an adjuvant (or co-carcinogenic) action, whose
significance cannot be dismissed.
SMOKING AND CANCER OF THE LUNG
Increasing Death rates from Lung Cancer
23. During the past 45 years lung cancer has changed from an
infrequent to a major cause of death in many countries. This increase
has been most serious in men and women in late middle age, whenn
family and professional responsibilities are at their height. Table II,
p. 14 shows the total number of deaths that have occurred in men and
women between the ages of 45 and 64 since 1916; .and Figure 7, p. 15
presents the age-standardised death rate for men in these age groups
during the same period from cancer of the lung, other forms of canccr,
tuberculosis of the lungs and bronchitis. While death rates from lung
cancer have been increasing, those from other forms of cancer, and
other respiratory diseases have been declining or, like bronchitis,
remaining stationary.
24. The experience of chest physicians and surgeons in the past
30 years leaves no doubt in their minds that there has been a very large
and real increase in incidence of lung cancer, though some patholo-
gists consider that the disease used to be more common than mor-
tality figures suggest and that much of the increase may be due to
improved accuracy of diagnosis on death certificatest". if there has
been no increase it is difficult to see why cancer of the lung alone
among all cancers should have become so much more frequently
diagnosed in so many countries, and the much faster rate of increase
in men than in women (Table 11, p. 14) cannot be due to improved
diagnosis. T7iere must have been a notable increase even though it may
not be so great as mortality figures suggest. To account for this in-
crease it is necessary to postulate some causative agent to which
human lungs have been newly and increasingly exposed during the
present century. Cigarette smoke is such an agent and there is now a
great deal of evidence that it is an important cause of this disease.
Retrospective Surveys
25. At least 23 investigations in nine countries"' s' have shown
by retrospective study that among sufferers from lung cancer there is a
12
LZ48£0£80Z
EXPENDITURE ON AGVERTISING, U.R.
0 PRESS
\
t.y, N COMBINEU
ir CIGARETTES
a 6
a
U
USA
I'IGUAi 6 EXPEN~~L V SION NnTHF.TIJNITED 1QNGOOMrt1954,1960~a pnF55 AND ON
Three quarters of the money spent on tobacco goods pays for advertisements in tile
press or on T.V. (Table I, p. 6). Much of the recent increase in expenditure has been
devoted to adverlisements of cigarettes on television. Between 1954 and 1960 there
was a fivefold increase in advertising of cigarettes and only a lhreefold increase in
advertising pipe tobaccos and cigars.
11
TOBACCOS, CIGARS. ETC.

TABLE II
AVERAG6 ANNUAL NUMBERS OF DEATHS FROM VARIOUS CAUSES DURING FiVE YFAn PERIODS FROM 1916'r0 1959IH
MEN At~p
WOMEN AGED 45-64. ENGLAND AND WALE4.
j
Disease '
~ a
Cancer of Lung
(excluding mediastinum
and trachea) b
~ Cancer other than Lung
! (excluding Hodgkin's
` Disease and Leukemia) c
Bronchitis
(all forms) .
(including bronchiectasis) : d
Tuberculosis
of Lungs
Period Men I Women . Men Women I Men i Women i, Men Women
1916-20 146 i 87 I, 8,876 10,881 1 4,708* ~ 3,504* I. 6,607 I 3,225
1921-25 255 121 10,325 ~ 12,034 3,804* ~ 2,776* ~ 5,689 ! 2,635
1926-30 481 177 ~ 11,005 ~ 12,940 3,053* ~ 1,947* j 5,766 ~ 2,413
1931-35 1,158 324 II 11,185 13,718 2,339* I 1,222* , 5,488 ~ 2,134
1936-40 2,020 463 i 10,985 I 14,212 2,757* i 1,086* 5,271 1,826
1941-45 ~ 3,090 566 i 10,458 14,284 5,644 1,954 ; 5,146 1,522
1946-50 i 5,031 ~ 761 i 10,121 i 13,984 5,649 1,658 4,785 ~ 1,346
1951-55 j 7,348 i 980 i 10,027 I 13,831 6,238 i 1,614 i 2,862 742 '
I956-59t I 9,108 i 1,202 j 10,265 j 14,119 6,437 j 1,526 ' 1,484 'I 345
A
a. 161.1 - 163; b. 140-200, 202, 203, 205; c. 500-502; 526; d. 001-008.
Currentlnternational Statistical Classification:
i 1960 figures not available,
* Figures not comparable with figures for later years because of changes in allocation of certified
causes of death.
Figures kindly supplied by Dr. R. .4. M. Case of the Chester Beatty Research Institute.
l=
7 G- SO a
3~Ro
71
B
5
Z
0
ANNOAL NUMBER OFOEA7H5 PER700,000
29
I
ae
.

higher proportion of heavy smokers and a lower proportion of light
smokers or non-smokers than in comparable control groups. Not only
have these studies all shown the same association, but among those
dealing with larger numbers it is quantitatively similar, even though
the investigations have been made in different countries.
