Tobacco Documents Online

PREPARED !Y~ THE' INSTITUTE~ STAFF'" TO~. INFORNI', THE:. INDUSTRV~ OF' NEWS'WORT'HY~ DEVE'~.LOPMENTS'~. ~~ Number 12~6~ July 1, 197'5' HOUSE! COMMITTEE on Interstate and Foreign Com- merce has reported its bill to amend1the Haz- ardous Substances Act. It specifically eliminates "tobacco and tobacco products" from the'jurisdiction of the Consumer Product Safety Commis-' sion. „ The!committee report restates that the original act gave'the ~" CPSC no authority to'regulate these products and the:commis- sion has no authority to ban "certaiin cigarettes" as ordered -, r by'U'.S. District Court. Wb'SH I NGTON U.S'. DISTRICT COURT grantedimotions filed: by the govt. and cigarette' companies to dismiss the furniture mfr:s." suit (Newsletter 125) to re- quire the Cbnsumer Product Safety Commission to regulate cigarettes in- stead of their own products. The decision stated that the CPSC ruling that it,had no jurisdiction over cigarettes did not injure the mfrs., who would have the opportunity at a future date to raise the issue of the Commission~'s jurisdiction when and' if a flammability standard for -uphoTstered furniture is issued. .ACTION ON SMQKING'AND HEALTH (Banzhaf) to1'd the Occupational Safety & Health Administration imcapital lettersithat it may resort to "JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS'" if the agency doesn't gett busy andl banismokingi i~n some workplaces and segregate non- smokers iin others. OSHA has been considering new carbon monoxidie:air standards. Last year ASH generatediseueral hundred'antismokiingiprotests to the agency.. This spring ASH fi~led'a petition to include the smoking regulations inithe CO standards and followed tip with the legal action threat. DR. ELLIOT RAPAPORT, president of the American Heart A',ssn., asceff-t-TFe-Fe er-Communications Commission to: require anti-' smok,ing broadcasting. The Commission replied that it can't legally de:that.

-2- FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION has been petitioned by Nader's Health Re- search Group to prohibit the presence of a chemical solvent, trichloro~ ethyi~ene, in decaffeinated coffee that causedla high incidence of can- cerous liver and lung tumors in mice. AP quotes the petition as saying, "Re3at'ively:small exposures ((of TCE)) through ingestion of decaffeinated'coffee and& inhalation of coffee fumes, may well pose a risk of cancer." THE IRONY, said Rep. Jones (p«-N.C'. ) in reference to the 3rd'. World,Conference on Smoking and Health (June 9 Special Report)',, "was the fact HEW used one-quarter miZliom dollars of the U.S., citizens'' tax money for donations to the American Cancer Society to cover the ex- penses:and air fare and $5p a day in living costs of those who attended this meeting. This; of course, to attack an industry which produces over $6 billion a year in taxes." Jones~ was addressi~ng, the Leaf' Ex, porters Association and Tobacco Association of the United States,convention., UPI said U.S, govt., f'undingiof foreign ciigarette advertising for brands containing American leaf'will stop this summer. The story said an nn- i~dentified official attributed the decision to continuing criticism. FROM A,STATEMENT'submitted by the National Heart & Lung:Iln- stitute to the House Appropriations Committee: "The exact cause of emphysema is not known," and "the causes of chronic obstruc- tive pu3monary disease are sti11 poor3g defined." NONSP10kER' ISSUE NEW PROHIBITIONS: Alaska now has l:aw, to be- come effective in Sept., which declares smok- ing to be a nuisance and restricts smoking in a variety of'places. Vi~o- lations will be punishable by fines of'$5'to $25. Failure to post "no- smoking" signs will draw fines of $10 to $100. Culver City (Caliifj Council bannedlsmokingii~n public places to "protect the health and wel- fare" of city residents_ The Renton (Wash.) City Cbuncil adopted the state board of health regulation (Newsletter 119) banning smoking in public places including meeting rooms. SETBACK:in effort to expand Arizona,legi~slature,'s movement against public cigarette smoking was explained by a propo- nent of such,legislation, according to a special report in the New York Times:, "The biggest opposition we have are the personal hang-ups peop3'e have for te11'ing others what' to do."' TWo segregate-smokers bills were passed by the California House. One provides that restaurants seating 50 or more people must set aside 20% or more of their space for nonsmokers but the bill states "a violation . is not a crime." The other requires that restaurants in public buildings must designate smoking/nonsmoking areas and post notices. The measures await Senate action. The Colorad:o legislature adjourned without taki~ngifinal ac- ti~on on no-smoke bills. The author of the Louisiana no- smoke bill (Newsletter 123) withdrew it when no support was foun&. A newbill was proposed in the Wisconsin Senate to prohibit smoking in certain public places or at public meet- ii ngs .

