Tobacco Documents Online

r3 , ~..~- --.~...., Institute- Ne wslet#er -- iPREf+AREDFOH iPOiiR iKFORWAAaON BY-THE !HSTFiY:TE STAFF -- - d 9778- K STREET, N.W.; WASHfkOT6kfi,- D.O.- 20006 • 346-Il3+ -6PECIAL REPORT February 22'e 1973 AN AD HOC' CONiMI-TTEE ON SMOKING r'1ND- HEALTH of the Nationaj- Cancer insti- tute's Prssidentially9appointed National Cancer Advisory Board held its- first ;reeting-=in- pub' ic, -*-ith- advance notice as required by a new _lwo, after an=earlier scheduled private meeting was called-off (Newsletter 66). The public- notice--said the -me-eting would -review- curr-ent - smoking-health effobts of the- NCI and-Nat'l-Heart &-Lung- Ins-titute and -would -make recommendations to the full- NCAL "for- their better organization, funding, and effective- ness. "- Eut an agenda sent to the ad hoc committee members listed as its major item "legislative-recomm-endata.ons on setting of levels of tarland nicotine through legislative means. " -ALONG WITH THE AGENDA_went an anaiysis-by an NCI iawyer which said no federal agency-can impose "tar"-nic-otine requir_ements-without-new legislation ahd-that the Moss bill (Newsletter 66), with modifica- tions, would be a suitable vehicle. O .3~ The ad hoc committee member list which accompanied the agenda- ar:embers :- Philippe Shubik, were NCAB showed 1 i names-. Eight ~ ! - - a research scientist,-chairnan; James Gilmore, a_broadcaster; r - philanthropist Mary Lasker; financiers Lauren-ce Rockefeller- - .~ and Benno Schmidt;-and scientists Kenneth Krabbenhoft, Jo-nathan Rhoads and-Frederick Seitz. Of these, only Shubik attend-ed. Other members were former adman Emerson Foote; Smoking & Healti Clear-- inhouse-Director Daniel Horn; physicians Luther Terry and Ernest FTynder; Theodore Cooper, Heart-Lung Institute director;-his deputy, Robert Ringler; Umberto Saffiotti and_Gio Gori of NCI;--and Charles Kensler of Arthur D. -Little, Inc. Among these, only Hcrrn, Wynder,

Saffiotti,- i:ori and kensler- a;tended. represent him. Cooper sent Claude L' Fnfant Listed as committee -"advisors-' were -Fertschtic of the Senate Coyrimerce Committee staff, who_ sent his- aesoeiate,- merlis,- Brauninqe.K, _ of= N1oseed- ~f _ the American He-art Assn. ; Milt, - of -_the American-i ance-r _Soclety and- Hondur-ant, a scientist, ali -of whom were present. -(3ne outsi der= who accepted an invitation to participate was-Hammond o£--the to RE IS A RUNNINs ACCOUNT OF THE MEEIING, FRCM -ThE NCTES- OF AN -CBSFRVER:- The -_advance= b'-illed legislative recommendation for -cjgarette "tar" and ni^otine restriction was not made. Nor would one seem likely to emerge from "the next and £inai--meeting," set tentatively-for Sunday, March - 25. -Tt-ie move appeared to lack -sufficient scientifio backup. - Abou t the " only- thing-s the group could-= agree or. gea~eral ly -were that there -~. s.rro t eno:igh solid e~=idenc~ t_ o- ~arrant setting- a- msx imum- ailowab-le level - and~tlr-at a° grcat =de~1 -inore money - - will-be>-neede-d---especiaiiy for Lhe-IvCi's Tobacco WorkinT` Group--before there is-a scientific basis for setting any such level. Chairman Shubik apologized that_postponement-of the-original meeting -had prevented-the busy board nembers'- attending. He said the group was appointed at the-request of NCAB Chairman Jonathan Hhoads,- to adviye thc_board "on controlling the major factor in the oc-cuYence--- of the most prominent cancer-in Ameriran-males"--cigarettes. Merlis told the group Senator Moss' "tar" and nicotine limitation bill had been-reintroduced-this session-bu:t-that there were no--plans for any further action o~r it: "It's - just laying-there-. "- He- said, "A recommentia*ion- from this group or new--scientific evidence are the kinds of things - that might move it." He cited Maxwell on an average of 16.6 mg-of "tar" in the 23 new brands introduced since April, 1970. HHe -said this fact "lends support -to the- voluntary concept of-'tar' and nicotine reduction"-and-asked members to consider-"what-=dangers might arise--that legislation might-be counter-productive of ±he -intent of the measure i f the averages drop below.the statutory limit:"-- Merlis had departed-when Wynder shortly asked the group--if ~ there was no possibility that such-restriction could be ~ accomplis hed. = His advisers, he =aaid, told himthat--neither _$ the Food and- Urug- Administration nor the Federal Trade_ ~ Commission had-such authority. If there is no chahoe=of Abb OD C-ongressional passagc, - said Wyr.dsr, °we- are just cryi r.g i?z -

