Harold macmillan: A pipe man

Harold Macmillan claimed smoking was no more dangerous than 'crossing a street' and argued against issuing a Government health warning, Cabinet papers released yesterday reveal.

The then Chancellor, a keen pipe and cigar smoker, had another reason for ignoring evidence of a link between cigarettes and lung cancer - he was afraid of losing tax revenue.

There was already growing concern that smoking caused the disease when in 1956 the Cabinet was given a scientific report showing clear statistical evidence of a connection.

It prompted panic among ministers over whether they should 'expose' the facts and condemn smoking as a health risk.

Sir Anthony Eden, the Prime Minister, said: 'The time is arrived when we should decide whether we have a line.'

Macmillan urged caution. He described the medical report as a 'very serious issue'  -  but not because of the potential risks to smokers.

Instead, he pointed out that the revenue from smoking was crucial in keeping income tax down, adding that it was 'not easy to see how to replace it'.

He claimed that the life expectancy for a smoker - 73 at the time - was only one year less than that of a non-smoker.

He added: 'The Treasury think revenue interest outweighs this. (It is) negligible compared with risk of crossing a street.' Notes from the meeting on April 17, 1956, were released at the National Archives in Kew, South West London.

Health Minister Robert Turton, who had been urged by the Medical Advisory Committee to tell the public of the facts on any link between smoking and cancer, admitted that the 'statistical picture is clear'.

But he also opposed issuing a warning, explaining that the report had fallen short of providing absolute scientific 'proof' of a connection between smoking and cancer.

Ministers agreed not to comment on the issue until another report was published with more detailed information.

A fortnight later, the Cabinet decided to announce that the Government would 'ensure that the public are kept well informed of all relevant information as and when it becomes available'.

But ministers still did not make a decision on whether to warn about the risks of smoking. They also discussed plans to massage the figures to make lung cancer appear less of a threat than heart disease.

Macmillan took over as Prime Minister the following year after Eden resigned over the Suez crisis. He held the position until 1963.

Despite repeated warnings from medical experts about the link between smoking and cancer, ministers took no action until 1965 when they banned cigarette advertising on television.

The first public health campaign highlighting the dangers of smoking was in 1971, coinciding with the start of health warnings appearing on cigarette packets.