Tobacco Documents Online

_ - <.:o -,%- - rr = W ti71 ~~~;~ f'~~~ ~ ~`. ,f`-`~~a a~~ ~enera!i Medscal Tribune Report in the view of a Public Health Scrvice NLw YoRit-The Surgcon General of the - pathologist with special compctence in U.S. Public Health Service has declined to cancer," Dr. Steinfeld wrote. set up a committee of scientists to analyze One expected benc it from the study, he worry and the other ot wo:x.- Dr. Edwards also defended the oral contraceptive package inserts as "intended to supplemcn: rather than intrude upon the normal doctor-patient relationship " He called it "a kind of `cornmunications the Auerbach-Hammond study, in which added, may be to provide scientists with ~ .~ lua cancer was re ortedl induced in an animal system on which modifications 'd ~ i ~~~ dogs by cigarette smoke, because "we do in cigarettes can be tested and evaluated. ~ fore : II.. 0ri, coi11-- ject, .1 P,~?~~+~:-. ,.,.~ ~ e< l not believe such a formal review is neces-' The Surgeon Genrral pointed out tha% j' , ,R , Ift sary ~I order to establish the validity of PHS has the statutory responsibility of re- It' ~~ ~~",.'• Cl;,s- -the study." porting to Congress at regular intervals on Dr. Jesse L Steinfeld outlined his posi- the health consequences of smoking. The tion in a letter sent to Dr. Jonathan E, next review will be reported at the end of Rhoads, president of the American Can- the calendar year and at that time the cer Society, and made public at the organ- Auerbach-Hammond study will be in- ization• s headquarters here. The cancer cluded, he said. society head had asked for establishment Meanwhile, the Council for Tobacco of the review committee by the Surgeon Research-U.S.A. announced publication General in the wake of requests made by of the 1965-69 annual report of its scien- the Tobacco Institute for an independent tific director, Clarence Cook Little, Sc.D. evaluation of the experiment and its find- Diseases Extremely Complex ings (i1•LEDICAL TRIBUNE, May 25). "It is contrary to fact that scientists This review of the current tobacco- har•e been prevented from reviewing the health picture covers research findings in Auerbach-Hammond study or that any data h been rul~ianary raihmentsa'Declar ng thatothe ave withheld 11 Dr Steinfeld , . diseases discussed are extremely complex, said. the report says that "is apparent from the Dr. Oscar Auerbach, of New York great amount of research reported so far Medical College, and E. Cuylcr Ham- that a variety of genetic and environ- mond, Sc.D., of the American Cancer mental factors may be involved." Society, had presented their findings at a Most interpretation of epidemiologic news conference (MEDICALTRIBt;NE,Feb- studies is built on the assumption that ruary 19). cigarette smokers and nonsmokers are Among the scientists Dr. Steinfeld de- sufficiently similar in other respects "so scribed as familiar with the study, and as that it is legitimate to compare their having had opportunity to review the labo- morbidity and mortality experience and to ratory material, are Dr. John W. Berg, a attribute observed differences to a sole National Cancer Institute pathologist, and factor-smoking," the report notes. Dr. Raymond Yesner, a pathologist from "The restricted monofactorial inter- the Veterans Administration. , pretation of smoking as a causal factor in Although Dr. Steinfeld emphasized that total mortality or in relation to certain "there is no scientific study which cannot diseases," it continues, "ignores the vali- benefit by the review of other scientists, dity of a vast amount of research relating he considers an institutional "jury" review to the possible influence of many other unnecessary because, in his opinion, the factors or combinations of factors." investigators responsible for the "y in question followed procedures fully de- scribed in scientific literature, issued "what appears to be an adequate report of their study," and "opened their data" to the inspection of other scientists. lnvestigators' Reputation Praised "We do not know what more can be expected of investigators, especially those with the reputations for excellence and probity enjoyed by Drs. Auerbach and Hammond," Dr. Steinfeld said. In a further explanation of -his position, the Surgeon General related that Dr. Berg "has no doubt but that the progressive changes in the bronchial tissues of the animals studied were as Dr. Auerbach has described them and that among other con- ditions found were carly:invasive squa- mous cell carcinoma in the bronchial tubes of two of the dogs." "If the question at issue is whether human-type lung cancer has been dis- covered in the lungs of dogs exposed to ..i~rntt~ emnte_ then thr ancu•rr ie Yre . Afedipd Tribune Report NENw YoRtc-A chance observation made 12 years ago has resulted in the current publication of a report showing that a diet consisting exclusively of commcr- cially prepared yogurt and water pro- duced cataracts in 30 laboratory rats. The investigators, Curt P. Richter, Ph.D., and Dr. James R. Duke, of the Psychobiology Laboratory and Wilmer Eye Clinic, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, stated that the cataracts were clinically indistinguishable from those produced by diets with a hig1l galactose content and thus appeared traceable to the galactose in the yogurt. The investigators made their observa- tion in 1958 while studying factors re- sponsible for the development of benign paroxysmal peritonitis. The use of fer- mented milk products, particularly yogurt, is widespread among certain ?•iediter- ranean peoples who have a high incidence of this disease, and an all-yogurt diet was tried in rats to see whether it would pro- duce the disease. Dr. Richter told MEDICAL TRIBUNE that he revived his report on the study because widespread advertising by yogurt manu- facturers pointed up the food's greatly in- creased popularity in recent years. He sub- mitted the study to Science, which pub- lished it in its issue of June 12. He empha- sized, however, that he had no knowledge ~~I ~~ ' ~-e (- D; En 11:c~ Rv"] a, (NI 1011 R a . I I, G ~r. U t 0 WASHI?VGTO.v. D.C.-The National Acad- emy of Sciences will create an Institute on Medicine to address the larger prob- lems of medicine and health care, it was announced by Philip Handler, Ph.D., president of the academy. The present Board on Medicine of the academy will serve as the nucleus of the new organiza- tion. - Dr. Walsh McDermott, Livingston Farrand Professor of Public Health and chairman of the department, Cornell University Medical College, is chairman of the Board on Medicine. It is anticipated that the eventual membership of the institute may reach 200 or more, Dr. Handler said. Most will be engaged in medical iducation, mcdi- cal practice, or biomedical research, but a substantial number will be drawn both from such closely allied prufessions as nursing and public health and from the practice of law and such academic fields as economics, political science, and other social and behavioral sciences. - In making the announcement, Dr. Handler said: "The experience of the Board on Medicine has demonstrated the feasi- bility of constructively dealing with com- plex policy questions related to medicine and health care by bringing together practitioners of medicine and thoughtful i idividuals from diverse fields associated with public affairs. The decision to create an Institute on Medicine reflects the con- viction of the council of the academy that these questions will increase in num- ber and complexity and that they deserve the highest priority. «'e look to the new institute to provide the imagination and knowledgeable concern that will be re- quired to address'these problems efTec- tively in the national interest." of r:. had ~L A man, very . late :. and :. diet - in tt-.: ]ca~t ' T.-- . 111ii~. said: becn . test,. _ ucts. H'= poir:' mct:.' ducc_ man. tose-: enz%- galac Tr watc= then- litte; comy obs::: byr nla.: . knol vclc- St 34 t, a yc were any racV sigll disc: A lesic thre, diet mo,, T sylT; havc becl stan vest: Si dirt per in r: Yn r.