He who laughs lots lives longest - or so a new survey suggests.

CHRIS TITLEY and WESLEY JOHNSON are happy to investigate.

PATIENT: "Doctor, doctor, you've taken out my tonsils, my adenoids, my gall bladder, my varicose veins and my appendix, but I still don't feel well." Doctor: "That's quite enough out of you!"

Patient: "Doctor, doctor, I keep thinking I'm a dog."

Doctor: "Lie down on the couch and I'll examine you."

Patient: "I can't. I'm not allowed on the furniture."

"I'm afraid I have some very bad news." the doctor says. "You're dying, and you don't have much time left."

"Oh, that's terrible!" says the man. "How long have I got?"

"Ten," the doctor says sadly.

"Ten?" the man asks, frantic. "Ten what? Months? Weeks? What?"

"Nine..."

We have been chuckling at doctors since Hippocrates got his beard stuck in the leech jar. And all the time it was good for us.

A new study suggests that a laugh a day could keep the cardiologist at bay. Those who laugh out loud and see the funny side of difficult situations are far less likely to have a heart attack than humourless individuals, researchers found.

The study looked at the humour responses of 150 patients who had either suffered heart attacks or undergone treatment for blocked arteries.

They were compared with the responses of an identical number of healthy people who had no history of heart problems.

The results showed that the heart patients were 40 per cent less likely than their healthy counterparts to laugh in a variety of common situations.

Dr Michael Miller, director of the Centre for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, US, who led the research, said: "The old axiom that laughter is the best medicine appears to hold true when it comes to protecting your heart."

This was the first time a study had found direct evidence that laughter and an active sense of humour may influence heart disease, he said.

The findings suggested that making oneself laugh when angry might offset the harmful effect of stress on arteries.

"We don't know yet if forcing yourself to laugh when you're angry is beneficial, but there may be effective, practical ways for people to lessen their discomfort or hostility to improve their humour response and increase the amount of laughter in their lives," said Dr Miller.

His findings drew a mixed reaction from North Yorkshire health experts. Dr Hilary Bekker, lecturer in the department of health sciences and clinical evaluation at York University, was not convinced.

She said previous research had linked "perceived optimism" with good health, but added: "I would be very sceptical of one study in America that says it's conclusively proved it.

"It's to do with many, many things. It's to do with how people perceive and cope with their environment. It's more complex than that."

Similarly Dr Robert Crook, consultant cardiologist at York District Hospital, was not won over.

"The concept that humour is a good thing is probably true. I wouldn't interpret this research any more than that."

Because his patients were placed under strain by their illness, it was impossible to judge whether they were happier or gloomier than other people. And any suggestion that laughing a lot was physically good for the heart was immediately dismissed as "nonsense" But he did say that "the psyche plays a huge role in people's recovery".

Research was underway into whether a positive psyche could increase a patient's heart rate variability, reducing their risk of further major heart problems. He believes more investigation into this area is overdue.

Evening Press columnist and GP Dr Andy Field was more enthusiastic. He takes an holistic approach to medicine and believes laughter does help people stay healthy.

"Doctors see such a miserable group as a whole. The majority of the people we see are from a particular section of society who tend to moan a lot," he said.

He tries to persuade them of the value of being positive.

"It's very important. I think it's also important to be compassionate to people who don't have that sort of personality, maybe because of the way they were brought up or the circumstances of their life."

He adds: "Time spent having a bad time is a waste of time, that's one of my axioms."

Comedian Tommy Cannon, who forms the Cannon and Ball duo with Bobby Ball, is the first to admit that he's no doctor. But he can see the benefits to health of laughter.

"To go out and watch a show for two hours, like the one we did in Blackpool with Frank Carson, has got to be good for people.

"People have said to me and Bob, 'that was fantastic, we had a really good laugh'. It takes them away from their worries. People have got no worries for a couple of hours.

"I feel great when I go out and see a show and have a good laugh."

Comedians themselves have a reputation for being worriers off stage.

It is the loneliest job in the world they say, and more than one comic has died prematurely from the stress of trying to make others laugh.

But Tommy, who lives at Kelfield, near Selby, said: "The longer you are in the business, it becomes slightly easier. Because you never know what the audience is going to be like, the adrenaline is always pumping. And adrenaline is good for you."

As for the healing power of humour, Tommy also cited the case of Patch Adams, the US doctor who treats his patients to large doses of humour. His life story was made into a film starring Robin Williams.

Patch Adams' clowning in the cancer wards has had impressive results. He now heads up The Gesundheit! Institute, which aims to raise enough money to build a "silly hospital", and he once said: "My public health message is to be happy publicly."

So what do the people of North Yorkshire think? Is laughter the best medicine? "It's definitely something I'd agree with," said Miles Jackson, manager of the Festival of Fun joke shop in Goodramgate, York. "After all, you never hear about a young comic dying.

"You hear so much about what not to do or eat nowadays, that you've just got to have a laugh."

Malton resident Simon Cooke, 24, concurred: "Laughing makes you look younger, if nothing else. It really makes you relax."

Wendy Cuthbert, from Woodthorpe, believes that laughter "relieves pent-up energy and puts the feel-good factor back into you.

"A good comedy, TV or anything which triggers my imagination can make me laugh."

Next time you're under the weather, just remember the case of the Essex girl who complained to her doctor of being hurt all over. To prove it, she touched her knee, and yelped in pain, then touched her cheek and her arm with similar excruciating results.

The doctor checked her carefully before giving his diagnosis...

"You've broken your finger."