{"id":4029,"date":"1946-11-01T01:00:00","date_gmt":"1946-11-01T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1946-vol-27-no-11-the-toll-of-disease\/"},"modified":"2022-11-28T15:00:36","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T15:00:36","slug":"november-1946-vol-27-no-11-the-toll-of-disease","status":"publish","type":"rbc_letter","link":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1946-vol-27-no-11-the-toll-of-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"November 1946 &#8211; Vol. 27, No. 11 &#8211; The Toll of Disease"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"layout-column-main\">\n<p class=\"boldtext\">By a strange twist of human nature, &#8220;health&#8221;                     is not a popular subject in the way it is to be discussed                     here.<\/p>\n<p> This is in line with the experience of a drug company which                     used an advertisement showing an alarm clock going off. People                     did not like the picture because it reminded them of unpleasant                     things, such as waking up from a peaceful sleep.<\/p>\n<p>Though this country has made good progress in providing                     the things necessary to full health, there are still too many                     Canadians ill, too many babies dying, too many deaths in motherhood.<\/p>\n<p>Let us start first with babies. Every year the birth of                     a baby is of concern to about 300,000 homes in Canada, which                     means that every day it is the event of the year for 900 families.<\/p>\n<p>When the baby is born, it is already nine months old, and                     if it has been neglected during that period its chances of                     living are much lower than if its mother had been given proper                     medical care and intelligent home help before the birth. If                     babies were thought of and cared for from the very beginning                     the number of deaths would be negligible.<\/p>\n<p>What do we find the fact to be? In the four years 1938 to                     1941, 57,436 babies under one year of age died in Canada,                     and 3,806 Canadian mothers died giving birth. This is a greater                     death toll than was suffered by Canada in her fighting forces                     in all four years of the first world war. During the period                     of the second world war the deaths of infants, stillborn and                     under one year of age, totalled more than three times the                     deaths in our fighting forces. Monuments in every city and                     hamlet show that we were sadly aware of the war sacrifices,                     but there is no general feeling displayed of our sense of                     the heavier losses on the home front through the death of                     infants and mothers who could have been saved.<\/p>\n<p>The record has improved over the past 25 years, of course,                     but are we content with it? Those who point with pride to                     the reduction in infant deaths from 102 per thousand live                     births in 1921 to 55 in 1944 should go on to compare this                     with the record in other countries. Here are the figures:                     Sweden 29; New Zealand 29; Switzerland 38; Australia 40; Netherlands                     40; the United States 40; England and Wales 49&#8230;and Canada                     55. These are given by the Health Study Bureau in its &#8220;Review                     of Canada&#8217;s Health Needs and Health Insurance Proposals,&#8221;                     published in May 1946.<\/p>\n<p>If some people are satisfied with the overall Dominion record,                     what do they say about the differences between various parts                     of the country? The number of children out of every 1,000                     born alive who died before their first birthday varied in                     this way: British Columbia 40; Ontario 43; Prince Edward Island                     44; Alberta 46; Saskatchewan 47; Manitoba 49; Nova Scotia                     53; Quebec 68, and New Brunswick 78. These figures are given                     in the current Canadian Almanac, referring to the year 1944.<\/p>\n<p>Statistics such as these indicate that some sectors have                     little cause for contentment when they compare their record                     with that of others; some provinces are not keeping up with                     their neighbours in health conservation, and the infant death                     rate of the Dominion compares unfavourably with that of many                     other countries.<\/p>\n<p>The same situation is found in maternal deaths. The rate                     in Canada is high, but wherever adequate services are provided                     and taken advantage of, the death rate is only half that of                     Canada as a whole. The effective work done in every field                     of nursing by the Victorian Order of Nurses shows up particularly                     well in the realm of maternity nursing. Where mothers were                     served by the V.O.N. the rate of death was less than half                     the general rate &#8211; 2.5 per 1,000 live births compared with                     5.1 in the five years ended 1936. In general, maternal deaths                     decreased from 5.6 per thousand births in 1936 to 2.7 per                     thousand in 1944.<\/p>\n<p>The point of pressing interest is that, according to the                     report of the Advisory Committee on Health Insurance issued                     in 1943, &#8220;It is considered that by the adoption of adequate                     maternal services the death rate could be more than cut in                     half.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Expectancy of life has increased greatly. A child born in                     the sixteenth century had a life prospect of 21 years; in                     the seventeenth century this had increased to 26 years; in                     the eighteenth century to 34 years; and by 1880 it was 40                     years. Canadian tables of 1940 to 1942 show an expectation                     of life at birth of slightly less than 63 years for males                     and over 66 for females, increases of 3 and 4 years over the                     time of the 1931 census. The person of 20 now has, on an average,                     as many years of life remaining as the new born child had                     in 1900.