HC Deb 05 December 1955 vol 547 cc8-10W
55. Mr. D. Price

asked the Minister of Health whether he is satisfied that the medical advice upon which he decided to ban the production of heroin was representative of practising clinicians; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Iain Macleod

The Answer to the first part of the Question is "Yes." The Government's view on this matter is as given on the 1st December by my right hon. and gallant Friend the Home Secretary.

56. Mr. D. Price

asked the Minister of Health whether, in determining to ban the manufacture of heroin, he was aware that there is no adequate substitute for heroin in the symptomatic treatment of cancer of the lung; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Iain Macleod

In advising my right hon. and gallant Friend the Home Secretary on the proposal that heroin should be banned, I was guided by the advice of my Standing Medical Advisory Committee. After anxious and sympathetic consideration the Government have not felt justified in departing from that advice.

Dr. Broughton

asked the Minister of Health what consultation he had with the Medical Research Council on the question of suitable, adequate and equally effective substitutes for heroin before he reached his decision to ban the manufacture of the drug.

Mr. Iain Macleod

I did not consult the Medical Research Council direct but before tendering to me its advice the Standing Medical Advisory Committee consulted the British Pharmacopoeia Commission who had in turn consulted the Medical Research Council before the monograph on heroin was deleted from the Pharmacopoeia.

Dr. D. Johnson

asked the Minister of Health the names of the members of the Medical Advisory Committee to his Department, their status in the medical profession and the capacity in which they serve on the Committee; if he will make a detailed statement concerning the advice which they have tendered to him in connection with the proposed ban on the manufacture of heroin and, in particular, to what extent they have considered the fact that heroin is a close derivative of morphine and can be manufactured from morphine under bathroom conditions; and if he will keep this aspect of the matter under review.

Mr. Iain Macleod

The names and qualifications of the members serving at 31st December, 1954, are as follows:

  • Professor Sir Henry Cohen, J.P., M.D., D.Sc., LL.D., F.R.C.P., F.F.R. (Chairman).
  • Miss J. Aitken. C.B.E., M.D.. F.R.C.P.
  • Sir Russell Brain, Bart., M.A.. D.M., P.R.C.P.—Whilst President of the Royal College of Physicians.
  • *J. A. Brown, Esq., A. B. (R. U. I.), B. Ch., M. D.. B. A. O.
  • C. Metcalfe Brown, Esq., M.D., D.P.H.—Whilst Chairman of the Council of the Society of Medical Officers of Health.
  • Professor Sir David Campbell. M.A., M.C., M.D., LL.D., F.R.F.P.S.—Whilst President of the General Medical Council.
  • Sir Ernest Rock Carling, M.B., F.R.C.S., F.R.C.P., LL.D., F.F.R.
  • Professor Digby Chamberlain, Ch. M., F. R. C. S.
  • Professor Robert Cruickshank, M. D., F. R. C. P., D. P. H.
  • O. M. Duthie, Esq., F. R. C. S.
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  • A. A. Gemmell, Esq., M. C., T. D., M. A., M. D., P. R. C. O. G., F. R. C. S. E.—Whilst President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
  • *E. A. Gregg, Esq., J.P., M. D., L. R. C. P. I., L. R. C. P. I.—Whilst Chairman of the Council of the British Medical Association.
  • *W. V. Howells, Esq., O. B. E., M. A., M. B., B. Ch., M. R. C. S., L. R. C. P.
  • Professor A. J. Lewis, M.D., F.R.C.P.
  • W. G. Masefield, Esq., C. B. E., M. R. C. S., L. R. C. P., D. P. M.
  • Professor Sir Harry Platt, M. S., M. D., P. R. C. S., F. A. C. S.—Whilst President of the Royal College of Surgeons.
  • Sir James Paterson Ross, K. C. V. O., M. S., F. R. C. S.
  • *F. M. Rose, Esq., M. B., Ch. B.
  • J. C. Scadding, Esq., M. D., F. R. C. P.
  • W. P. H. Sheldon, Esq., M. D., F. R. C. P.
  • C. W. Walker, Esq., M. B., B. Ch., M. R. C. S., L. R. C. P.
  • Sir William Gillian. K. C. V. O., M. D., M. S., F. R. C. S., F. R. C. O. G.
  • H. Joules, Esq., M. D. F. R. C. P.
  • H. M. Cameron Macaulay, Esq., B. Sc., M. D., D. P. H.
  • J. R. K. Paterson, Esq., C. B. E., M. C., M. D., F. R. C. S., F. F. R., D. M. R. E.
  • G. W. H. Townsend, Esq., M. B., B. Ch., D. P. H.
  • *S. Wand, Esq., M. B., Ch. M.

* General Practitioner

Members are appointed after consultation with representative medical organisations, including the British Medical Association, and serve in an individual capacity. When first consulted in 1950 the Committee agreed with the view expressed by the Pharmacopoeia Commission (who had in turn consulted the British Medical Association) that the advantages claimed for heroin did not outweigh the grave consequences of widespread addiction in certain countries. The Committee advised that it would be justifiable to prohibit heroin in this country if international agreement were reached to prohibit the manufacture and sale of heroin. When again consulted in 1954 it concurred in the proposal that the ban should be imposed.

The matter referred to in the last part of the Question was not specifically referred to the Committee. All aspects of the operation of the ban will be kept under review.