Smoking (Hansard, 13 March 1991)

§ Mr. Dorrell

[holding answer 11 March 1991]: The table shows the number of deaths attributed to those forms of cancer and heart disease usually associated with smoking. It is estimated that at least 90 per cent. of deaths from lung cancer and pulmonary heart disease are attributable to smoking. In addition cancers of the mouth, larynx and oesophagus have all been associated with smoking.

In 1983 the Royal College of Physicians in its report "Health or Smoking" estimated that perhaps 20 per cent. of deaths due to obstruction of the arteries of the heart were related to smoking; an extract is available in the Library. The medical term for this condition is "ischaemic heart disease", but it is often referred to as "coronary heart disease". The total number of deaths from this condition is shown in the table, but the proportion directly attributable to smoking is less certain as this is only one of a number of causes that give rise to obstruction of the arteries of the heart.

Number of deaths from major cancers and heart disease associated with tobacco smoking, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, 1989.
Cause¹	Number of Deaths
	England	Wales	Scotland	Northern Ireland
Malignant Neoplasms of Trachea, Bronchus and lung (1)	32,467	2,051	4,234	831
Lip, oral cavity and pharynx (2)	1,601	105	218	35
Oesophagus (3)	4,650	346	633	106
Larynx (4)	808	51	98	27
Chronic pulmonary heart disease (5)	566	71	23	7
Ischaemic heart disease (6)	140,509	9,686	18,107	4,508
¹ International classification of diseases code (9th revision): (1) 162, (2) 140–149, (3) 150, (4) 161, (5) 416, (6) 410–414.
² Data for Northern Ireland are provisional.