HL Deb 15 March 1979 vol 399 cc850-1WA
Lord HOUGHTON of SOWERBY

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the comparison between the total number of people employed in the manufacture of tobacco and the annual number of deaths from lung cancer and other diseases attributed to habitual smoking.

And:

What were the numbers of deaths from disorders attributed to excessive addiction to:

  1. (a) drugs,
  2. (b) alcohol,
  3. (c) nicotine,
in any year for which the information is available.

Lord WELLS-PESTELL

The latest estimate of people employed in the manufacture of all tobacco products in the United Kingdom is just over 36,000.

Excessive use of drugs, alcohol or tobacco plays a part in deaths from a variety of causes; the precise contributions of each to mortality generally is not known. However, the annual number of premature deaths due specifically to smoking-related diseases has been estimated at 50,000 in the United Kingdom. In England and Wales in 1977,71 deaths were attributed to "drug dependence" and 181 to "alcoholism". Cirrhosis of the liver, which is closely, though not exclusively, associated with excessive drinking, accounted for 1,820 deaths.