<\/p>\n<p>It should be noted that the expectation of living more years                     applies most strongly in the younger ages: for persons over                     40 life expectancy has been increased by only 3 years since                     the turn of the century. Young people live to older ages than                     formerly, but older people do not tend to live to yet older                     ages.<\/p>\n<p>It must be emphasized that the increase in life expectancy                     is not brought about by something completely beyond control.                     Speaking before the Sugar Research Foundation this fall, Dr.                     I. M. Rabinowitch, associate professor of medicine at McGill                     University, said that there was &#8220;no physical or chemical reason&#8221;                     why the human organism could not continue to function efficiently                     from birth up to 110 or 115 years, and he pleaded for more                     research, particularly in diet, to bring about that state.<\/p>\n<p>Some will be puzzled by the fact that while Canada&#8217;s infant                     and maternal death rates compare unfavourably with many other                     countries, her general death rate is one of the lowest in                     the world. The latest Canada Year Book shows a Canadian death                     rate of 10.1 per 1,000 population, while only four countries                     had a rate under ten per thousand, and some were as high as                     26 per thousand. It appears that the room for improvement                     lies within groups, particularly the two already discussed                     &#8211; infants and mothers. The Hon. George Hoadley, one-time                     Health Minister of Alberta and now President of the Health                     Study Bureau, emphasized this in the booklet &#8220;Canada&#8217;s Health&#8221;,                     using figures based on the 1931 census year: &#8220;On the average,                     we are losing a mother every eight hours, or three a day;                     54 children under five years every day; 42 children under                     one year every day, and 24 children stillborn or who live                     less than 24 hours, every day.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The very young and the very old require greater care and                     more of it in proportion to that needed by the in-betweens.                     This is important because Canada&#8217;s population in the older                     age groups is increasing rapidly. It is expected that in the                     ten years starting in 1945 the number of persons 60 years                     of age and over will grow by some 20 per cent, according to                     the National Health Survey report of the Canadian Medical                     Procurement and Assignment Board.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s consider the children. Whooping cough causes more                     deaths under two years of age than diphtheria, measles and                     scarlet fever together. This fact should send all mothers                     flying to the doctor to have babies protected early, starting                     at about six months. Will this treatment do good? Here is                     what is said by Dr. F. O. Wishart, associate professor of                     Hygiene and Preventive Medicine at the University of Toronto,                     as reported in proceedings of the annual meeting of the Health                     League of Canada a year ago: &#8220;there is strong evidence that                     whooping cough vaccine will protect children &#8211; surveys showing                     that use of vaccine resulted in 80 per cent reduction in incidence,                     and in milder cases where the disease did occur.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Quebec province had good results when it combined whooping                     cough vaccine with diphtheria toxoid. There was only half                     of one per cent of the protected group afflicted with whooping                     cough, compared with 1.6 per cent of the children who were                     not given vaccine. None of the protected children died of                     whooping cough while there were 23 deaths among the unprotected                     children.<\/p>\n<p>Diphtheria has been wiped out in places where children are                     protected by toxoid. The important date is 1923, when the                     toxoid was discovered. In 1920, Toronto had 2,256 cases with                     224 deaths; by 1940 there were no cases. In all Canada the                     death rate from diphtheria decreased from 24 per 100,000 population                     in 1921 to 2.4 in 1943.<\/p>\n<p>Scarlet fever is not nearly so common as it was, since toxin                     prevents the disease in about 80 per cent of those immunized.<\/p>\n<p>There are still many children in Canada who do not receive                     the full benefits of existing knowledge in medicine and public                     health. This is not always, nor mostly, because they are far                     away from facilities. Even in the heart of a city where all                     modern facilities are at hand to prevent illness and restore                     ailing people, there are children deprived of health and sentenced                     to shorter lives because of prejudice on the part of parents.<\/p>\n<p>Turn now to diseases of later life. By saving babies from                     the ailments of infancy, by rescuing children from the scourges                     of diphtheria and scarlet fever and typhoid, more people are                     growing up to become liable to the diseases of later life                     &#8211; cancer, degenerative diseases of the heart, and the so-called                     diseases of civilization: high blood pressure and nervous                     disorders.