-3- SAN FRANCISCO:SIIPERVISOR Quentin K',~p proposed tough:no-smoke regulia- tions in a broad range of public places early in June,. Later in the month, TI"s fieldmaniDavid McLean and spokesman Bill Dwyer were in, townito talk to the press and Dwyer arranged!a "debate" with Kopp. Kopp~ said, "The proposal would not invade a smoker's privacy at his own home or business:.,"' Dwyer' counteredl„ "To restrict by law 40% of our adult population in their pursuit of a,pTeasurab3e pastime. ..is simply bad public policy." Both agreed' that smokers should' show, more consid'eratiion:and courtesy. The San Francisco Chronicle said there was more smoke than fire at the friendly d'ebate., Subsequently,, the Health~and,Environment,Committee approved a watered- down measure for the Board of Supervisors to consider.. ONITHE SUBJECT of current legislative efforts to restrict the use of'tobacco in public pl'anes, columnist Earl Waters, writing in, the Vallejo (Calif.) Times-Heralld, said~: "In this,. --as in all other matters, there should be a standard of reasonableness applied. In a democracy none should have the right to trample over the privileges and desires of others simply because they disapprove of what the others are doing,. This fully concedes the others should not be db- ing~things offensive and in disregard of t'heir opponent's privileges and.desires. In the smoking situation there should be ample room for both„ especial3y in this day,of air conditioned ventilation in most al1' public p1'aces." I WEST VIRGINIA State Health~Department, editorializes the Char:leston, Gazette, should promulgate comprehensive regulations against smoking similar to Washington State. But the paper fails to mention that the W. Va. legi~slature rejected a stern no-smoke bill (Newsletter 117), earlier this year. L RESEARCH FIVE YEARS AGO the British JournaL of Cancer reportedlon links between:15 kinds of cancer and consumption in 20 countries of cigarettes,, solid fuel, teaiand'cof- fee., The author, P. Stocks, found a "significant but weak positive" association between male cigarette smoking and lung cancer andlsimil'ar associations between female lung cancer and solidlfuel and tea,consump- tion. He also reported a."strong positive" link between lung cancer and soTid'fueld consumption,in males. TH,IS'SPRING„ Armstrong & Doll! (the latter a strong advocate of the smoking-lung cancer theory) reported in the Interna- tional Journal of Cancer on correlations between cancer and environmentali-dietary factors in 3'2'countries. They found' male Tung cancer "most highly, correlated" with solid energy output, while female.lung cancer related most to tea-drink- ing and population density., "Cigarette consumption," they observed, "is not, as might have been expected, the variable most highly correlated with male lung cancer." $6-MILLION RESEARCH INSTITUTE opened'at Valhalla,, N.Y.,,by Wynder''s American Health Foundation, iis described by Dr. Rauscher, director of' the,Nati~onall Cancer Institute, as the nation's primary institution con- cerned solely with,the prevention of cancer.

