June 29, 2007

smoking and death: the next 50 years

Speakers:
Sir Richard Peto, Professor of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, MRC Clinical Trial Service & Epidemiological
Prof Colin Blakemore, Chief Executive, Medical Research Council

50 years ago, the Government accepted the Medical Research Council’s conclusion that smoking was the major cause of lung cancer. Since then more than 7 million people in the UK have been killed by smoking. With the smoking ban coming into force on Sunday, what will the future hold for public health? Sir Richard Peto, collaborator with Sir Richard Doll who was behind the MRC’s original findings, spoke on the latest figures relating to smoking and death, smoking prevalence and the challenges of the next fifty years, while Professor Colin Blakemore, Chief Executive of the Medical Research Council, highlighted the MRC’s ongoing contribution to research in this area.