XN000022-1987-12-11 — Page 16

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1987

CANCER STILL NO. 1 KILLER

EVERY ONE IN

THREE DEATHS IN HONG KONG HAS BEEN CAUSED BY

CANCER, ACCORDING TO LATEST ANNUAL STATISTICS.

THIS WAS STATED BY THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF MEDICAL AND HEALTH SERVICES, DR S.H. LEE TODAY (FRIDAY) WHEN HE MADE THE PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE HONG KONG ANTI-CANCER SOCIETY.

CANCER HAD REMAINED THE NUMBER ONE KILLER IN HONG 1964 AND HAD CLAIMED MORE LIVES EVERY YEAR, HE SAID.

KONG SINCE

FROM 1964 TO 1986, THE CANCER DEATH RATE INCREASED FROM 91 173 PER 100,000 POPULATION FOR MALE, AND 75 TO 117

100,000

FEMALE.

TO

PER

FOR

DR LEE NOTED THAT LUNG CANCER STILL TOPS THE LIST OF ALL CANCER DEATHS, ACCOUNTING FOR 2,348 OR 29 PER CENT OF A TOTAL OF 8,054 CANCER DEATHS IN 1986.

HAD IS FOLLOWED CLOSELY BY LIVER CANCER WHICH THIS FOR 1,054 DEATHS.

ACCOUNTED

HEALTH ACTIVITIES

DR LEE SAID THAT IN CANCER CONTROL, THE WORLD ORGANISATION (WHO) HAD LAID EMPHASIS ON PRIMARY PREVENTION INCLUDING CONTROL OF SMOKING, HEPATITIS B VACCINATION AND PROMOTION OF NUTRITION PROGRAMMES.

CIGARETTE

IN HONG KONG, THE GOVERNMENT BEGAN STRENGTHENING ITS CONTROL ON

SMOKING

THE IN THE EARLY EIGHTIES, WITH

SMOKING (PUBLIC OF MEASURES ENACTED IN 1982 FOLLOWED BY A SERIES HEALTH) ORDINANCE AGAINST SMOKING.

DUE ΤΟ

HAZARDS OF PAST

INCREASING PUBLIC AWARENESS OF THE HEALTH SMOKING, THE NUMBER OF SMOKERS HAD DROPPED BY 20 PER CENT IN THE FOUR YEARS.

AS A

OF THE RESULT

SUSTAINED EFFORTS OF THE COMBINED AND

THE INDIVIDUALS, VOLUNTARY AGENCIES AND PUBLIC SPIRITED GOVERNMENT,

IN OCTOBER HONG KONG COUNCIL ON SMOKING AND HEALTH WAS INAUGURATED THIS YEAR.

DR

LEE SAID HONG KONG'S EFFORTS IN THE FIGHT

RECOGNISED INTERNATIONALLY INDEED BEEN

AGAINST TOBACCO AS AN EXAMPLE OF A RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT IN PROTECTING THE HEALTH OF ITS COMMUNITY.

HAD

FACTOR

TURNING TO HEPATITIS B WHICH IS A VERY IMPORTANT CAUSAL FOR LIVER CANCER, DR LEE SAID THERE WERE ABOUT 160 MILLION CARRIERS OF THE VIRUS IN ASIA AND OVER 500,000 IN HONG KONG.

/TO CURB