Dr. Jerome Coffey:

There are two parts to the answer. I joined the scientific council of the International Agency for Research on Cancer last year. It is an international organisation based in Lyon, which is run by the World Health Organization, WHO. It looks at carcinogens. It looks at chemicals, foodstuffs and anything else that may be causing cancer. It looks at various parts of the world. If an area of high incidence is found it looks at what local issues might be contributing. In terms of foodstuffs in this country or other lifestyle issues, nothing major has been noted.

Radon in parts of the country contributes to a certain proportion of the incidence of lung cancer. There is nothing obvious at the moment that needs to change from good status to bad status that will have an impact on incidences of cancer.