Tobacco Documents Online

Institute Newsletter PREPARED iY. THE', INSTITUTE STAFF'1O INFORM THE. INDUSTRV. OF'NEWSWORTHY' DEVELOPMENTS 7776 K STREET. N.W'. WASHI"GTON, D:C. 20606'. . 296-8434 Number 127 July 15, 1975; Enclosediwith this newsletter is the latest edition of "'Some Facts About Tobacco." The information consolidated into the folder should make it alhelpful addition to your files., Copies for your own distribution are available by contactingiTI. RESEARCH THIS SPRINGIH,inds and First reported from Har- vard in the,New England Journal of Medicine that their actual air samples in cocktail lounges, buses and otherr places showed that smoke exposure of nonsmokers was far l'ess than claimed by anti-tobacco propagandists. Harvard Med. School's Gary Huber, M.D., had contributed an~editorial pointing out that the mea- sured exposure "has no known serious association with disease."' To no one's surprise, the journal promptly got some,sour grapes~in the mail'. ~ It published several letters, with responses from Hinds, First and Huber. A Public Health,Service doctor said the measurements exceeded minimum air quality standards. Huber pointed out he was factually wrong. The same doctor men- tioned!studies showing,children of smokers have more res- piratory sympfioms., Huber said careful reading of such studies shows that the authors themseTves stressed they hadn't accounted for other potentially important vari~ables. AN'ANN ARBOR DOCTO'R said'that despite the measurements, her "common sense" told her they must be wrong. A Toledo physician saidiwell, the smoke is still irritating, and a,San,Francisco man wrote that even if there's no health problem, nonsmokers "have the right to attempt to legislate courtesy in smoking into law." In addition to straighten- ing out some of the correspondents on their "facts,"'Huber"s response statedz 1 0 "Controversy continues:t'o surround'many issues re3'ated' to smokinq. When

-2- scientific data on the effects of an agent on health are incomplete, as they are on the tobacco question,, reactions ih many people are derived far too often from an emotional,rather than an objective basis. I should like to make a plea as a partisanifor objective science. Emo- tional arguments with,almoral' flavor, presented without scientifically acceptable data, have, in my judgment, no place in solving problems as serious as this one. In other words, results or conclusions should not be presented or interpreted' wi'th a preconceived bias of the investigator or, for that matter, of the reader. Unfortunatel'y,, for reasons that I, cannot fuL1y understand, this course has far too often been followed in questions of tobacco and'health. Rather, definitive answers should'be obtained by carefu3'scientific endeavors designedit'o test in an object- ive and'honest manner a clearLy delineated hypothesis..." •"Crueial health,issues can be resolved only by:impeccab3e science, not by overwrought emotional biases generated by a sma11'minorit'y who appear to be psychogenically affected by tobacco smoke. Tobacco smoking is too prevalent not to demand such scientific analyses to ascertain realisti'- caliy,and'to clarify precisely the health.effects on both the smoker andd the,nonsmoker." PEOPLE KEEP SAYING'that the,study of all British births in one week in 1958 proves that smoking in pregnancy:harms the fetus., Now comes the project's statistician,, Harvey Go:Tdstein, with some major disclaimers imK'orld Health Statistical Report. He writes: "We must,emphasize that these data are observational., Association be- tween variables, whether over time or contemporaneously, does not,imply causation." He calls the findings "by no means conclusive."' And as for the follow-ups when the 11958 youngsters were 7 and 11 years old, showing the children of smokers to be slightly shorter and of'lesser educational attainment, he says: "Had we been able to measure other relevant factors and'a1low for them, the,differences may have been reduced,t'o negligible amounts. They,are anyway small differences..." A TEAM of physicians led by John Rankin of the Univ. of'Wisc. examined some 300 graimstorage workers in the Duluth-Superior area and reported that 378' of them with an average age under 40 have chronic bronchitis.. Suspected, according to Rankin:: Grain dust, pesticides, fungi or some other substance. - IN'A REV'IEN1 iniN'ature, British researcher Peter Cole says carbon monoxide in the air is "mainLy derived from the motor-car,"says it's "unlikely" that nonsmokers are endan- gered by the Ievels they encounter, and suggests that the cost of requiring CO controls on autos, in terms of higher car costs and fuel consumption, probably outweighs the doubtful benefits. RESEARCH TEAM in Tampa VA hospital says cigarette smokers who switch, to cigars may be jeopardizing their health as much as if they neverr quit cigarettes, reports the current issue of the Journal of the Amer- ican Medical Association. The team, headediby Dr. Allen Goldman, said the ex-cigiarette smoker inhales inadvertentIy, r'esultingiin oo1 d car- bon monoxide levels equal to a cigarette smoker. ASSN'. OF PMERICA'N PHYSICIANS has published a paper given by >

