Tobacco Documents Online

PREPARED !YTHE INSTITUTE STAFF"TO INFORMI THEI INDUSTRYOFNEWSWORTHYDEVELOPME'.NTS; HEALTH ORGAW I ZAT I ONS Number 124, June 3, 1978' THANK'S, JACK: It took little intuition to ap- preciate several years ago that the well-organ, ized and financed nonsmoker movement was designed to achieve what the direct health scare hadh'tt Ending the social acceptability of tobacco. Last month, Jack L. Hoffman, Portland attorney and incoming presid'ent of the American Lung Assn.,, laid it out neatly in an interview with the'. Oregonian: "Probably the only way we can win a substantial reduction ((in smdking))," he was quoted as saying, "is if we can somehow make it' nonaccept'abZe socially. This is what happened'to snuff and chewing tobacco. i'in,reaZ:Zy enthusiastic about this approach...,.We thought the scare of medical sta- tist'ics and'opinions ruoubd'produce a'major reduction. It didn't."' A, JACKSONU'ILLE,, FLA.,, PAPER' reported that ALA "is eonsidering a Zeuasui!t against the Tobacco Institute, according to Mrs. Jean Vanderslice, consultant for the FZorida Lung Association." The story says ALA objects to TI"s leaflet, "True? __False?...Tobacco Facts." The paper quoted Dr. Joseph B. Stocklen of ALA as saying the leaflet contains "distortions'and'm~.srepresentatzons tit appar- ent'Zy reflect anxiety over successes achi'eved by organizations working for federal,, state and local regulations to protect nonsmokers' interests." TEACHING KIT for junior high school sci~ence classes preparedd by the American Cancer Society have two lessons: 1. What Is Cancer? 2. What Is The Relationship Between Smoking and Cancer? Among stated objectives of the package: "to name cer- tain factors.,..associ'ated with eancer„ such'as air pollution, impure faod,, and smoking.,..° MEDIA. NEW SCIENTIST, a leading British magazine which recognizes there's a controversy over whether smoking causes illness, ran a short editorial in which a Dr. Donald. Gould gave U.K. cigarette manufacturers hellifor failing to give in to sweeping govt, self-regulatory demands. Two weeks later it published.

-2- a letter from a Red Bank, N.J., man, Frederik Pohl, who said it's true" that smoking causes illness. POHL describes himself' in Who"s Who as 55, an author and' ed- itor, a prize-winning science fiction writer and a member of the New York Academy of Sciences. Here's what he wrote in~ New Scientistt i Sir,-I must protest against the stagger. ingly sanctimonious tone of' your anti- cigarette e'ditoriall (Comment, 17 April,, p ll5). I am sure there are many evils's im the world, and if' Dr: Donald Goullil f'eels himself obliged to spank us alll soundly and send us off to bed to make, us better personsI'. Udo nosupposeI. cann stop him. But' I' wonder that he limits; himself to cidarettes. My cigarette may endanger, my healtii;, but it'i is hardly likely to liee morethan iaminor annoy., ancetoyou.; while:your:liquorande petrol,, in the process of killing you, stand a fair chance,of taking me along. I do concedee the annoyance. But there too; other people's indulgence: in driving', and, in drinking, both separately and incom-bLnation, has cause,d' me a fair share of' that commodity, ranging, from a brokenn wrist when a drunken dt6vcr lost control and' hit' a car~ in which I was a passenger through any, number ofl killed' pets and damaged property down to the: party guest who vomits: all over my living' room. Ii can only wander at the selec- tivity of Dr Gould's passions. lIe whines that the British agarettee manufacturers resist printing on the packet flaps the words "Danger: aga; rettes cause lung cancer, bronchitis, heart'disease:'" I do nott know what reason the manuf'acturrrss give,, but. I canthinkof'one. The: sta.tement iss nott true. Itt iscertainly so that'.t they may beacoutributinG factor in somee circum. . stances, and perhaps even, a significant one, but the poor fool who trusts the implications, of'thef siatemc.nt_. DrGaultl. endorses and hopes to avoid' a runny nose or a cough forever by ref'raining, from dgarettess is . outt of luck. I hold no brief' for cigarette manufac- turers, or for advertising,of any sortl But I:like Dr Savonarola Gould even less. Frederik: Pohl' "b KNIGHT F'EATURES~SYNDICATE article addressing subjject of accidents among the retirement age group stated: "If'you're a smoker, you may' feel' smug in the knomledge you have'Zasted this long without getting cancer;, heart disease, or the other ailments the'surgeon general says can come from smoking. But, the acci- dent'experts say the odds of being felled by smoke or being roasted alive increase dramatically as a smoker gets older." AN ARTIiCLE' in the Journal of the American Medical Assn,. by Dr. Rauscher, director of the National Cancer Institute,,con- tained this passage: "At present, the types'of cancer that ean'be directZ'y reZated'to knoren carcinogenic exposures are (1) Zung„ in its relation to cigarette smoke and certain other inhalation hazards (par- ticuZarZy'asbestos, chromates, and'radioactiue materials); (2) skin, as it relates to a variety of crude tar products and radiation; (,3) bladder, in relation to aromatic canines and their derivati'ves;, (4) leukemias, in reZation to radioactive materials; and (5) mesotheliomas,, as they relate t'o asbestos. Recent research',has pinpointed the common plastic'feedstock, vinyl chlorti;de„ as a cause of angiosarcoma of'the: liver in,mark'ers inn certain chemical plants."' PICK UP THE JUNE' ESQUIRE. You'll fiindlon p. 14',5 aidelightful piece,. "In Praise of Smoking," by a New Havenisurgeon andlreguliar contributor, Richard Selizer. Sample:: "Let no meddlesome man caution me against the extrav- agance, the ,1nz~uriousness, of tbbaceo."' DENVER PAPE'RS'reported that a152-year-oldiex-employee of a Dow Chemical uranium processing, plant has lung cancer and'ils before the Colo. Workman"s Compensation Boardiclaiming inad- equate on,the-job protection from radiation. He''s also al cigarette smoker, the papers saidi.