<\/p>\n<p>A dozen influences play their part in aging. They include                     food, vitamins, hormones, physical activity, environment,                     chemistry and electrical forces. It should be noted that they                     do not start at a certain age, say middle-life. They                     are all there from the very first breath. Thorough periodical                     medical examinations of children and young adults would do                     much to prevent in their later life the development of diseases                     such as cancer, heart disease, arterial disease, diabetes                     and diseases of the kidneys. When people are well, they are                     inclined to overlook the little precautions that will keep                     them that way, and it was of them that Socrates said: &#8220;It                     is disgraceful for a person to grow old in self-neglect.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Heart disease heads the list of the &#8220;Seven Great Killers.&#8221;                     These seven are not confined to any section of the country,                     or to any class of population. In the United States they cause                     seven out of every twelve deaths, doing more havoc than all                     other causes of death put together. The toll in Canada for                     every 100,000 people was, in 1944: heart disease 243.8 deaths;                     cancer 119.3 deaths; nephritis 59.6 deaths; hemorrhage of                     the brain 76 deaths; accidents 57.4 deaths; pneumonia 49.7                     deaths, and tuberculosis 47.8 deaths. In other words, these                     seven killers take the lives of 80,000 Canadians in a year,                     or 800,000 lives in a mere ten years.<\/p>\n<p><em>The sad thing is that we are neglecting our chance to                     reduce the toll by early diagnosis and care<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Heart disease, measured in terms of numbers of persons affected,                     is our most important problem. It may be said that part of                     the increasing death rate is a reflection of the increasing                     proportion of older persons in our population, and that it                     is also affected by changing diagnosis, in which deaths formerly                     ascribed to secondary diseases are now traced to the heart.                     This does not alter the fact that diseases of the heart and                     arteries are diseases which represent the wearing-out                     of the body machine, and that, given the necessary watch and                     care, that machine should last for at least 65 years. Many                     a man who would not dream of putting too much pressure in                     his automobile tires lays a constant overstrain on his heart.<\/p>\n<p>It is amazing what can be done by just relaxing. It may                     not be necessary to take a long sea voyage: all a man may                     need is to slacken his pace at periods during the day, loosen                     his necktie and shoestrings, put his feet up on his desk or                     another chair, and let the world roll by for two or three                     minutes without worrying about it. It has been found that                     a good proportion of persons who suffered heart attacks of                     the most severe nature, and adopted right measures of living,                     are still alive and enjoying life ten or more years later.<\/p>\n<p>An article on science in the New York Times of October 27th                     gave an interesting hint to people past youth. &#8220;In the United                     States alone about 500,000 persons succumb annually to heart                     and blood-vessel diseases. What is the cause? Ask Dr.                     Hans Selye, director of the Institute of Experimental Medicine                     and Surgery at the University of Montreal, and he will say                     &#8216;the strain and stress of life&#8217; &#8211; worrying about financial                     security in old age, worry about health, a hundred different                     fears, fatigue, hates that cannot be stilled, jealousy, intense                     and persistent emotions.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It is doubtful whether any disease is viewed with more alarm                     than cancer, but the outlook is much more encouraging than                     at the turn of the century. The vital need is public education.                     Scientists are talking today in a specific way of what can                     be done about cancer, whereas a few years ago many avoided                     the subject. The concentration of medical science on this                     killer is the greatest the world has ever seen. With the progress                     so far made, many lives can be saved, if the people will do                     their share to help themselves.<\/p>\n<p>Look at this statement, reported in the Montreal Star last                     spring: &#8220;Fifty per cent of those Canadians who died from cancer                     last year died needlessly, and a further 35 per cent afflicted                     with the disease could have been medically treated so as to                     have allowed them to lead a pain-free normal life, Dr.                     Carleton B. Pierce, co-chairman of the medical advisory                     committee, Cancer Committee, Quebec Division, declared in                     an interview today.&#8221; The greatest percentage of recoveries                     are in the early stages of the disease, and it is delay, ignorance                     and fear that cause most of the deaths. In the final analysis                     only you can beat the cancer which may threaten you.