-3- ,`Feinstein and Wells last year which stated that physicians give smokingipatients closer scrutiny than nonsmokers and that this leads to ai"detection bias." The researchers said, "Cigarette smoking may, contribute more to the diagnosis of Iung cancer than it does to producing the disease itself." MARIJUANA USE STUDY in Jamaica failed to confirm any adverse effects other than a slightly higher incidence of reduced delivery of oxygen (hypoxia), to tissues by the blood'streams of smokers,, according to re- port published in the New York Times. The study, made for the federal. Center for Studies of Narcotic and Drug Abuse, did state a suspicion that this may result from the use of tobacco which is customarily mixed with marijpana by Jamaicans. The Times also added that a separate report made by the Drug Abuse Council, an independent, Washingiton-basedlorgan- ization„ stated, "Large-scale epidemiological' investigations similar to those which established associations,between smoking cigarettes and health hazards will be required'to identify,cert'ain health consequences Qf chronic marijuana use." MoRE'DATA dN'LUNG CANCER in Los Angeles ne3ghborhood's: Henderson and associates at USC write in the American Journal of EPidemdology that excessive rates in the south part of the city "could'be due to a re- gional excess of carcinogenic air pollution." IN NEW ANTI-SMOKING CAMPAIGN Great Britain's HealthEducation Council is publishing govt. "tar" andinicotine tables in adertisements saying: "Last year alone - cigarettes kiIied'at least 50,000 smokers. But some cigarettes ki1L you qpicker than others." HEC general director, Alastair Mackie, discussed the effort on BBC' radio. He explained, "We're being a little more accurate and' trut'hfu3' which we always strive to be. Thi's time the question we ask is which cig- arettes kill you the quickest?" FORE'IGN HEC's first ads illustrate cigarette packs in various "tar" groups, and the copy inciudes:' "Until the cigarette manufacturers print this information on their packs, keep this Health Education Coun- ci1' adverti'sement, or pick up the Government:tables from your tobac- conist or post office." MEANWHILE the House of Lords opened debate on cigarette ad{vertising and promotion. Baroness White, according to Advertising Age, said all efforts that encourage smoking should be banned and the govt. should' insist on a much stronger warning notice. She added, "I realize that even if one banned advertising compieteltij,, cigarette consumption wouZ'd probabfiy not drop by more than 20%, but at least it would help a new generation not to startt smoking." Arguing in support of Ms. White, Lord Pitt declared that "if the tobacco industry is not willing to cooperate, the government must,be prepared to legislate..." Pitt minimized attempts to re - duce nicotine content in cigarettes stating it would "rnerely mean that' more cigarettes would'be smoked. It"s like trying to make a whiskey without alcohol."

-_s -4- i A BAN QN'ALL TOBACCO advertisements in Norway came into force July 1, notes the,London Daily Telegraph. No tobacco products may be used in shop-window di~splays. WASH IiNGTON ACTIONION SMOKI~NG &' HEALTH!(Banzhaf)filed a re- quest withithe Interstate Commerce Comm,issionn to tighten up several aspects of smoking bans and segregation and their enforcement on interstate passenger trains. He suggested nonsmokers' lives are imperiled the way thimgis'are. ICC' is h,is third target in current regulatory pursuits before federal agpncies--he"s pushing Fed- eral Trade,Commission:for tighter cigarette adiregulation and Occupa- tional Safety & Health Administration to cut smoking in work places inn order to reduce carbonimonoxide levels. TI HAS LEARNED that the Consumer Product Safety Commission has voted not to appeal the Ui.S. District Court order (News- letter 125) to take up the Moss petition to require the com- mission to regulate "tar"-nicotine yield. NATIONAL CENTER FOR'HEALTH STATISTICS has published'its annual summary of the nation's vital statistics and a New York Times editorial ob- serves that in 1974 the population of the U.S. was healthier--at leastt as indicated by figures on life and death--than ever before in history. DATA,PRESENTED BY',Dr. Rauscher, Nationall Cancer Institute director, to House appropriations subcommittee hearing,s on ~ HEW appropriations just don't add up! Rauscher used Nat- ional Clearinghouse for Smoking and Health,statistics onn teenage smokers, broken down into male and female percent- ages., These were added together rather than,averaged, creating a false impressionithat almost a thirdof' all teen- agers smoke. DT''S OFFICIAL: President Ford accepted the resignation of Casper Wein- berger berger as Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare and announcedithe nomination of'D:avid Mathews, president of the University of Alabama, to succeed him. A Walll Street Journal article quoted a source as say- ing of the 39-year-old Mathews, "Xe's a good adm.inistrator,, works well with 2egislative bodies and'is a good'organization man." NORRIS COTTON~ former U.S. Senator from N.H., resigned his position on the National Cancer Advisory Board (Newsletter 114')'. Hi~s term was to have lasted until 1978~. STILL PENDING before both houses of Congress are the bills clarifying tobacco's exemption in the Consumer Product Safety:Act., NONSMOKER ISSUE ILLINOIS Po11'uflion Cbntrol Boardivoted 4 to 01 that it does not have jurisdiction to regulate air pollution, inside buildings as it had'been,petitioned to do last October by the Environmental Lawyers'Clinic. They wanted the board to prohibit smok,ing in public places except in designated areas.,

