§ Mr. LeighTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what review of health research has been set in hand to reflect the conclusions of the World Health Organisation congress on smoking and health held in Tokyo in 1987;
(2) if his Department is in possession of any scientific evidence on the health implications of tobacco published since 1979.
§ Mrs. CurrieThe Department keeps in touch with all published research work on the health implications of tobacco and takes expert advice from the committee for research into behavioural aspects of smoking and health, and from the independent scientific committee on smoking and health, the fourth of whose reports was published by the Health Departments last month. No additional review of research has been set in hand as a result of the Tokyo conference, which was attended by officials of the Department, but the report of the conference will be carefully studied when it is available in order to consider its implications for the development of policy on smoking and health.
My hon. Friend may like to refer to the independent scientific committee's report which quoted a large number of research studies done both in the United Kingdom and overseas. A copy is in the Library.