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Sir Richard Doll: Death, Dioxin and PVC

Martin J Walker MA.

As a doctor and a man of science, naturally you see this affair of the

polluted water-supply as a perfectly clear-cut isolated issue. I don’t

suppose it’s occurred to you that a great many other things are

involved.

Henrik Ibsen: An Enemy of the People.

 

Introduction

Sir Richard Doll is considered to be one of the world’s greatest public health

epidemiologists. In Britain, his stature in the contemporary world rises far above

those historical characters who, it is said, shaped the scientific approach to public

health in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. An English gentleman, who

exposed the link between cigarettes and cancer, with a long association with

Oxford University, Sir Richard’s ethics are accepted as beyond criticism and

consequently the results of his research frequently epitomise the inevitable

‘rightness’ of science as a tool for testing public health risk.

 

Accolades and awards fall to Sir Richard, at the age of 86, seemingly as

naturally and inevitably as fruit falls from trees. In July 2002, he and his longtime

colleague, Sir Richard Peto, were awarded the King Olav V’s prize of 1

million NOK, for outstanding cancer research. In September 2002 Sir Richard

was given the honorary freedom of the City of Oxford.