Bliley PM
[Letter Regarding Newark, New Jersey Vital Statistics]
Abstract
Discusses factors that author believes skew the Newark, New Jersey vital statistics on death rates for 1965-1975. Alleges that epidemiologists agree they lack validity as "they do not account for such factors as age, sex, race, etc...." Illustrates how changes in total population and age structure affects death rates, specifically those for cancer and heart disease. Questions accuracy of population figures reported by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics as they relate to story in The New York Times. Compares figures of cancer deaths from previous years, illustrating how changes in population size affect death rates from both lung and all cancers.
User-Contributed Notes
Fields
- Company
- The Tobacco Institute
- Author
- Kastenbaum, Marvin A., Ph.D. (Director, Statistics (TI))Kastenbaum has knowledge of the Tobacco Institute's and the tobacco industry's participation in the public disinformation regarding the health hazards of tobacco use, the manipulation of nicotine in tobacco products and the marketing of tobacco products to children.
- Type
- Letter
- Author (Organization)
- The Tobacco Institute
- Recipient
- Holtzman, Alexander (PM Asst General Counsel. 1975-85.)
- Copied
- Goldsmith, C.H.
- Bowling, James Chandler (PM; TI, Corporate Affairs Director & VP; Board of Dir.)
Vice President and Director of Sales at Philip Morris from 1967 to 1976. He was Senior Vice President of PM from 1977 to 1984 and on the Board of Directors from 1971 to 1984. Also worked for the Tobacco Institute. Attempted to improve the image of smoking in the face of negative health news.- Kornegay, H.
- Lincoln, J.
- Millhiser, R.R.
- Bowling, James Chandler (PM; TI, Corporate Affairs Director & VP; Board of Dir.)
- Named Organization
- New Jersey Department of Health
- New York Times
- U.S. National Center for Health Statistics
- New York Times
- Region
- New Jersey
- Newark
- Keyword
- Heart Disease
- Lung carcinoma
- Thesaurus Term
- Health Effects
- epidemiology
- Disease
- data analysis
- cancer
- newspaper
- mortality
- lung cancer
- cardiovascular disease
- epidemiology
Document Images
THF, TOBACCO INSTITUTE,
Alexander Holtzman, Esquire
A~soc~ate General Counsel
Phillp Morris Incorporated
I00 Park Avenu~
Rev "~ork, ~ew York 10017
• " MA|VIN A. KA$1'|N|AUM
September 1~' ~
])ear ~ex:
I think the Nevark, l~ev Jersey vital statŁ ~tics need closer
s~.~tlny. Every self-respecttnK epidemiolo~lst knows that crude
dea.th rates conceal more in~ormation than they reveal. They are
simply fr~cttons o~" the total livin~ population who d~e o~ a
p.~rttcular disease. They are as crude as their name ~mplies in
the sense that they do not account for such ~ac~ors as age, sex,
race, etc., each o,~ which a[fects the ma~nltude of" the relevant
rate.
All these factors come to bea" %n comparing the death rates
in Newark, N.J. ~between 1965-197~. An increase ir~ the total popu-
lattcn tn ~hts period would result in reduced rates. A change in
the a.~e structure (older people moving out; youn~er people
mcvlng tn~ ~'ouid reduce death rates from cancer and heart disease.
(Th~s i.s prec~se!y the reason that vital stat~stics for Alaska ahoy
up better ".ban tho~e o~ any other s~ate in the Union.)
I an ~s skeptical as the N. J. State Department of Health:
~S .".urprized abuut the numbers televised in the New York Times
story. For example, the U.S. Matlonal Center for Health Statistics
:-ep~rts that 6~ deaths from cancer occ~red in 1970 In N~ark,
N~ :ersey. ~at wo~d ~he ~p~attcn o~ ~vark have to have been
In i9~'~ ~o y~etd a c~cer death rate of 9~.8 ~r ~00~000 t~~ ~at
yea~?
~5.8 =
IO0,OCO
Alexanrer Eoltz~an, Y~qutre
~epte ~,r 15, 1977
Pa.~,e ~wo
Th~ ~wer Is a~proxim~tely 6~,000. But ve ~re to~d in ~he ne~
st,.~l that the ~p~ation of Nev~k Is c~trrent~ 382~0~, Ob~o~
N.C.H.~. ia not ~he s~ vs the one eo~d ~n the ~ sto~.
whatever geo~a~c ~ea Is covered, (ci~y or. ~t~lltan.) were
~tr.L~e ,luring the ten ye~s In ques~ion~ then a d~ In ~he ra~es
.:" ~,u~ ~,~m all c~cers wou~d be observe~ w~le the l~g c~cer
'~ath :a~e wou~d r~In s~able. Tf the p~p~t~on size ~ncre~sed
.~enth ra.t.: ~ D~r all cancers~ Łnclu~ l~g c~cer~ wo~d decre~e.
~he ~.~.uti~n to thl.~ dile~ m~y be in the s~atlstics collec~ed
by ~he ci=.v of N~-ark, because, as the news re~rt indicates, even
"'~e ;'tart [~.men~ of Health is ~n~ tho~e surprised by the
Sincerely,
,',~r,,'In A. Kastenbaum
