Day 253 - 21 May 96 - Page 11
1 MR. RAMPTON: What I had in mind is material which is to be
2 found in the grey book, which I know from previous
3 discussion that Professor Naismith is familiar with, and
4 when I say 'previous' I mean before he gave evidence. I do
5 not know whether this will be a convenient moment to do it,
6 but what we have done is to extract from that grey COMA
7 book, the new one about cardio-vascular disease, what
8 yesterday Professor Naismith called the "histograms
9 relating to diet and the incidence of cardio-vascular
10 disease country by country within the Common Market". We
11 stuck them all together. I do not know whether it is
12 helpful to hand it in now.
13
14 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What I suggest is, if you hand a copy to
15 Mr. Morris, or have one handed to him, and then, if he
16 chooses to use it, or any part of it now I will look at
17 it. Otherwise, if you choose to come to it in
18 re-examination I will look at it then.
19
20 MR. RAMPTON: Yes.
21
22 MR. MORRIS: Can I have a look at this before?
23 A. It is page 53, my Lord.
24
25 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Page 53?
26
27 MR. MORRIS: Can I ask you, Professor Naismith, this: Page 52,
28 this does relate to the point I was about to ask you
29 about. The charts relate to the death rates per 100,000 of
30 the population. Is that per year?
31 A. Yes.
32
33 Q. Right. So, for example, the range is between 75, which is
34 France, and 300 Ireland, about 300 UK as well, the range
35 between 75 and 300, something like that, for coronary heart
36 disease deaths per 100,000 per year?
37 A. Yes.
38
39 Q. Right. Does that give you any cause for complacency, say,
40 for France, that 75 to 100,000 people are dying each year
41 of coronary heart disease?
42 A. Do you mean that I am happy that 75 Frenchmen die each
43 year or?
44
45 MR. JUSTICE BELL: They are not 75,000, it is 75 in every
46 100,000 of the population as I understand it?
47 A. Yes.
48
49 MR. MORRIS: If it is 50 million population, it would be
50 something like 37 and a half thousand people dying every
51 year of coronary heart disease in France?
52 A. Yes.
53
54 Q. By my calculations. But does that give you cause for
55 complacency and say that it is not a substantial health
56 problem in France?
57 A. Well, I have not given much thought to French
58 mortality. If you combine it with other causes of death in
59 France, such as sclerosis of the liver, which is a much
60 more serious problem, the point is people have to die of