<\/p>\n<p>How? By medical checkups at regular intervals. Then, if                     a danger-holding growth is found, there are the accepted                     and result-producing treatments, by surgery, X-ray                     and radium. When he was announcing the establishment of a                     number of cancer treatment centres throughout Ontario last                     winter. Dr. R. Percy Vivian, then Minister of Public Health                     and Welfare, declared, according to a report in the Montreal                     Gazette: &#8220;radium, X-ray and surgery, alone or combined                     in treatment, by highly trained specialists, at an early stage                     of malignancy, can cure cancer.<\/p>\n<p>Note the stress laid by scientists upon early treatment.                     Some have gone so far as to say &#8220;If cancer is detected in                     the beginning stages, 100 per cent cure is theoretically attainable.&#8221;                     This quotation is from Hygeia, published by the American Medical                     Association. But it cannot be discovered unless the doctor                     is given a chance to search, and this throws the responsibility                     right back on the individual. It is the plainest common sense                     on everyone&#8217;s part to give the doctor that chance, even before                     suspicions are aroused. It is not good enough to wait for                     a pain, because many growths begin without pain.<\/p>\n<p>Nephritis (Bright&#8217;s disease) the third great killer, is,                     in its acute form, a disease of childhood which usually results                     from acute infection, particularly of the tonsils. It may                     also follow scarlet fever, diphtheria, or other similar infection.                     Great care is needed in looking after patients upon their                     recovery from these diseases. In its chronic form, nephritis                     often develops in middle-aged folk as the end &#8211; result                     of long-continued local infection, as by way of teeth                     and tonsils. When nephritis is caught in time, the patient                     may live with very fair health for many years.<\/p>\n<p>One of the common complications of nephritis is the fourth                     great killer &#8211; cerebral hemorrhage, or breaking of an artery                     in the brain. This is because nephritis usually raises the                     blood pressure, putting a strain on any weak blood vessels,                     Cerebral hemorrhage, of course, may be the result of other                     causes. Strenuous exertion by a person with high blood pressure                     due to any cause taxes the blood vessels everywhere. A break,                     or stoppage, which would do no serious damage elsewhere in                     the body, is very dangerous if it occurs in the brain.<\/p>\n<p>Not much need be said about accidents, which are the fifth                     great cause of death. Every magazine and newspaper carries                     articles urging people to be careful, but people have not                     yet learned that though this modern age of speed has brought                     great revolutions in transportation, the human body has not                     kept pace. It will not withstand being wrapped around a telephone                     pole at 70 miles an hour.<\/p>\n<p>Pneumonia is still one of the major causes of death, though                     its toll is reduced greatly through modern treatment. Within                     the past few years treatment with the &#8220;sulfa&#8221; drugs has reduced                     the mortality rate greatly. While new developments have eliminated                     universal need for &#8220;typing&#8221;, co-operation of the medical                     profession and the hospitals in organizing a pneumonia control                     service in the local departments of public health has proved                     effective. It was announced in April by Dr. Michael Heidelberger,                     of New York Presbyterian Hospital, that a vaccine has been                     perfected to provide immunity from the most common of 50 types                     of pneumonia for six months or longer.<\/p>\n<p>Tuberculosis, the last of the &#8220;great killers&#8221;, is being                     gradually beaten down. The report on health to the Dominion                     Provincial Conference said: &#8220;Accurate figures are not available                     for Canada as a whole, but on the basis of a study of deaths                     recorded for Ontario and Quebec, the death rate in 1900 appears                     to have been at least 200 per 100,000. By 1939 it had fallen                     to 52.8.&#8221; It was announced this year by the Canadian Tuberculosis                     Association that the death rate had fallen in 1944 to the                     lowest point in history, 47.7 per 100,000 population. However,                     in 1944 there were 5,724 deaths, of which 2,624 were in Quebec                     and 1,068 in Ontario. In the same year there were 15,292 cases                     reported by provincial health departments. That is still serious                     enough to demand attention.<\/p>\n<p>Here, again, the need is for early recognition and treatment.                     Of the deaths which occurred in sanatoria during the year                     1944, 75 per cent of the patients were far advanced on admission,                     and 17 per cent were moderately advanced. Thus, 92 per cent                     of those who died came too late to be effectively treated.                     Dr. J. J. Heagerty, Director of Public Health Services of                     the Department of Pensions and National Health, told the Social                     Security Committee in 1943: &#8220;Given an opportunity we can eliminate                     tuberculosis altogether in one generation.&#8221; The magazine Health                     and Welfare, published by the Department of National Health                     and Welfare, declared this year: &#8220;results give every assurance                     that if we are determined to follow up gains that have been                     made, final victory could be achieved in our generation.