Editing British Doctors Study (section)

==Impact and personalities==
The true impact of the study is difficult to gauge, as smoking was not considered a public health problem in the 1950s, and the appreciation of the problem would only grow in the ensuing decades. Nevertheless, the ''British Doctors' Study'' was to provide conclusive evidence of linkage between smoking and lung cancer, myocardial infarction, respiratory disease and other smoking-related illnesses.

The original study was run by [[Richard Doll]] and [[Austin Bradford Hill]]. [[Richard Peto]] joined the team in 1971 and would, with Doll, prepare all subsequent reports for publication. Doll and Peto are both celebrated epidemiologists, and their fame is largely based on their pioneering work in the study mentioned. They would continue their work on other cardiovascular studies, for example the more recent [[Heart Protection Study]].