_1- the wind and the =problem would- seem -t© be how in a v®luntary-w-ay to get the industry to increasir~gly lower ' tar' and nicot.ir:e. " When- Milt,_ who ~was- sitting amongsoms 20publ_ic observera, tried for Shubik-' s- attentic- , :~e- was to.~d_ that on i~-- coT.ri:mit~eg members could participate._ _ l~ilt -sai4 he was an_ ACS censult?r±t- aed a- comr:ittee advisor _ and remi:nded_ the group _-tha'c- the ACS was committed- to support a legislative limit oh fltar'°-and_nicotine. Hg aaid he was confused:- "We - have heard-- very fine -things -about the industry - and its voluntc-lry efforts and we- fin~ _t ~-~e group here __r-athe-r happy -abeut- that Should-we be happy about the voluntary actiona-or unhappy abcut- the - ((admitted) ;_lack of cxpe--tise in setting-limits?" The reading _ of one observer_ was that-la 5 t, - and NCV~ S-°.;£ i ct } s l . and ~oz i were- the most -unhappy ebeu t no agreement tc a recom- mend legisletien. Even Hammond made it quite obvious he thought a-ucod- deai mare- research was necessary "on- re- lative rel ationships-" befere anyiegislat.ion cou'_d bs_ccn-- sidered ._ W1 nder estimated the neceaeary = resea-rch- migh_t-- sec~uire 10_ar 20 years, - and -aeveral pai~.icipahts warr~~~ that any i=eduction of smoke componerts_or modificatiar~-of cigarettes mig-ht reduce asserted risks in one disease area buit be harmful in another. - Kensler urged encouragement of the voluntary concept with emphasis on "the educational-- approach" and-multi-level -cooperative research. "We don't know what agents are involved, so we can'_t_set weight limits, " he said. Shubik anno-unced-at noon that he perceived "a consensus that a recom- mendation for rigid legislation is not in order at the present time" and was somewhat challenged by Hammond, who thought that'e-what they were gathered to talk abaut;- by Horn, who explained to the apologeti-c- chairman that the pending bill didn't set limits,-just authorized - setting them; and by Saffiotti; who called tobacco's exclusion frotn- the Federal Hazardous Substances Act "a blemish upon consumer legis- lation." Said Shubik: "It-is a complex political problem." But Kensler had the last word before lunch. "The basic -problem is lack of any basic, hard information," he declared. After lunch there were these highlights: ~ ~ --Hammond said in a year or-two this group--or another group--might o'~,, propose some sort of government regulation. "But it's time now 0 to get evidence on which to base that regulatipn or -to- help the -CD voluntary - efforts of the industry,.- Now we should recommend - studies that need to be done."`

--i~ynder pointed ot t"the hePd to acquaint ourselves W-ith- studi es now going- on`, " to -avoid dupfiicatior; He urged "a more stfeamliaed Tobacco Working `Oroup- with more fu nds in order to tackle the problem in as many areas as pobsihle. "- Hi ssuggestion that '":~G have full- tirie -_staff ir: three- areas-m-lur:g cancer; -cagdiovas`c~€lar disease an d-- - ch~o:~i c-pulmonar=y dissase--~et- nad~3inc ~?eads= in= a= growp which-= had alr?ady shown it dic3n z t- think all the money - needed by TWC- eould- or should come fror-:~ Saffiotti's carcino-genes - i-s branch- of ATOI, as it_ row- does. --Oori-eaid three heart men had been_ addedt~+ If:C: = Harij o-f California, epidemiologist 4=an Hiqains- a.nd vishLmar,, - Unive-rsit-y--of -Pennsyivania _- cardiologist. --L `Enfant pointed ou t there ;;~e~e- still o?:ly- three out of the 15 TWO members who -are t:eart disease authorities and t':a t he di dn' tknaw what his current budget was rmuch lezs f,ature--hudgeta. --Echoing_ k'yhder `s complaint -that there wasn-i t, °- enough- interest -in the right kihd -of research even if there wer-e =mora money-,- Hammond de- clared:- -"And - there are too many people- who aredoing- the work--our top talent--who azo dragged out of =their laborator-ies for meetings> They shoul d stay home. E~ eryohe here could -::av~ accompl ished more today if they'd -staved ~omeand analyzed the data -they-=-had already. " Shubik promised ta provide participants with-minutes and-a sumr.!ary by Gori. He asked Gori ta-arrange a ZWC meeting before March 25 "to recommend to us some fairly specific research," in advance of the next NCAB meeting. Tie said: "Obviously, there are some gaps in knowledge and if we spell them out we then strengthen our recommendations immensely."