Government and public health, c1840 to present

Most politicians believed in laissez-faire: the government should not interfere in people's lives or spend taxpayers' money.
Edwin Chadwick's report (1842) showed that poor living conditions in towns caused disease and early death.
The Public Health Act (1848) set up a Board of Health, but towns did not have to act, so few did.
In 1858 the Great Stink from the Thames led Parliament to fund Joseph Bazalgette's London sewers; the main system opened in 1865.
The Public Health Act (1875) made councils provide clean water, sewers and drainage and appoint a medical officer of health. By then germ theory explained why, and many working men had gained the vote in 1867.

The Liberal reforms brought free school meals (1906), school medical inspections (1907) and National Insurance (1911) for sick pay and doctors for many workers.
The NHS began on 5 July 1948, free at the point of use.
After the Great Smog of December 1952 killed thousands of Londoners, Parliament passed the Clean Air Act (1956).

Vaccination: a national diphtheria immunisation campaign began in the early 1940s; polio vaccination began in 1956; the MMR vaccine came in 1988.
Screening: the NHS breast screening programme began in 1988.
Lifestyle: campaigns against smoking led to a ban on smoking in enclosed public places (England, 2007). Change4Life (2009) encouraged healthier eating and exercise.
Government action is now a key factor in preventing disease.