-4- SIX NEW SCIENTIFIC STUDIES relating to smokiingiand health have'been announced by the Council for Tobacco Research,. CTR also said funds are being providedlfor the continuationi of 27 other studies:. The council's~total allocation for grants is now nearly $32 million. INSTANT LEGEND:! "Smoking Tied to Later Risk of Atherosclerosis for. Child," read the headline in,Familly Practice News, a newspaper for dbc- tors. Seems British Dr. Otto Wo11ff toTd:a Univ, of Miami symposium,, "I want to put forward another hypothesis. It seems t'o me not impossible that thee carbon monoxide in the blood of the smoking;mother may be transferred across the placenta and may damage the developing arterial circulation„ and possibly predispose to the later development of atherosclerosis." That's all. No research. (Editorial note: The headline writer should get a magic:iian's award for:finding smoking "tied" to something after readiing, "'hypothesis'. . not impossible.. .may.. .may.. .possibly.,'") HOOVER AND FRAUMENI reportedlon cancer rates in 139 counties in the U.S'. where the chemical industry is most concentrated. They found ex- cessive lung cancer associated with manufacturing of industrial gases,, pharmaceuticals, soaps, detergents, paints, inorganic pigments and syn- thetic rubber, and suggestedlthat cigarette smoking is not an,expliana- tion. PUBLICATION OF TWO OTHER STUDIES showing a possible link between~exposure to l'ead,and zinc chromates and lung cancerr has triggered' aiwarniingi from a tradie assn., of paint and pig- ment mfrs. to its members, according to the WashingY.on Post. The assn, said it appeared "prudent" to reduce exposure to the lowest practical level until the relative health hazards are clarified. Federal industrial safety experts estimated that about 175,000 U'.S., workers in aiwide variety'of manu- facturing processes are exposed to such,chromates:. A MEDICAL SURVEY',reported'by the New York Times discloses there is a region in the Peoples Republic of China where the incidence of'cancer of the esophagus is so~prevalent that it is the chief cause of death. In the same region, chickens show an~unusually high rate of cancer of' the gullet. The report, receivedifrom Peking,, said efforts to identify local factors that might be responsible are inconclusive. MEDIA NEW STUDENT of the smok3ng-health controversy is Kenneth M,ichael'. Friedman, who has published "'Public Policy and the Smoking-Heal~th Controversy" (Heath, Lexington, Mass., 1975, 2116 pp.). Friedman, who teaches political science at Pur- due, takes a well-researched look at governmental and industrial par- ti'~cipation in the controversy in the U.S., U.K. and Canada.One sig- nificant omission is the ill-fated'effort of Sen. Moss (D-Utah), to se- cure legislation in,1971 to regulate "'tar"'-nicotine content of U.S, cigarettes. The autho r concludes that'"more vigorous governmental efforts were undertaken where agencies and'Ievels of government were relatively au- tonomous and competitive" -- in other words, not elected. And he says "the problem,raised'by the anti-smoking interests remains everywhere far from solution."

-5- PAULA:GREEN, ad agency president and American Cancer Society public in- formation committee member, spoke at the Third'Worlid Conference on Smoking and Health and suggested dropping the cigarette TV ad ban and assessingia 1-cent-per-pack tax for anti-smoking educational materials.. Reactions, as reportedlin AdvertisingiAge: e A TI spokesman said, "Bear in mind, cigaret companies volvnteered' to leave the airwaves in 1969. That position has not changed." • A tobacco exec. said, "They (,(heal'th groups)) wanted, us off TV. Now they want us on the air again because their program backfired."' • An AdlAge editorial! in the same issue observed, "The ban on. cigaret ads for radio and'TV'is a form of discrimination wh'ich is alienn to the normal' way of'doing things in, this country, but it has been,de- fendedias a necessary exception in an unusual situation., Now, however, there is an increased recognition, even among anti-smoking forces, that it is another of those noble experiments that looks good on paper, but proves otherwise in practice." . . "ONi THE SCENE, "' a, collumniin the Christian Science Monitor,, notes gains nonsmoking passengers have made withiairlines since the 1973'Civili Aero- nautics Board segregation rulingibut asserts there are problems remain- ing such as keeping the smoker from walking up and dbwn the aisles of aircraft. INDUSTRY TI PRESIDENT'KORNEGAY traveled' to Wrigtitsville Beach, N.C.,to tell the Bright Belt Warehouse. Assn. convention, "Many of our opponents are permissive about pot, pornographyy and'hard:liquor but' are repressive about tobacco. Many,of our opponents are si2ent about air pollution and industrial pollution but outspokenly eondemn tobacco smoke as 'personai poTlution.' Many of our opponent's support civil rights but deny, smokers' rights.," Continuing along these lines,, Kornegay notedi, "It seems in- credible that many who advocated tearing down the old barriers that di- vided people on the basis of racey color or creed are,now willing to erect new barriers dividing people on,th'e basis of whether they smoke or not." WALL STREET JOURNAL said Helme Products, Inc.,, a TI member, has advi~sed' shareholders to accept an offer made by General Cigar Co. for Helmee shares.- NEW STATE TOBACCO HISTORY bookl'ets:have been published by TI for Indiana and Ohi~o. The booklets have been initially dis- tributed to those states' public and high school libraries as well as daily and weekly newspapers and the tobacco trade press. Interested persons may reqluest copies. The state- by-state series now totals 19 booklets. FOREIGN FRENCH ANTI-SMOKING PLAN (Newsietter 119) being.considered byMme.. Simone.Veil.,Minister _ of,Health, would,h,it primarily at cigarette advertising on TV and,radio and in the press:, ban smoking in public places and schools, and be

