“SOCIAL CRIME”

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26848, 12 August 1948, Page 6

“SOCIAL CRIME”

COMING VIEW OF SICKNESS DOCTOR’S PREDICTION P.A. WELLINGTON, Aug. 11. “The time will come when sickness will be regarded as a social crime. When that time comes we will go through life, not with the idea of slithering away from illness, but with the thought always of enjoying positive health.” These comments were made by Dr Charles Burns in an address on “Social Aspects of Medical Treatment” to the Wellington branch of the Royal Society. Points made by Dr Bums were:— Goitre could be abolished by the introduction of iodised salt into the community. . Dental caries could be avoided simply by making children eat hard foods. • ‘ Duodenal ulcers were caused simply by overwork, hard living, and insufficient rest.

Dr Burns said the fact that the rate at which bottles of medicine were issued had increased by 500,000 yearly since 1943 was an indication of a decline in the medical service. “It indicates a rushing away from the old method of trying to teach people- how to treat themselves,” he added. “ They must not have the idea that something out of a bottle can cure all sorts of diseases.”