[Report 1970] / Medical Officer of Health, Worsley U.D.C.

  • Worsley (England). Urban District Council.
Date:
1970
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1970] / Medical Officer of Health, Worsley U.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    8/72 (page 6)
    On the more practical level of personal prevention it may be pertinent to point out that heavy smokers incur a risk of dying of coronary heart disease which is greater by 70tfo than that of non-smokers. Giving up smoking also decreases the risk of contracting cancer of the lung, as well as mitigating the discomfort of bronchitis. As in 1961 and 1963, so in 1970 the greatest part of the exception¬ ally large number of cases of infectious diseases notified (856) was contributed by the notification of cases of measles (624). In practice however the sixty-one cases of infective jaundice notified give more cause for concern than the much greater number of cases of measles or the cases of whooping cough (56) which were relatively more numerous than in recent years. Mr. Haworth in his accompanying letter rightly draws attention to the need for vigilance and for rigorous control in the matter of pollution of the environment. In the future we may see more sophisticated monitoring than we have now of pollutants and poisons in food, in vegetation, in the soil, in water and in the atmosphere; we may also see stronger legislative powers exercised by local authorities with wider responsibilities for bigger areas. In the meantime however it is a pleasure to pay tribute to the officers of the Health Department who have throughout he year diligently carried out the responsibilities laid upon them to ensure the health and safety of the people whom you represent. I am, Ladies and Gentlemen, Yours obediently, WILLIS J. ELWOOD Medical Officer of Health February, 1972