Nicholas Wald – författare

This book is a compilation of statistics about smoking in the United Kingdom. It provides a comprehensive study by amalgamating published and unpublished data from several sources, including the General Household Study carried out every two years, and the annual survey carried out on behalf of the tobacco industry.Data on tobacco sales were first available at the end of the last century, and estimates of the consumption of tobacco by men and women have been made since 1905. These data are now classified according to age, social class, and type of cigarette smoked.This book also includes data on smoking habits in different regions of the United Kingdom, data on the taxation of tobacco, and on the smoking habits of British children assessed from various surveys. There is a new chapter on the effects of smoking on pregnant women.

The subject of smoking and the hormone disorders associated with it are of relatively recent interest. Its importance increases as the average age at death of the population increases and many of those people will have had a lifetime smoking. The book provides summaries of the present status of research into the effects of smoking and the apparent protection offered against certain diseases. Some research workers have suggested ways of predicting trends of disease patterns such as osteoporetic fractures. Not all the disorders discussed are adverse effects of smoking and these have provided impetus for developing non-tobacco methods of disease prevention. As the smoking population diminishes and the availability of lower tar brands increases, a reduction in many of the adverse disorders is expected and will form the basis for continued monitoring.

The options in antenatal and neonatal care are legion. Preferences still tend to be subjective. In spite of much publicity that has raised public expectation, an up-to-date thorough evaluation of antenatal and neonatal screening was lacking. This book sets out screening approaches in a quantitative manner and will enable choices to be based on objective evidence of efficacy and, where appropriate, safety. Technical advances have sometimes been introduced uncritically and without adequate assessment. It has been assumed, perhaps naively, that the early detection of abnormality will invariably be a good thing. In this book, there is no such assumption that new tests or technical procedures are useful. They are only considered as a legitimate medical option if they can and have been shown to lead to improvements in outcome. Each disorder is defined and the screening procedure which is designed to identify the disorder critically evaluated. Priority is given to the screening of disorders which lend themselves to effective intervention and practical guidance is provided on how screening should be conducted. Most chapters include a discussion of problem areas and research needs. There are 23 chapters from leading experts from Europe and North America. The book bridges different disciplines concerned with screening and thereby improves the understanding of the subject and will improve delivery of preventive medical services. The book is directed at obstetricians, public health doctors, paediatricians and fetal medicine doctors, epidemiologists, geneticists, health care providers and administrators.