Tobacco Documents Online

495 ~ . COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AND DENTISTRY OF NEW JERSEY NEW JERSEY MEDICAL SCHOOL 100 Beqen Street Newark, New Jersey 07103 Statement of Duncan Hutcheon, M.D., D.Phil. Depaztmenta of Pharmacology and Medicine March 12, 1982 Tb. CWq..f MqlcM. a D.s*vy d M.. 1•nry Y...wul .ooiroNtr =Ms.nrny,MM.uw acn~ .VM.rv

i 496 My name is Duncan Hutcheon. I am Professor of Pharma- cology and Medicine at the College of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. I am also an attending physician at the College Hospital in Newark and am director of the Clinical Pharmacology Training Program at the New Jersey Medical School, where my responsibilities have included serving on the Human Studies Research Committee. I am a graduate of the University of Toronto where I received my M.D. and B.Sc.(Med.) degrees. In ]950, as a National Research Council (Canada) Postdoctoral Fellow, I obtained my Ph.D. at Oxford University in the Department of Pharmacology. My research has been primarily in the field of cardio- vascular and clinical pharmacology, and I have approximately 65 research publications. In addition, I have contributed sections of several textbooks, including Drill's Pharmacology and Medicine, Treatment of Heart Disease in the Adult by Rubin, et al., and Cardiovascular Therapy by Russek. Since ]977, I have served as editor of the Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. I hold memberships in numerous medical and scientific societies including the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine. I am a fellow of the American College of 497 Physicians and the American College which I am a past-president. In May, 1980, I helped esta of Environmental Medicine (PIEM), a: scientists concerned about the healt stances in the environment. Our res the relationship between various env: c^ronic diseases such as heart diseas -enta1 factors we are investigating i _..ts, industrial chemicals, pesticide =ie=e1, and gasoline engines. It is the consensus of thce -- the institute that it is iapossibl :al statements about the contribution .ccu_rence of cancer and heart diseas ::e statements in H.R. 4957 and S. 19 economic consequences of smoking are t:.d appear to represent an attempt t ++':at are actually complex multifacetec Furthermore, it is our bel: "onsibility of encouraging thoroug: --_o the spectrum of risk factors ass, -2-. .'t

497 Physicians and t_: Axrican College of Clinical Pharmacology of vhich I am a pas_-w esicent. In Ma:•, :95C, I helped establish the Princeton Institute of Environmenta: !ledicine (PIEM), an organization of medical scientists cor.ce ^ed about the health effects of chemical sub- stances in the ewiro:.aent. Our research focuses primarily on the relationshi= bets,een various environmental risk factors and chronic diseases sueA as heart disease and cancer. The er.viron- mental factors we are investigating include tobacco smoke constitu- ents, industr:a: c.hezLicals, pesticides, and emissions from jet, diesel, and gascliae engines. It is the consensus of those associated with the work o= the Institu:e that it is impossible to make strong, unecaivo- ;al statements abcut tY:e contribution of any single factor to the occurrence of ea+zcer and heart disease. . For this reason, many o: the statements in R.R. 4957 and S. 1929 regarding the health and economic consec^uences of smoking are unacceptable scientifically and appear to :epresent an attempt to offer easy solutions to what are actually complex multifaceted problems. Fur-thermore, it is our belief that Congress has the responsibility of encouraging thorough and unbiased investigation into the spect.-um of risk factors associated with these diseases -2-.

