§ 11. Mr. Beswickasked the Minister of Health, as representing the Lord President of the Council, what research by the Medical Research Council has been done into the radioactive properties of the tobacco plant and tobacco ash; And with what result.
§ 8. Sir M. Stoddart-Scottasked the Minister of Health, as representing the Lord President of the Council, what relationship there is between the abnormally high radioactivity of the tobacco 22 plant and carcinoma of the lung; and what research is being done into this aspect of this disease.
§ Mr. Walker-SmithMeasurements of the radioactive content of tobacco, tobacco ash and tobacco smoke have been carried out under the auspices of the Medical Research Council. There is no evidence that the radioactive content of the tobacco plant is in any significant manner different from that in other forms of vegetable life. Very little radioactivity can be detected in tobacco smoke, since the greater part of the radioactivity in the plant remains in the ash. My noble Friend is advised that the dose of radiation to the lungs from this source, even in heavy smokers, is so small that it is unlikely to be a factor of any importance in the causation of cancer of the lung.
§ Mr. BeswickIs the Minister aware that a certain amount of work which has been done disproves some of the complacent conclusions which have already been drawn? Government research departments have stated that the radioactivity of the tobacco plant is higher than any other vegetation. Not only that, but it absorbs more readily the chemical radioactive material in modern fertilisers. Although this is not sufficient to cause lung cancer itself, it is superimposed upon the background of other radioactive properties in smog and other conditions of modern life. Is it not, therefore, worth while going into this matter again?
§ Mr. Walker-SmithNeither complacency nor contradiction is involved here. I am not sure to what Government statements the hon. Gentleman refers, since he did not particularise them, but measurements of the radioactivity in various forms of tobacco were taken under the auspices of the Medical Research Council by research workers of the Department of Medical Physics in Leeds University in 1953 and their results have been confirmed by other research groups, including Professor Mayneord's group at the Institute of Cancer Research.
§ Mr. BeswickMay I point out to the Minister that I am not referring to 1953 but to the work done at the Harwell Research Laboratory in 1957?
§ Mr. Walker-SmithI do not think the hon. Gentleman will find that there is anything to contradict or conflict with the statement I have made on behalf of my noble Friend, which, perhaps, he will be good enough to study.