Tobacco Documents Online

PREPARED BY, THE INSTITUTE STAFF TO. INFORM THE INDUSTRY' OF NEWSWORTHY OENELOPMENTS. FOREIGN his doubts about smoking and lungicancer. But it didn't liast,long. Letters hit editors' desks. Anti-tobacco scientists complained. The Daily Express saidlBurch has "provoked horror in the anti-smoking lobby"' and "'lit up a king-size controversy." Health Minister Owen wrote,Burch to say he's been relying on the findings of the Royal College of Physicians and is ask- ing a committee to take another look., Spectator noted the lack of'"'an experimentally proven relationship" and commend- edlBurch for declaringithat the emperor has no:clothes- BACK HOME The Kentucky Post reacted kindly to Burchi. "The strongest argu- ment we know of'against smoking>" it said,, "came from an i'nvet'erate chewer. He opined'that it was bound to be a sin to burn up anything that tasted so good." NEW BRITISH GUIDELINES'for advertising cigarettes (Newsletter 130) were the subject of strong reactions. Action on Sinoking _._-_-_.-.and Health cal!Ied the new code "grossly inadequate." DaiT Te2egraph,, which has criticized proposed govt. tobacco re- strictions (klewsletter 121), complained that "grown men can take time off from major cares of State to ensure that cigarette ad- verti'sements should only depict (presumably) the sort of'pa1'e figures in raincoats and Nationad' Health spectacles who lurk outside dirty book- shops.,"' The usually staid Times of London editorialized about:"the new nicotine man," and said' "degl'amourization could hardly be carried further unless it is il- licit tol aduerti'se (G(,cigarettes) ) at aT1." It predicted' the cigarette smok- er to be portrayed in the future will be "condemned' to appear middle-aged, sallow, without evident success in business or bed, stuck in some dim,occupation~ incapable of:deriving any pleasure from his vice."' ASHiis testing the new code, says Ad ~, by calling for elim- ination:of the royal seal from ads for two brands of cigarettes.. LAST NEWSLETTER saidlNBC N~umber, 131 September 16, 1975'. reported "'stunned sii- lence" after EngilandPs Prof., Burch broadoast

-2'- CAM'PAIiGN, the Britishiad industry paper, reported Sept. 5 that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission i~s reading the code with alview to drawingiup similar rules here. U'.K'., CIGARETTE MFRS., said they"11! drop brand advertising in ci~nemas except during X-rated programs, andiwilL begin print- ing "tar"-nicotine yield's onicigarette packs. LONDONiTSMES said Philip Morris Europe became the first cigarette com- pany in 11years to "publicize assertions which challenge,prevailimgi medical opinion" in the U.K. when it circulated a summary of medical journal reports which do not support the smoking-health causal hypo- thesis. Medical' correspondent Oliver,Gillie wrote,two columns sum- marizing the publication and trying, to debunk it, interview- ing anti-tobacco dbctors for,the purpose. LONDON DAILIES said,U.K.'s National Soci~ety of Non_Smokers:vfias~cHose`n'. next,Ash Wednesday to renew a drive,against vending machines and pub- 1iic smokingi. NONSWIOKER' ISSUE STERLING of'Canada's Simon Fraser Univ. wrote a 15-page "critical reassessment" of the smok- iing-llung cancer hypothesis in the September American Journal of Public Health., Weiss, an anti-smoking Philadelphia physician, follows wstha two-page rebuttal. In the unusual "debate," Sterling appears as a scientist troubled by lack of support for the hypothesis while Weiss seems not to want to be bothered with the facts. Sterling suggests that the American Cancer Society "miIlion personsP" study can:''t,be compared with the general population because the ACS volunteers inadvertently selected people dis- proportionately younger, more educated, taller, white, native- born,, Protestant,, urban,, nonsmoker and dying more from lung cancer (three times more for females and twice as oftenifor males), heart diseases and emphysema. Weiss shrugs it all off as "obfuscati~on." ONITHE'WEINBERGER:PROPOSAL to banihigh-"'tar" cigarettes (Newsletter 129) ) , Raleigh, Times sai!d the govt. is "maving to eiiini~riate"the'itiost "' offensive abuser of the nation"s lungs"...Phoenix Republic criticiz8di the proposal--but in,defense of freedbm, not smoking itsel!f. It said "every smoker already knows it"s an expensive,, obnoxious, filthy habit that almost certainly will,shorten his life"...Olathe (Kan.)' News head- lined a column: "Big brother is at it again"...A Chicago Tribune col- umnist wrote that if CIA wants to try again to poison Castro,, they"11 have to send filtered cigars...Miami News said a ban on "high risk cigarettes" is like a ban on high,calorie whipped cream.. Reaction to Nader call for an endito tobacco "subsidies"': ~ Phoenix Gazette said that the govt., paying for both, tobacco C!1! "'subsidies" and anti-smoking, programs, is "working against itself"..,.,Mlilwaukee Journal callled:tobacco supports a"death. subsidy."' ~ ~ 0 Bremerton (Wash.) Sun reviewed FTC's quarrel about warning statement displays, calling it a "worthless requirement."