498 rather than limiting its consideration to only one aspect. Why, for example, doesn't the proposed legislation mention environmental hazards? After all, in terms of both quantity and inherent carcino- genicity and cardiotoxicity, environmental chemicals such as polycyclic hydrocarbons (PAB's), halogenated hydrocarbon pesti- cides and industrial solvents appear to pose serious public health problems. - These views are based on our field work that involves correlating mortality data provided by the National Institutes of Eealth with our own clinical and laboratory findings. By this method, we have examined the following environmental pollutants: benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) and other PAH's, carbcrn monoxide (CO), and halogenated hydrocarbon pesticides and industrial solvents. our studies show that there is considerable misinfor- mation regarding the possible biologic effects of the various chemicals to which we are regularly exposed. Moreover, there is little appreciation of the way in which such substances are handled by the body (i.e., how and when they are eliminated), and the relationship between the amounts of chemicals present in the environment and the amounts necessary to initiate carcinogenic and cardiotoxic activity. -3- 499 For example, we measured serum B(a: immunoassay procedure in urban and suburban F the New York metropolitan area and found si, levels in the group living in the areas with pollution. B(a)P was chosen as a marker of because it is a suspected carcinogen that is fossil fuels. It is also considered to be a potentially carcinogenic PAH's in the atmos- •rations indicate that geographic location me -_s:; factor for respiratory cancer. While th ...-y preliminary findings, they suggest that _::cu_d be conducted on a much larger scale. ass:st in identifying pcpulations at enviror.rr pci.^.tinc geocraphic areas where enviro:.mentz >:cu:d be directed. .During the past three years, my le focused on the effects of environmental che performar.ce. This haa involved investigatir -etween geographic location and the prevalen a.1d sudden cardiac death. Our findings suc c:eaicals associated with adverse cardiologic both in the ambient air over Newark and in SupP1Y of suburban communities. The chemica: -4-

1: 11 0 499 For example, we measured serum B(a)P levels by radio- i,=unoassay procedure in urban and suburban population groups in the New York metropolitan area and found significantly higher levels in the group living in the areas with highest atmospheric pollution. B(a)P was chosen as a marker of urban air pollution because it is a suspected carcinogen that is produced by burning fossil fuels. It is also considered to be a valid indicator of pctentially carcinogenic PAB's in the atmosphere. Our obser- vations indicate that geographic location may be an important ris:: factor for respiratory cancer. While these results represent only prelir:.inary findings, they suggest that environmental studies s::sLld be conducted on a much larger scale. Such studies could assist in identifying populations at environmental risk and pin- oci-lting geographic areas where enviro^-nental control efforts s:culd be cirected. .During the past three years,.my laboratory has also focused cn the effects of environmental chemicals on cardiac performance. This has involved investigating the association between geographic location and the prevalence of heart disease hnd sudden cardiac death. Our findings suggest that certain chemicals associated with adverse cardiologic effects are present both in the ambient air over Newark and in the drinking water supply of suburban communities. The chemical agents that may be' -4-

500 related to cardiac mortality rates in areas of greatest risk are the halogenated hydrocarbons. Although we originally assumed that CO might play some role in heart disease causation, our findings have suggested that"-` ...;..?grf _. (1) CO does not appear to predispose the heart to catecholamine- induced arrhythmias in experimental animals; and (2) although the `~ CO levels are higher in the ambient air in the urban-industrial °~ wetien of Newark than in the New York suburbs, the concentrations do not seem high enough to cause health consequences. Our laboratory studies have also led us to an appreci- ation of the importance of the absorption/elimination characte- ristics of environmental chemicals. It is our view that the toxic properties of foreign chemicals ultimately depend on how well the body biotransforms and eliminates them and on how the body's i=mmunological and other defense systems operate. It is clearly evident that more research is needed on the health effects of long-term, low level exposure to chemicals. In.summary,-our work at PIEM indicates that a balanced scientific approach is necessary in the study of the health con- - sequences of environmental risk factors. Any approach that limits its consideration to only one factor, like tobacco smoke, will hinder the generation and analysis of the epidemiological, pharmacokinetic, and toxicologic data needed to effectively study the causes of our nation's health problems. STATEMENT OF LEON O. JA : 3m Leon Orris Jacobson from The Uni% i_t3o where I continue as a physician-s< t:- served as Chairman of Medicine, Dean and Di rector o f the Argonne Cance• ?ebruary 1942 I became responsible for e personnel of the Metallurgical Laborat _-ct) under the direction of Arthur Ooa _rry, Enrico Fermi, Leon Szilar3 and -,ed the first self-sustaining chain r ^-'. 3s Associate Director and then Dire -:y of this enormously successful nati t the war abruptly to an end and in the technology and the radioisoto '-'^ sLy important to the revolutionary :ciae that contribute an ever inere ^r3t3n•iing of normal as well as disease zed the Scientific A3visory Board +':v Research Committee (now called th U.S.A. , Inc. ) in 1954 when it - of Clarence Coo!c Little. Dr. L ''"'"-3sional committees dealing with smok: snI L9G9. The mandate of the Scienti: 3nd simple, namely to sponsor inc