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The work of the Canadian Tuberculosis Association on a nation-wide                     base is well known. Its members, who support its work with                     dues as low as $1 have reason to be proud of the way in which                     it has expanded its educational and preventive work. The public                     contributes by buying Christmas seals, of which last year&#8217;s                     sales showed an increase of around 30 per cent &#8211; an indication                     of general realization of the great importance attached to                     battling tuberculosis.<\/p>\n<p>Communicable diseases have yielded wonderfully to modern                     science. The Metropolitan Statistical Bulletin records that                     the death rate from the principal communicable diseases of                     childhood has declined well over 90 per cent in the past 35                     years.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, medicine&#8217;s greatest triumphs have been over contagious                     diseases. The medical man has made known rules of sanitation                     and principles of public health by which these diseases can                     be controlled; he has developed serums and vaccines which                     either prevent or cure the diseases. Take typhoid fever, the                     occurrence of which simply means a failure to apply sanitary                     knowledge. The death rate in municipalities where drinking                     water was not treated totalled 7.1 per 100,000 population                     in 1936, and only 2.6 in municipalities where the water was                     treated. The rate in all Canada dropped from 10 deaths per                     100,000 in 1921 to one per 100,000 in 1943.<\/p>\n<p>Most people look on smallpox as a kind of medical curiosity,                     because of the infrequency with which a case crops up, but                     there are reminders given us occasionally. Just recently there                     was an outbreak on the Pacific Coast, when the disease was                     imported from the Orient by returning servicemen. It seems                     incredible that only 60 years ago there were 3,164 deaths                     and 25,000 cases of smallpox in Montreal&#8217;s 120,000 population                     in one year. Now, the record of the whole province is enviable:                     no deaths since 1918, and no cases since 1930.<\/p>\n<p>Mention of returning servicemen recalls that Canada suffered                     a rude jolt to its health complacency during the war when                     medical examination revealed so many unfit for service. Of                     1,260,952 men examined, 357,634 were placed in category E:                     &#8220;unsuitable for army service anywhere in any capacity.&#8221; Fewer                     than half qualified for the highest classification. In between                     the few with the highest category and those rejected were                     scores of thousands who could be &#8220;fixed up&#8221; by medical, surgical                     and dental attention, but they were not top-notch specimens.                     This was not Canada&#8217;s experience alone. In the United States                     there were five million men between 18 and 38 rejected out                     of 13 million registrants for military service.<\/p>\n<p>It will be said by many: &#8220;Oh, but the army standards were                     very high!&#8221; So what? <em>Shouldn&#8217;t people&#8217;s standards for their                     own health be the very highest<\/em>? And do not lose sight                     of the fact that the medical examination which disclosed diseases                     at the time the men tried to get into the army would have                     revealed them just as surely if there had been no war and                     the men had gone to a medical practitioner for a checkup.<\/p>\n<p>All men who went through service were given another examination                     on discharge, and the government provided treatment which                     should restore any loss of health. Thousands of men know they                     would have gone through life handicapped and disabled but                     for the collective skill of the medical officers, of whom                     there were more than 5,000 in the Canadian forces. It is urged                     upon these ex-servicemen that now, being launched in                     civilian life with the best start medical science can provide,                     they should give themselves every chance for continued good                     health by calling upon the medical and dental doctors for                     examination every birthday, if not oftener. It would be good                     if everyone did the same.<\/p>\n<p>Space has run out fast, and it is quite impossible to grapple                     in one short article with the details of so vast a subject.                     In another Monthly Letter we shall discuss what we can do                     to raise our health to a high level, and keep it there.<\/p>\n<p>In closing this survey of the toll of disease let us point                     to the opportunity open to science. When scientists diverted                     their great power to war purposes, the terror-inspiring                     atomic bomb resulted. Now is the time to focus equal genius                     on the diseases which afflict mankind. If the same concentration                     of enthusiasm and energy as was devoted to finding ways of                     destruction were brought to bear, what might not be the beneficient                     result to all of us and to our children?