-6- backed up with a publicity campaign according,to reports received at TI. She is also reported to be cutting down on her own cigarette smok- ing. THE BEAGLEICAPER: First came an AP report that two smoking beagles had been "rescued" from a~Briti~sh laboratory where tobacco substitutes are being tested and, according to an anonlrinous telephone call, one of the d'ogs "wheezedil'ike a human being who had smoked for 30 years." i I A lab spokesman, respondiingith:rough:the press, said the stolen dogs were from the nonsmoking control group and if they wheezed it was,be- cause they had been taken from the controlled environment they had been born in and put into an outside atmosphere which they had never known. MEANWHILE aispokesman for a mfr. interested in tobacco sub- stitutes said inia letter to the London Times the company is fully determinedito continue with research to the extent needed to enable the:Secretary of'State for Health to make a decision on marketing cigarettes containing substitute materials. The Times had reported that the tobacco substi- tutes might be abandoned. PEOPLE DIRECTOR RAUSCHER, National Cancer Institute, flatly denied a National Enquirer aLlegati:on, (Newsletter 123)i that he was among the 51% of the executive-floor F.m- ployees:who smoked. He was asked about it by Science & Government °e- port. Another NCI official was quoted, "l don't know where they got that number.. Zt,could'be 50 or 53%. But there is a lot of'smoking,there_" IN AN INTERVIEW with the Lubbock (Tex.) M'orningiAvalanche- Journal, Dr. Alton Ochsner berated physicians who have testi- fied "in favor of smoking" and deplored government support of the tobacco industry. He also claimed the smoker i~s the "most selfish person~i.n the whole world." JOE HALL is alleged to be nine years old with an I.Q. of 200. That got him an invitation to NBC-TV's "Tomorrow" show, where he told host Tom S-hyder on the air to stop smoking. "Please put,out that nicotine fac- tory," Hall said. "They make me sick:." He"s from Avery County,, N.C'. SMOKING'S FIRST EFFECT on the young smoker is perhaps to~ slow the movement of mucus in the airways of the lungs, ac- cording to Dr. M'arvin:Sackner, M't.Sinai Medicall Center, Miami Beach. These conclusions, reported by Family Practice News,, were based' on,a year-andi-a-hal'f, smoking-beagle study.. COMMITTEE REPORT'of the World Health Organiza- tion raises the question of what W.H.O.,'s role in the battle against smoking ought to be. The committee failed to come up with any new ideas, despite a wholie week of deliberation, notes Lancet, the British medical journal. The article also said the com- mittee's list of things for govts. to do is four times longer than its own. HEA'LTHI ORGAN I'ZA'T IONIS E

-7- A,CARTOON FILM, produced by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Lung Assn., depicting children of a mythical' kingdom banding together to rescue their community's lungs and air fromithe unpleasant effects of smoking, is to be shown on "Romper Room"'TV programs for the next three months,, according toiMedical Tribune. "QUIT" CAMPAIGNS JACQUELYN ROGERS, founder of'SmokEnders, Inc.,, explained to the Easton (Paij Express in an interview that for the ten-week, seminars to work, participants must have a sincere desire:to quit. That's why they're required to pay a fee of $1201to $175. FIVE-SESSIONiCLINIC using group therapy, lectures, films andl literature to induce,smokers to quit was reported by the Den- ver Post which allso noted the sponsor, the National Associ- ation for Smoking and Healthi(NASH), would explain the fee schedule at the orientation session. NASH president, Paul Wright, claims clinics have been,90% effective. "SMOKING", a show focusing on women and' smoking and' the behavioral ap- proach to quitting, was schedhuledlfor the:250-stati~on Public Broadoast- ing Service on June 18. TAXES DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA City Council approved. 5,0.9 mill'ion in new taxing authority which includes an increase in the cigarette tax from 6 cents to 10 cents aa pack and an expected yield of,$2.7 milllion. The Council's action now will face a review by Congress.. MISCELLANY U.S. COURT OF A'PPEALS'in Chicago forbid the egg industry from advertisingithat there's no scientific evidence linking eggs to heart disease, but said it couldd cite favorable evidence as long as it points out that there,'s much,un- favorable evidence,too. Meanwhile, govt. statistics indicate heart disease,death rates have been d'eclining in recent years. Anti-tobacco spokesmen have claimed it's because many persons quit smok- ing. But i~n a folllow-up on the egg story, the Washington. Post said'eggis are the "primary dietary source of cholester- ol", and that per capita egg consumption has fallen from 391' per year in 1951 to about 284 1!ast year., UPI REPORT states a county judige, a former Democratic political patron- age chief, andl three present or former state tax officials were indicted at Ph3Iadelphiaii~n connection with:ci~garette smuggling operation.

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