FEDERAL TOBACCO SUBSIiDY'was subject of debate between Reps.` `' Mathiis (D-Gai. ) and Peyser (P=N.Y. ) at WOR Radio, N.Y. City,on August 201. NEW SCIENTIST in U.K. reported an anonymous tip that the director of the U.S. National Cancer Institute is a "closet cigarette smoker." __ CHARLES:KURALT.noted.oniCBS.that after you've gotten off a, plane in Minneapolis, lighting up in the terminal can cost youla $100 fine. ' CHRONOLOGY OF A',"NEWS" STORY: August UPI item out of San Francisco said' "a study reported by Blue Cross of Northern California links smoking,to ulcers" and cited study of 37,000 adults: showing peptic ulcers twice as prevalent amongimen who smoked as amongithose who dli~d:n't. Blue Cross told TI it had used the i!tem'in its September 1974!newsletter, picki~ngg it up from an item in a June 1974, Family Health issue., Fami~l Healthh story,_in turn, came from aiMarch 1974!Wa11 Street Journal article on CTR-supported research:by Friedtnan and Seltzer publi~shed in Feb. 28 New England'Journal of Medicine. Only WSJ'had noted the researchers' caution that "the present findings do not, in our opinion, remove the uncertainty of whether the relation of smoking to peptic ulcer is causal." i FRIEDMAN, the Purdue professor who,published the book "Pub- lic Poliicy and the Smoking-Healith Controversy" this year, says in an editorial in the American Journal of Public Health that "it remains unclear as to whether filters'andlor reduced tar and nicot'ine content wi11'resu3t in a less hazardous cigarette." He also says public pol'~icy regarding smoking-health is a failure.. New'Orleans States & Item ran a 22-inch story based on TI's "Facts About Tobacco." Said the Kans. City Kansan approvingily, "slowTy, but surely non- smokers have been asserting their right to breathe clean air..." FOOD MERCHA'NTS'ADVOCATE reported that the NYC Dept. of Health, "sent 50 or so inspectors into some 460 super markets t'o issue summonses last month for nott having the ((71o- smoke))' signs posted, or to peopl'e found smoking. SMDKING: So wei;e jqAep,:dpep in garhage, dog dungy, an,assortment of insects and rodents,. including rats and' roaches, and the city is'1'aying off police, firemen and'sani'tationrmen„ and the Department of Health ie looking, for SMOKERS in super markets." DALLAS MORNING NEWS columnist John Anders reported "'a tor- rent of abuse" after he wrote favorably about smok:ing..,.The same paper carried an article from free-llance writer M'a'ry Anne M'arkley about the nonsmoker movement: "The current trend to ferret out, fine and hopefully shut down smokers has an air of fanat- icism about it..." MEDIA SALT LAKE CITY TRIBUNE ran a poll statewide on whether Utah~'s law banning smoking in public places should be enforced. The agree/disagree/undec'iid:ed split was 77/22/1. Among Mormons it was 84'/15/1.Among non-Mormons it was a stand'off--52y46/2. USING SURVEY DATA, the Madison Capital Times said "iit is ob-

-4- vious that a majority of the public would back a smoking ban" pending in Wisconsin..,. The city outlawed'smoki~ngi„ in all medical facilities including waiting rooms, and at any public meeting of ten or more persons. MONROE COUNTY (N~.Y.) Legislature voted to forbidIsmokingiin some public places and restrict it in others, with,penalti~es up to $250:or 15 days in jail'.. SAN DIiEGO:"S public places smoking ban (Newsletter 130) was expand'edlcountywid:e:. A TI spokesman told statewide wiree services the action was "a mockery of personal freedom."' TERRANT'COUNTY (TEX.) Commissioners Court voted unanimously to take no action on a no-smoke ordinance. VOLUSIA COUNTY (FLA.) Council approved an ordinance banning smoking on,all county owned or operated buses with violations punishable by a $500 fine, a 60-day jaiT stay, or bo~h „ ' In some Penn State Univ. facilities smokers were segregated and in others smoking banned. A RETAIiL BUSINESSMAN, reports the San Diego Union, is closing two stores andimoving to another town that doesn't have a no- smoking'ordinance becaus:ee he: "canlt.imagine a1aw.tha.t.ma..kes one citizen responsible for what another does."' WASHINGTDN ASSISTANT HEW SECRETARY COOPER, who toTd,the 3rd World Conference on Smoking,andiHealth, last June that "the cigarette kills liots:of people," was quoted last month by Medical World News: "We have to present a more balanced view of diet and'of things like smoking so people get a choice of how they want to live their lives. I'm not sure it"'s our functi'on:to:protect people from themselves. Certainl'y,, if they want to smoke, they ought to know what the ri'sk is. But' they ought not to be Zured'into i't' by unbalanced presentat'ion."' ASST. SURGEON GENERAL,SENCER says the govt, i's checking,up on the nation's smoking,patterns again (last time was 1970) with random calls to some 5,000 citizens. Among new ques- mr,,.,,tioris:- Does the-pubiic know alI it-needs:to-about: smok,ing- health? Should employers have the right to ban smoking? FIVE-YEAR'HEALTH BLUEPRINT,, "Forward Plan for HeaIth:--1977-81" (Newsletter 129), became available to the public under Dept. of Heal!th, Education, and Welfare publication no. ('OS)76-50024,. FDA sent a message to U.SI. doctors teliling them that womenn over 4',0 taking The P'ill'. appear to have a 400% higher heart attack risk; higher than that if they're fat or smoke or have diabetes or high blood pressure., FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION reported to Congress that per capita cigarette consumption dropped by two last year in~the U.S. while mfrs. spent more than ever (except when they used radio and TV) to advertise their brands,, and for the,first time cigarettes accounted for less than half their re- venues.

