September 12, 1953.

THE Herald reported: ''A cigarette-smoking machine which uses 100 cigarettes an hour is part of the equipment in daily use for cancer research at the Royal Beatson Memorial Hospital, Hill Street, Glasgow.

The investigation has been proceeding for a year, and in that time more than 10,000 cigarettes have been 'smoked' by the machine.

''The experiment, which is only one of the lines of research being followed, was devised so that whatever the products of smoking they should be trapped by the magnets in the six wash-bottles through which the smoke is drawn by a pump. The laboratory assistant who replaces the cigarettes every few minutes also collects the ash for analysis and the cigarette stubs for grinding in a mortar.

''The dark, tarry substance collected in the wash-bottles is also being given to mice in food. According to the doctor in charge, it contains hundreds of compounds, and none of the things they have been able to identify so far is known to be a cause of cancer.''

n ''OBSERVER'' wrote to the Editor of The Herald, claiming that in wartime factories, women workers had been subjected to inspections of hair, eyes, and teeth.

''The rule was that a girl or woman starting work had first of all to report to the nurse. Those whose hair showed signs of vermin were sent home. This rule did not apply to female office staff. It happened that two sisters started work on the same day - one, a factory hand, was examined, the other, an office worker, was assumed to be clean.''