26. The methods of these investigations have varied but in essence
the answers to questions about smoking habits given by patients with
lung cancer were compared with those given by individuals, usually
patients in the same hospital, without lung cancer. Such methods
are open to criticism because of several possible ways in which bias
might have been introduced in spite of precautions which were taken.
In one investigation, that of Doll and Hill" ss, the criticism that the
amount smoked by cancer patients might have been over-estimated
because the patient or the interviewer suspected the diagnosis
(although interviewers were, in fact, not informed of the diagnosis)
was met by the findings in a small group in whom lung cancer had
been wrongly diagnosed. Patients in this group were at the time of the
interview thought to be suffering from lung cancer, but subsequent
investigation showed them to be suffering from some other disease:
their smoking habits fell into line exactly with those of the control
group. Another criticism was that the control group, which was
usually composed of other patients in the same hospitals as the lung
cancer patients, might not have represented a fair sample in respect
of the smoking habits of the population from which the patients
eame. But comparison of the smoking habits of the hospital control
group who lived in the Greater London area with those of the general
population of the same area, showed that the hospital control group
actually smoked more. This was to be expected in view of the associa-
tion of smoking with several other diseases, and would actually lead
to underestimation of the effect of smoking in predisposing to lung
cancer in these retrospective studies.
Prospective Surveys
27. The results of retrospective studies have been fully confirmed
by prospective studies in which, first, the smoking habits of a defined
population group have been ascertained, and then the causes of death
during several years' observation have been recorded. Four indepen-
dent groups in three countries have conducted investigations of this
sort'e, se, 57, sz sa They all show a steady increase in numbers of
deaths from lung cancer with increasing cigarette consumption, and
are in close quantitative agreement not only with each other but also
with most of the retrospective studies. The results of the first three of
these investigations are summarised in Figure 8. The rather higher
mortality found in the British study compared with the American
16
6ZL8SUS8UZ
RATIOS OF LUNG CANCER MURTALIIY BETWEEN
CIGARETTE SMUNERS& NON-SMOKERS
30
z
1
I'7GURR LUNR(',EC NOCERtiDEA R T SUNaT6{REE PROSPECTIVSESSOUOr~ PER DAY
ND
The itgure shows how much the risk of getting lung cancer is multiplied in those who
smoke various numbers of cigarettes per day compared with the risk of non-smokers.
The first horizontal line in the figure indicates ten times the risk of non-smokers,
and so on.
The figures are derived from:-
Dolt and Hill's study of British doctors aged 35 and over" (_ Hammond and Horn's study of American
men aged 50b9°6 (-- o--)Dom's study of American ex-service men aged 30 and over"-(-*
-)
The similarity of the steady increase in lung cancer risk with increasing cigarette
smoking found by these three independent studies is impressive. The higher British
rates may be due to the British habit of smoking cigarettes to a shorter stub length
than the Americans and to the greater exposure of British men to air polluted by
domestic and industrial smoke,
17
I
4 v

.
',f
i
studies, may be explained partly by the observation that the British
smoke more of each cigarette than do the Americans, thus receiving a
larger dose of smoke and losing the filtration effect of a long stubsa, sr
(see paras. 97 and 101), and partly, perhaps, by the greater expo-
sure of the British to air polluted by chimney smoke88. These investiga-
tions in which estimates of relative risks for different forms of smoking
were possible have all shown that pipe smokers incur a considerably
smaller risk than cigarette smokers. The American investigations
have also shown that the risk in those who smoke only cigars is even
smaller (Figure 9) and may be no greater than that for non-smokers.
28. An important finding in all of these prospective investigations
has been that the risk among those who have given up smoking for
several years is less than among those who continue to smoke
(Figure 10, p. 21).
