HC Deb 24 April 1991 vol 189 c473W
Mr. Butler

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has on the yearly mortality in the United Kingdom attributable to(a) heavy passive smoking and (b) average active smoking.

Mr. Dorrell

The independent scientific committee on smoking and health has concluded that the number of deaths from lung cancer among non-smokers associated with a lifetime's exposure to environmental tobacco smoke might amount to several hundred in the United Kingdom each year. The number of deaths caused by active smoking is estimated at around 110,000 in the United Kingdom each year. This figure represents the death toll for all smokers, but the vast majority of deaths occur among regular smokers with a long-standing history of tobacco use.