-5- SEN. PiOSS: (D-Utah)' told' Congress it "has utterly, failed to support the effort to eliminate smoking related diseases from our country." He put a half do2e n pages of antismoking material into the Congressional Record., INDUSTRY FEDERAL DDSTRICT COURT'in,N.Y. denied motion by cigarette makers for a temporary injunction seeking toistop the Federal Trade Commission fromlinstituting penalties until decilsion (Newsletter 130) is reached on whether companies vio- lated a 1972'consentr order requiringiheaIth,warnings in advertising. According to UPI, Judge Charles Tenney said the companies failed to show they would suffer "irreparabLe damages"'or a"Yeasonable probability,"'they would win their suit againstt the FTC. TELLING THE STORY:~ TI's two movies, "Leaf"'and "Smokingiand'..Healith:-- The Need1to Know",, have been available to community audiences for 11 and 32.months,,.respectively., Each has been shown nearly 5,000 times'. for a total audience of more than,350,000 persons., SPEAKING UP: TI''s communicators, Connie Drath,and Bill Dwyer,, notified media in California and Oregonithat they'dlbe availi- able to talk about smokiing-health and nonsmoker questions.. Result was that between A'ugi. 15 and Sept. 5 they logged 15 Tv:broadcasts, 39 radio interviews,, 13'.newspaper interviews and'speeches at four meetings of tobacco~distributor employees. RESEARCH FAILURE TO SHOW health significance of "'tar" andinicotine levels in cigarettes was reported in Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Researchers "'smoked" hamsters~for a year to contrast high- and 1ow-"tar"'effects. "Tnd'uced alterations,"'said,the investigators, "were inde- pendent pendent of the type of cigaret'.te."' And,there was no dif- ference in the "alterati~ons", neither reversal nor advance,, one year beyond the end of the smoking,. The researchers said further studies are needed to "elucidate whether the altera- tions ((,a re),) precancerous or whether they represent only a nonspeci- fic response t'o smoke irritation." M'OROWITZ, a Yale biophysicist and biochemist, reported in Hospital Practice onid'ata he found "hidden"'in Hammond's famous "million per- sons"' study which indicted cigarettes: The,oftener people ate fried foods, the lower their death rates; people sleeping more or less than 7 hours'a night hadihigher death rates thanithose who slept just 7; the shorter people were, the higher their death rates.All of these were nonsmokers,, and Morowitz said there'd better be further research on these risks., NEWLY:REPORTED METHOD for,the early detection of lung cancer (Newsletter 130) has been described as:"cumbersome and un- convincingf' and impractical by Dr. Nathaniel Berlin, director of'Northwestern University Cancer Center. TWO RESEARCHERS at Johns Hopkins Hospital„ Drs. Gail Gurtner and Barry Burns, say wire service reports', announcedlthey have ev'iTe__nce that pregnant women who smoke may be depriving fetuses of oxygen critical to proper growth and development.

-6-. SYNDICFITED COLUMN by Dr. Walt Menninger saysc. "Tensions in life take an enormous to11; andia great deal of disease is the result of'tension. WhiZe it is extremely difficult to study and'demonstrate, one might speculate that were the smoker unable to relieve some tension tfirough smoking, the pressures would take their to11'on another part of the body." PEOPLE He con tinued, "I suspect' that certain individuals may live longer because they,smoke, precisely,because of the tension factors involved'."' DR. NATHAN SERIFF, a N.Y'., heart and lungispecialist„ wrote an,anti- smoking article for American Lung Assn Bulletin but rejectedlthe belief that smoking is addictive and said:, "very, frequently, the habit is over within 12 hours after a patient is to3d he has a smoking-related illness and must stop." CAMPAIGN TO PROMOTE observance of new state norsmoke law,has been launched by the,Central Branch of the Georgia Lung Assn., according to the Macon Telegraph &. News., The law (Newsletter 118) outlaws smoking in any public area where anyone might put up a no-smoking sign. The,Assn. is offering no-smoke siigns~to businesses, the paper said.. HEALTH aRGANIZATIONS. "QUIT SMOKINGIRALLY"" iin Chicago was sponsored by the Illinois Interagency Council on Smoking and: Disease. The Chicago News said the program consisted of speakers, mobile display units and "pickets" with,signs, with nearly 300 spectators. JOHNS-MANVI,LLE was sued for damages inia class action on behalf of thousands of present and former employees for asserted failure to warn them that asbestos could' cause lungicancer among other things. MI'SCELLANY !