-5- M'ICHIGAN HOUSE passed a bill: to forbid smokiingi in all' retail, food storesiin the state. The bill is pendiingi before a Sen, ate committee. IN CHICAGO a Public Safety Court has been opened'to deal with violations of city ordinances such as smoking in elevators, stores, public trans- portation and other prohibited public places. A columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times calls it "Smoking Court.," VOLUNTARY'SEGREGATION'of smokers and!nonsmokers in the aud- ience ga11'sry is being tri'e&by the Cincinnati City Council. FOND DU LAC County (Wisc.,) Board of Supervisors voted down attempt to ban smoking from county meeting rooms andirejected an amendment to ex,- pand'resollution to all county buildings at all times. A PROPOSA:L to expand the San Die o no-smoking ordinance (Newsletter i14',) to restaunants~was k,illlediby a City Coun- cill committee for,at least six months. COMM'ITTEE OF'WINDSOR ('Conn.) Town,Council held hearings on proposed legi~slationito restriict smoking areas in the town as well as banning some cigarette sales. The HartfordlTimes said most attending the public hearings felt that town legislation was not the answer to the smoking problem. THEY'RE CATCHING ONI The findings of Drs. Hinds and First. (Newsletter 1121) were applied to a commentary on the no- smoking ordinance adopted iniBoulder, Colo. (Newsletter 120Y. An editorial in the Boulder Camera states, "Certainly, it'is wrong for some people to imperil'the health of others. But ap- parently the health hazard'in smoke-filled rooms was largely an assump- tion." The ediitorial notes the conclusions of the research- ers and said, "That tends to destroy a'prominent argument,used' during the campaign for the...ordinance."' THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW, says Amtrak on a timetable, about traveling by train includie:' "Smoki'ng:Amtrak wants to make your trip a pleasant one. Be- cause we are,concerned about your trave3ing, comfort--and:in view of the increased' public awareness of'smoking and the strong views held'by our passengers--we have designat'ed' certain P10 SMORrING areas." MEDIA "TOBACCO BLINDNESS," reportedia popular mag- azine,, "is becoming a common affliction."' Several smokers were reportedlunder treatment at a London hospital for the condition which was said to begin with color bllindness'. "Although smoking'is to a large extent the cause of the malady, heavy drinking is also par- tially responsible," the report said. It appeared' in Godey's Ladies Book in August, 1886. BAD TIM'ES'increase miscarriages, stillbirths and deaths off less-than,one-day-oldibabies, states the July MoCalli's,, say- ing "one possible reason is that pregnant women under severe economic stress may,not receive adequate prenatal care and may...smoke or drinkk more to deaZ,with, their tensions--al2 of which can be dangerous for the unborn chi2d."

-6- "ANOTHER VIEW" COLUMNi of Advertising Age featurediD'r., Morri~s Chafetz,, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism, who made: the observation that "...while adtaerti'sing is a persuasive and highly ef- fective mechanism in our culture, it does not, for the most part, cause,people to engage in drinking,aleoho3ic beverages where there is no desire., But advertising can be effective in causing those who~are already drinking t'o switch brands." (Would: he say the same about tobacco ads?'), INDUSTRI? 3M COMPANY took an adiin the Wall Street Journal to offer to share details of its employee al- coholism counseling program with other employers. "According,to na- tiona'1, stati8tics," it said,,"one out of'every,t'wenty,employees has a drinking probYem...A'probdem big enough to cost American industry an estimated' $10 billion a year." nQUITi" CAM'PAIGNS. "I KICKED THE HABIT" smoking clinic promo fold- er states: "I't has become apparent' to corporations in the past few years that smoking related medical problems are a major cause of early, premature emp3oyee retirements and death." HEALTH ORGANIZATIONS AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCTiATION turned down aire- so1'ution at its meeting last month callingifor an end to tobacco "subsid'ies." It was proposed by the Idaho delegation. Instead,, AMA reaffirmed previous positions taken wiith respect to to- bacco. .. PEOPLE J.H. BURN, an Oxford doctor, has had much to say about smoki~ngiand health over the years. He submitted a statement to Congress in 1969 expressing doubts that, nicotine is harmful or that smoking causes'lung cancer. But last montih,, i'n ail'etter in New Scientist, Burn suggested that smoking may causee baldhess. Nicotine, he ventured, constricts bloodivessels in the scalp and hair follicles may be destroyed as a result. DR'. CARL SELTZER told the,tenth International Congress on Gerontology, according to Reuters'dispatches from Jerusalem, that the elderly do not need to worry so much about smoking because those,who continue to smoke d&not appear to incur greater riisks:than those who quit. TAxES HEADLINE in the Maine Sunday Telegram saidi i~t best:, "Pressure Off Move To Hike 'Sin' Tax,." This, of course,,was in reference to alcohol and cigarette tax iin creases which hadibeen considered by the legislature to increase state revenues. ###