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Show Digest Calls British Smoking Report 'Stern Warning' to U.S. In an article titled "Lung Cancer Can-cer and Cigarettes" by Lois Mat-tox Mat-tox Miller, the June Reader's Digest summarizes the British Royal College of Physicians' recent re-cent report, "Smoking and Health," and terms it "a clear and stern warning" on the subject; sub-ject; The article lauds the report as the first "to spell out a practical program of preventive measures for the individual and the government" gov-ernment" and urges that the United States follow the British in such measures. At the same time, the Digest announced that its international editions will accept no more cigarette ciga-rette advertising after present contracts are fulfilled. U.S. editions edi-tions of the magazine have never carried it. Highlights of the report quoted by the Digest include: "Cigarette smoking is a cause of lung cancer and bronchitis, and probably contributes to the development of coronary heart disease and various less common diseases." ly 40,000 Americans will die from lung cancer in 1962," said Dr. Diehl. "This total has now reached the annual number of deaths from automobile accidents and represents a thousand per cent increase in deaths from lung cancer compared to thirty years ago. "Nearly all of these deaths are among people who are cigarette cigar-ette smokers. If the smoking habit were eliminated from American life, some 25,000 lives could be saved each year . . . Because of our belief that only a well-informed public can make decisions important to its health, I am particularly gratified to see the Reader's Digest's excellent excel-lent presentation of the latest findings on lung cancer and cigarettes. . . . These findings, all of which show that death rates from lung cancer increase with the number of cigarettes smoked, are well accepted by the medical and scientific community here and abroad. "Cigarette smokers have the I greatest risk of dying from these diseases, and the risk is greater for the heavier smokers." "The many deaths from these diseases present a challenge to medicine; insofar as they are due to smoking they should be preventable." pre-ventable." "The harmful effects of cigarette cigar-ette smoking might be reduced by efficient filters, by leaving longer cigarette stubs, or by changing from cigarette to pipe or cigar smoking." The American Cancer Society! endorsed the Digest article with a statement by Dr. Harold S. Diehl, the Society's Senior Vice-President Vice-President for Research and Medical Medi-cal Affairs. Several other health and education organizations are calling it to the attention of their members. "According to American Cancer Can-cer Society figures, approximate- |