29. The possibility of continuing observation of a selected popula-
tion in a prospective study is particularly valuable since it provides
an answer to the criticism that even in a prospective study initial
selection bias may affect the results. The subjects in such a study are
selected by the fact that they have replied to a questionnaire or have
been chosen for interview, and bias might be introduced by inclusion
of more or fewer smokers than non-smokers who are in ill health at
the beginning of the observation period. In all these studies, however,
the association between deaths from lung cancer and smoking was
more evident in the later than in the earlier part of the observation
period, which is the reverse of the trend that would be expected if the
association was even in part due to initial selection bias. Another
possible criticism of these prospective studies concerned accuracy
of diagnosis, since in three studies the certified cause of death was
accepted. Bias might be introduced, for example, if there were a special
tendency for lung cancer to be diagnosed as the cause of death in
heavy smokers. But the total death rate was found to increase with
the amount smoked, the excess deaths among smokers being attribut-
able principally to disease of the cardiovascular system, especially
coronary thrombosis, and to certain respiratory diseases as well as to
lung cancer. Hence if some of the deaths among smokers were being
attributed falsely to lung cancer, the effect of smoking in increasing
mortality from other diseases was underestimated. In the investigation
of Doll and Hill and of Hammond and Horn, moreover, the associa-
tion with smoking was actually greater for those cases of lung cancer
in which the diagnosis had been established by the most certain
method, i.e. by microscopic examination of diseased tissue, than for
those in which it was dependent on clinical evidence alone.*
' For further discussion of the validity of the evidence provided by these surveys
see references 13, 14, 41, 47, 51, 53, 128, 163,
18
0£48£0£80Z
DEATH RATES FROM LUNG CANCERIN MEN
IN RELATION TO TYPE OF TOBACCO SMOKED
NON-
SMOKERS
CIGARS
ONLY
SMO&ERS OF:-
PIPES
ONLY
CIGARETIES g
PIPES/CIGARS
CIGARETIES
ONLY
135
90
67
39 39
0 U.K. FIGURES FROM OOLI& NILL;1956
\
U.S.A.FIGURES FROM NAMMONO & NORN;1956
127
FIUURE 9 DEATit RATES PROM TOBACCO SMOKEt~MEN ACCORDINtl TO TrrE TYPE I'F
These figures are taken from the prospective study of British doctors aged 35 and
over by Dolt and Hilt (Dalt©) and of American men aged 50-69 by Hammond and
Horn.BO only in the U.S.A. wcre there enough pure cigar sntokers to estiniatc their
death rate which was the same as for non-smokers. Pipe smokers had three times,
smbkers of cigarettes with pipes or cigars five to eight times and pure cigarette smokers
about ten times the mortality of-non-smokers. The similarity of the rates in both
studies is impressive. The differenees between cigarette smokers and other tobacco
smokers may be due to the 'greater tendency of cigarette smokers to inhale the
smoke (see para. 89).
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0
Pathology
30. There are three principal pathological types of lung cancer,
and precision in microscopical diagnosis shows that smoking is
associated specifically with two of these. When Kreyberg in Norway
made an independent classification of pathological sections from British cases investigated by Doll
and Hill without knowing the
smoking habits of the subjects, he found a close relationship between
the daily amount smoked and the development of cancers described
as squamoust and undifferentiated (which are now the commonest
pathological types) but little or none with the less common cancers
described as adeno-carcinomas f e".
31. Several studies of non-cancerous changes in the bronchial
epithelium in relation to smoking history have been published. Auer-
bach and his colleagues in New Jersey' 6 studied nearly 30,000 sections
from the bronchi of 83 men who died of causes other than lung cancer,
and 34 men who had died of lung cancer, all of whose smoking his-
tories were known. There was a quantitative relationship between
cigarette consumption and the frequency of microscopic changes
suggesting chronic irritation. Such changes are possible precursors
of some types of cancer and were most frequent in the men with lung
cancer. Similar findings have been reported by other patho-
logislsau, ton, iva
Interpretation of the Evidence
32. Various independent authoritative bodies* have been set up
to examine the evidence of the relationship between cancer of the
lung and smoking and have all agreed that it is established. The most
obvious explanation of this association is that it is causal. There are,
however, other possible explanations which must be considered.
(i) That many years before lung cancer becomes manifest some
early process in its development may produce the desire to smoke.
This hypothetical process must he postulated to begin to act as long
as 40 to 50 years before the onset of clinical disease, to produce a
desire to smoke a number of cigarettes daily in proportion to its
liability to mature into cancer, to have become suddenly more
prevalent within the past few decades, and to cause a desire for
cigarettes rather than pipes or cigars. These postulates appear highly
improbable.
(ii) That smoking may not cause cancer but only determine the site
t In squamous cancers the cells bear some resemblance to those found in the
skin. In adeno-carcinoma the cells retain the appearance of those in glands.
* British Ministry of Aealth1de British Medical Research Conncil'', National
Cancer Institute of Canada'53, Netherlands Ministry of Social Affairs and Public
Health°60, U.S. Study Group of Smoking and Health 1957, U.S. Public Health
Service°p 1°', World Health Organization'°".
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4£68£0£80Z
DEATH RATES FROM LUNG CANCER
IN RELATIDNTG GIVING DPSMDKING
STOPPEH ShiORING FOU~-
NON-SMBRERS hI0flE1HAN t0VEdR5 VEAAS ID t-m ussniAN SIILLSMORING
YEABS
U.S.A. Nammond6Horn;1958
U.K. Uoll6Hill;19§6
158
SMDK[f15 OF LESS 1AAN 20 CIGARE11E5 PEA flAY
, 20 ofl MaOE
® All LIGAAETIE SMOKERS
T~'tOt3aE It1 THE EFFECT OF GrvINOGANCER.KINO ON DCATn RATES rROM LrINO
In this figure rates given fo r American men relate only to cases in wluch
the death
the diagnosis was eslablished mtcroscopically, so that these [ates ue lower than thosa
illustrated from the same source in Figure 9, p. t9. The British figures are from
Doll". Only in the American study were hcavier and lighter smokers separated.
There was a similar, much reduced death rate in those wlw had givcn up smoking,
especially if the period without smoking had bcen for more Ihan ten years before the
a highergmortal ty than the ligl ter s~m kersswho contgnued to s nokeS retmned
21
