Tobacco Documents Online

., . February 1, 1977 SUGGESTED TOBACCO INSTITUTE STATEMENT For over a decade the American Cancer Society has been obsessed with the notion that tobacco smoking is the cause of lung cancer to the virtual exclusion of all other suspected hazards. This single- minded approach ignores recent and strong scientific findings to the contrary. Until recently the Society simply tried to persuade people to quit smoking. Having failed in this effort, it now wants to bring about government prohibition to achieve its objective. The Cancer Society's publicity and lobbying efforts would gain credibility by devoting comparable zeal to the cancer hazards stemming from the radical changes that have occurred in our diet, chemical, occupational and general environment during the last quarter of a century, and which it has largely ignored. The contributing public should demand that the leadership of the Cancer Society take off its blinders and move its thinking into the 1970's.