Smoke?; One in eight

Thirty six mice were exposed to the smoke of 12 cigarettes each each day for one year or until illness or death ended their share of the experiment. Thirty six mice smoked. Not at all but lived in otherwise similar conditions. Seventy two mites took part in an experiment investigating the relationship between smoking and lung tumors. This is an outline of an experiment conducted by JMS and Berg reported in Science in 1952. The mice that died or became ill in the first two months of the experiment were not included in the final results. Thirty six mice smoked 36 mice living in otherwise similar conditions did not. Twenty three of the smoking mice lived through the first two months of the experiment in good health. Of these 23 21 developed lung tumors that comes to ninety one point three percent. Thirty two of the nonsmokers survived the first two months. Nineteen of these developed lung tumors that comes to fifty nine point four percent. The investigator concluded that the cigarette smoke

had increased the incidence of lung tumors in the animals that had been inhaling it. But there was of course disagreement said the critics. Thirty six mice smoked 36 mice did not of the smoking mice. Twenty one developed lung tumors of the nonsmoking mice. Nineteen developed lung tumors. We kind of agree that smoking increased the incidence of lung tumors which demonstrates the fact that even in very scientific experiments or sometimes something like an elephant what one sees depends on how one looks at a look at the bristly firehose George. It is enough firehose roundoff that's an elephant on the other end of it. You're looking at is trunk. Smoke question mark. A series of programs presenting information on Smoking and Health.

These programs are produced by radio station WAGA of the University of Wisconsin under a grant from the National Association of educational broadcasters. Program number four. One in eight. 36 my smoked 36 did not 21 smokers developed lung tumors 19 nonsmokers developed lung tumors. There was disagreement E.C. Hammond of the American Cancer Society offered another view which simplified it goes something like this. Thirty six mice smoke thirty six did not. If you include the animals that became ill or died in the first two months the picture changes. Thirty four of the smoking mice became ill or died or developed lung

tumors. Only two of the 36 smokers came through untouched but 13 of the none smokers came through untouched. This would seem to indicate at least that cigarette smoke is not very good for the particular strain of mice used in the experiment. Mathematics is a precise language. Figures may not live but when they have to be interpreted in day to day terms it's sometimes like looking at an elephant. What are you doing in the window roundoff. I'm going up for a walk. I wouldn't go out that way roundoff we're on the second floor tired of going up and down stairs this way it's closer. Did you know round off that one out of every eight people who go for walks out of second story windows dies of a fractured scar your figure is accurate Has someone done a survey. No but they seem reasonable don't you agree. I agree. However it is not enough to know what happens. One must also know how before one

believes. Can you also tell me how the skull is fractured where when and Except of course not round. Bombs away round off job are IMO. It's difficult for ordinary citizens to apply a mathematical conclusions to everyday life. And yet there are very few normal people who would risk their lives in a 1 to 8 situation if they could avoid it. Said Sir Robert Platt of the Royal College of Physicians in England. Supposing you were offered flights on an airplane and you were told that usually only about one in a Christ would you take the risk. Of course not. Well lung cancer kills about one the heavy smoker in age. Figures on smoking and lung cancer are impressive. Lung cancer was once a rare disease. Today it is the leading cause of death

in men. Almost one fourth of the cancer deaths in men are a result of lung cancer. Does cigarette smoking cause lung cancer. The lung cancer rate among regular cigarette smokers is ten times higher than among nonsmokers. Lung cancer rates among one pack a day smokers is more than 20 times higher than among non smokers. The lung cancer rate among two or more packs a day smokers is 40 to 60 times higher. The evidence is impressive. So impressive that it overshadows the association between smoking and other kinds of cancer. The Hammond and horn study for the American Cancer Society produced the following figures. E.S. Hammond said Cigarette smokers had a mortality ratio of one point seven seven for cancer of the genital urinary system

a mortality ratio of 1 represents the death rate of the nonsmoker. This category includes cancer of the bladder kidney and prostate. In most of these cases cancer was present at the time of death two or more of these sites as well as in other parts of the body. Evidence as to the exact spot where the disease started was far from conclusive in many instances. However cancer of the bladder appeared to be more highly associated with cigarette smoking than with cancer of any other site in this group. The mortality ratio for bladder cancer being two point one seven mortality a ratio of 1 represents the death rate for the nonsmoker. For cancer of the lip mouth tongue larynx pharynx and the Sufis the mortality ratio of cigarette smokers for cancer of these sites combined was five point zero six

a mortality ratio of 1 represents the death rate for the none smoker. The figures for lung cancer and for some other kinds of cancer are impressive. They may lead some people to overlook some other figures. Randolph are you alright. No. Why did you crack your skull as one in a dozen. No I did not but you are just round off. I think I broke my neck. Why didn't you tell me about that. The mortality ratios run like this for cigarette smokers including all causes of death. For non smoking men. The mortality ratio of 1. 4 1 to 9 cigarettes a day one point three far for 10 to 19 cigarettes a day. One point seven. Twenty to thirty nine cigarettes a day.

