How Did Scientists Figure out That Smoking is Linked to Lung Cancer? is My Answer to This Right or Wrong?

I answered this in class today. I was just wondering if my response would be marked right or wrong because it was graded.

I said that scientists used statistics to calculate the increase in the number of people that had received lung cancer between the 1920s-1970s. There was no reason to suspect air pollution or anything else in the 1940s or the gases from World War I. Smoking was the only suspect in this situation. The number of people smoking in men and women went up between the 1920s through the 1970s but declined a little in the men due to education and notices about the side effects of smoking.

NOTE IMPORTANT: I KNOW THERE WAS AN AUTOPSY that was performed on a guy who had received lung cancer but before the 1920s it was uncommon back then. I FORGOT to write that into my answer on my quiz. WIll i still receive full credit?

Suggestion:

I would evaluate your answer as being pretty good, and I don't think the omission of the autopsy incident would be a big deal. Your reasoning is correct, since connections between cause and effect are based on statistical analyses.