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[1],"rbc_letter_theme":[],"rbc_letter_year":[26],"class_list":["post-4029","rbc_letter","type-rbc_letter","status-publish","hentry","category-uncategorized","rbc_letter_year-26"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>November 1946 - Vol. 27, No. 11 - The Toll of Disease - RBC<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1946-vol-27-no-11-the-toll-of-disease\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"November 1946 - Vol. 27, No. 11 - The Toll of Disease - RBC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By a strange twist of human nature, &#8220;health&#8221; is not a popular subject in the way it is to be discussed here. This is in line with the experience of a drug company which used an advertisement showing an alarm clock going off. People did not like the picture because it reminded them of unpleasant [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1946-vol-27-no-11-the-toll-of-disease\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"RBC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-28T15:00:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"18 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1946-vol-27-no-11-the-toll-of-disease\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1946-vol-27-no-11-the-toll-of-disease\/\",\"name\":\"November 1946 - Vol. 27, No. 11 - The Toll of Disease - RBC\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"1946-11-01T01:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-28T15:00:36+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1946-vol-27-no-11-the-toll-of-disease\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/\",\"name\":\"RBC\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"November 1946 - Vol. 27, No. 11 - The Toll of Disease - RBC","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1946-vol-27-no-11-the-toll-of-disease\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"November 1946 - Vol. 27, No. 11 - The Toll of Disease - RBC","og_description":"By a strange twist of human nature, &#8220;health&#8221; is not a popular subject in the way it is to be discussed here. This is in line with the experience of a drug company which used an advertisement showing an alarm clock going off. People did not like the picture because it reminded them of unpleasant [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1946-vol-27-no-11-the-toll-of-disease\/","og_site_name":"RBC","article_modified_time":"2022-11-28T15:00:36+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"18 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1946-vol-27-no-11-the-toll-of-disease\/","url":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1946-vol-27-no-11-the-toll-of-disease\/","name":"November 1946 - Vol. 27, No. 11 - The Toll of Disease - RBC","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"1946-11-01T01:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-11-28T15:00:36+00:00","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1946-vol-27-no-11-the-toll-of-disease\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/","name":"RBC","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1946-vol-27-no-11-the-toll-of-disease\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"November 1946 &#8211; Vol. 27, No. 11 &#8211; The Toll of Disease","url":"http:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1946-vol-27-no-11-the-toll-of-disease\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1946-vol-27-no-11-the-toll-of-disease\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":""},"articleSection":"Uncategorized","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"amandeepsingh"}],"creator":["amandeepsingh"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"RBC","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"1946-11-01T01:00:00Z","datePublished":"1946-11-01T01:00:00Z","dateModified":"2022-11-28T15:00:36Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"November 1946 &#8211; Vol. 27, No. 11 &#8211; The Toll of Disease\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/about-us\\\/history\\\/letter\\\/november-1946-vol-27-no-11-the-toll-of-disease\\\/\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/about-us\\\/history\\\/letter\\\/november-1946-vol-27-no-11-the-toll-of-disease\\\/\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"\"},\"articleSection\":\"Uncategorized\",\"author\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"amandeepsingh\"}],\"creator\":[\"amandeepsingh\"],\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"RBC\",\"logo\":\"\"},\"keywords\":[],\"dateCreated\":\"1946-11-01T01:00:00Z\",\"datePublished\":\"1946-11-01T01:00:00Z\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-28T15:00:36Z\"}<\/script>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/rbc.com\/p.js"},"featured_img":false,"coauthors":[],"author_meta":{"author_link":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/author\/amandeepsingh\/","display_name":"amandeepsingh"},"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 80 years ago","modified":"Updated 3 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on November 1, 1946","modified":"Updated on November 28, 2022"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on November 1, 1946 1:00 am","modified":"Updated on November 28, 2022 3:00 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","tax_additional":{"category":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/category\/uncategorized\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Uncategorized<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Uncategorized<\/span>"],"slug":"category","name":"Categories"},"rbc_letter_theme":{"linked":[],"unlinked":[],"slug":"rbc_letter_theme","name":"Themes"},"rbc_letter_year":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/year\/1946\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">1946<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">1946<\/span>"],"slug":"rbc_letter_year","name":"Years"}},"series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rbc_letter\/4029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rbc_letter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rbc_letter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/79"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rbc_letter\/4029\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4029"},{"taxonomy":"rbc_letter_theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rbc_letter_theme?post=4029"},{"taxonomy":"rbc_letter_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rbc_letter_year?post=4029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}