One point nine six or forty or more cigarettes a day. Two point two three. These figures from the Hammond and horn study compare well with other studies. Mortality ratios from one variety of non-cancerous disease run like this for coronary artery disease for men who never smoked the mortality ratio is one for one to nine cigarettes a day smokers one point nine for 10 to 900 cigarettes a day smokers one point eight nine. Far 20 are more cigarettes a day smokers do point to the mortality ratios for lung cancer run like this for a man who never smoked. The mortality ratio is one for one to nine cigarettes a day smokers eight. Down to the 19 cigarettes a day.

Ten point five for 20 or more cigarettes a day. Twenty three point four. The statistical relationship between cigarette smoking and an increased death rate between cigarette smoking and several diseases like coronary artery disease is impressive. The statistical relationship between cigarette smoking and lung cancer is dramatic and there's other evidence pertaining to lung cancer. Chemical evidence tobacco smoke contains at least 16 cancer inducing substances. It isn't enough to tell me what happens George. I want to know how. After all I may not be the fall that broke my neck. It may be the people until we know how I am going to assume that it isn't the fall from a second story window that does you am I am assuming that it is the people. Some people are just too brittle to stand a perfectly logical second story yanks that one person in 8 may have a natural predisposition toward broken necks and fractured skull. There's other evidence experimental evidence.

Tobacco TAR is painted on the skin of rats have induced cancer of the skin. However it may have been the rats some rats have been bred to a point at which they develop cancer after a shave. Tobacco tars have induced skin cancer in rabbits but it may have been the rabbits tobacco tars have induced cell changes which may be pre-cancerous in the lung tissue of dogs and mice. But it may have been the dogs and mice. Human beings who smoke heavily turning themselves into a kind of experimental animal coating their lungs daily with tobacco tires die of lung cancer. One lung cancer death in each group of eight heavy smokers. It may be the smokers and not the smoke. However scientific caution can be pushed to unreasonable limits. It could be the dogs rabbits rats mice and men. But reason indicates that it just might possibly be the smoke. There is more evidence. Lung cancer is a malignant neoplasm which arises in the

epithelium which lines the branco tubes of the lungs. These are the words of E. C. Hammond. This is a beautifully simple tissue cross-section it appears microscopically as one or two rows of small round basal cells lying on the basement membrane and one row of silly aged columnar cells interspersed with goblet cells. The goblet cells coat the tissue with mucus. The tiny hair whips keep the mucus in constant motion in a flow from the lungs to the throat. Rocky tubes are constantly Bayh's been cleansed in this fashion. Foreign particles which enter the lungs are trapped by the mucus and removed by its flow. Exposure to cigarette smoke inhibits the action of the cilia in the bronc tubes of cows in wraps and in rabbit microscopic studies have shown that the lungs of smokers more often than those of nonsmokers contain areas in which there are

no. Microscopic studies have shown that the cilia in the lungs of smokers are shorter on the average than the cilia in the lungs of nonsmokers where the cilia are absent or inhibited. The cleansing action is lacking or inhibited that effects mechanism of the lungs does not function so well against cancer inducing foreign particles whether they are from polluted air industrial dust or tobacco smoke or inducing substances produced changes in living tissue long before cancer develops. Some of the changes are hyperplasia Mehta plays and the appearance of atypical cells. Microscopic study of thousands of sections from the lungs of 400 to men produced the following results. Abnormal cell changes increased with the amount of smoking changes lesions which were composed entirely of atypical cells and without cilia were found in the following

proportions. No such changes in men who had never smoked regularly. Very few such changes in light smokers for a man who smoked one to two packs of cigarettes a day 4.3 percent of the sections contain such changes from men who smoked two or more packs a day. Eleven point four percent of the sections contain such changes from men who died of lung cancer 15 percent of the sections contain such changes. So the authors of the study in our opinion the histological evidence from this study greatly strengthens the already overwhelming body of epidemiological evidence that cigarette smoking is a major factor in the causation of Bronco genic carcinoma. The death rate from lung cancer is about 60 times higher for a man who smoked more than two packs a day. Lung cancer kills about one heavy

smoker in eight. And these are the odds and some of the facts to support them. Next a closer look at some of the arguments which surround the question of smoking and health. Smoke is produced by radio station WAGA at the University of Wisconsin under a grant from the National Association of educational broadcast script by Milburn and Elizabeth Carlson. Music but done with action by Carl Smith. This is Dan a B Radio Network.