HC Deb 13 May 1958 vol 588 cc213-4
43. Mr. Hamilton

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the number of deaths from lung cancer in each of the last eight years; and whether the increase is greater or less than that for Western Europe as a whole, as published in the recent Report of the World Health Organisation.

Mr. Maclay

As the Answer contains a number of figures I shall, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Following is the information:

The figures for the past eight years in Scotland are:

1950 … … 1,183
1951 … … 1,366
1952 … … 1,472
1953 … … 1,766
1954 … … 1,809
1955 … … 1,801
1956 … … 1,982
1957 (Provisional) … … 2,081

The percentage increase in the death rate from lung cancer in Scotland in 1955 over the death rate in 1950 is lower than the comparable increases in the other five countries of Western Europe for which figures for these years are given in the World Health Organisation Report. The death rate in 1955 in Scotland was, however, higher than the rates of those other countries, with the exception of England and Wales.