§ 41. Mr. Gowerasked the Minister of Health what information has been gained by officers of his Department about investigations in other countries into the relationship between smoking and cancer of the lung; and what steps he is taking to make this information available in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Iain MacleodOfficers of my Department and of the Medical Research Council have been in close touch with investigations into this question in other countries, all of which have been or will be published in the medical and scientific Press and are freely available to persons concerned.
§ Mr. GowerWill my right hon. Friend do all that is possible in this matter? Will he bear in mind that there are thousands of smokers who are anxious to know that cancer of the lung is not caused by smoking, and that there are few topics about which so many people are seriously worried?
§ Mr. MacleodI recognise the great public interest in this matter, but I have no intention of speculating in advance of proof.
§ Mr. BottomleyIs not it a fact that cancer of the lung is the most serious of all the cancerous growths, and does not an increase in the disease coincide with heavy smoking by women, particularly since 1925?