CAUSE OF LUNG CANCER

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27679, 8 June 1955, Page 18

CAUSE OF LUNG CANCER

Possible Influence Of Cigarettes

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 9 pjn.) NEW YORK, June 6. Two statisticians of the American Cancer Society reported today that lung cancer was a rare disease among men who never smoked, but it was by no means a rare cause of aeatn among very heavy cigarette smokers. The statisticians, Dr R. Cuyler Hammond, director, and Dr. Daniel Horn, assistant director of statistical research for the American Cancer Society, were reporting to the annual meeting of the American Medical Society on a continuing study, begun in November, 1951, among 188,000 men between 50 and 70. At the 1954 annual meeting of the American Medical Association, Dr. Hammond and Dr. Horn reported that 4854 of the 188.000 men died iff the first 20 months after the beginning of the study. Heavy cigarette smokers who had .died of proven or suspected lung cancer were 75 times the number of non-smokers who had died of the same disease. They reported today that 8105 of the 188,000 were dead on November 1, 1954, and the -heavy smoker (40 cigarettes a day)—non-smoker proven lung cancer ratio was 90 to one.' In a statement, Mr Timothy Harnett, chairman of the Tobacco Industry Research Committee, criticised the Statistics. He said the study did not establish any cause and effect relationship between lung cancer and cigarette smoking. Conclusions reported by Dr. Hammond and Dr. Horn were:

The death-rate from lung cancer increased with the amount of cigarettes smoked. The rate was appreciable even among men who smoked fewer than 10 cigarettes daily. Regardless of whether men lived in big city or rural areas, the rate was high among smokers, and low among nonsmokers. Among men who smoked two packets or more daily, heart disease was the most common cause of death, and lung cancer was second. in these men, lung cancer accounted for one in eight deaths. In the general male population of this same age, lung cancer accounted for one in 30 deaths.

Pipe smoking appeared to be associated with lung cancer but far less than cigarettes. Last year, little evidence had been found in this study to point to any danger in pipe smoking. Cigar smoking still did not show any significant association with lung cancer, in this study. Speaking for the Tobacco Industry Committee, Mr Harnett . said the statistical experts had pointed out that this study ignored important environmental, geographical, occupational, physical and emotional factors, childhood disease and longevity. In his opinion it was obvious that cancer authorities realised no link bad been proven and did not accept this study in statistics as the answer to the lung cancer problem.