Getting your player ready...
LONDON — The British Cabinet discussed the early warnings about a link between smoking and lung cancer more than 50 years ago but viewed the threat as minor, according to documents released Friday.
The notes, taken by Cabinet Secretary Sir Norman Brook on April 19, 1956, were released by the National Archives.
Treasury chief Harold Macmillan, who later became prime minister, called the link “a very serious issue” because of the potential reduction in tax collection.
“Expectation of life: 73 for smoker and 74 for nonsmoker,” the notes read. “Treasury think revenue interest outweighs this. Negligible compared with risk of crossing a street.”