-3- FIVE-YEAR AD BAN on cigarette advertising dropped by Better Homes & Gardens. Turn-about based omeconomics, Ad Ace reported!. LONG EDITORIAL DISCOURSE on tobacco in the Freeport (Tex.) Brazosport Facts includedi: "...the limited bans like the Houston ordinance, and the disapproval of a growing majority of non-smokers, may gradually take the pleasure out' of smoking and ereat'e a general social pressure for non smoking." COLUMNSST' for the Flint (Mich. )' Journal says: "7 hope there is, some activist nicotine fiend out'there,who will get cracking and form a group to protect the inter- ests of smokers. These nonsmokers could get so powerful that one day they'd have us all'up before firing,squads., And not allow the traditional courtesy of a last ciga- rette,on grounds that it is harmful to our health." HEADLINE in Los Angeles Times: "Texas House Bans Smoking!But Not Guns."' PHILOSOPHICAL POINT in a Richmond News Leader editorialz "No government has any legitimate business!in attempting to forcividuaZs to be "safe''through statutes and laws. And the reason for that is as fundament'al as it is clear: No government knows better than the indivtidual what is in the inda:vidual's best inter- est. Generally; government tends to be on it's firmest ground when,it seeks to pro- tect the individual'from ot'hers;, similarly; government tends to be on its weakest ground when ti't seeks to protect an individual from hiinsel'f: " FOREIGN TAR AND NICOTINE TABLES for 109 brands of ciga- rettes issued by the Department of Health andi Social Security in England showedlaverage tar yield' had been reduced by about a tenth since,testing began three years ago., The Department also said that in the future it would display a new health warning: "Danger: cigarettes cause lung~cancer,, bronchitis, heart disease." Posters and leaflets to be distributed to doctors, dentists,, chemists and other health centers will carry the advice: "Stop smoking, but if youu cannot, reduce the risk by smokzng a brand of cigarettes in a lower tar group~thann you use at present; amoke fewer eigare:ttes and'take fewer puffs; db not inhale; leave a longer stub;; and'remove the cigarette from your mouth between puffs." TOBACCO1TAX INCREASE has resultedlin "millibns'of smokers" cutting down or stopping smoking, according to the.London Daily Express. A spokesman of a manufacturer is quoted, "Sales for the industry as a whole have dropped by between,1A and 15 per cent." The Guardian says the situation is temporary an&such fa11s in demand level out,within six months. "NO,SMOKING" BAN~, also according to the Dai~l Express, at Wallingford town hall, Oxon,, is,to be lifted because bookings for social functions dropped. rybNSW1OkER' ISSUE SMOKING BAN BILLS advanced in both Illinois (Newslietter 120) where a bill was favorably, re- ported by a Senate committee and Rhode Islandi (Newsletter 1122) where the state Senate approvedia bill and sent it to the House.

-4- IN CALIFORNIA: Sharp exchanges between Orange County Board of Supervisors members and the audience punctuated hearings on amendments to a 1974 no-smoking law (Newsletter 96):. Culver City, Council is consideringirecommendation (Newsletter 104) to limit smoking in certain confined public places. San Diego is considering expandiing,its tough no-smoking law TNewsletter 120) to include restaurants unless owners estab- llish separate no-smoking areas., MICHIGAN: Saginaw City CounciL defeated by one vote--fromia nonsmoker --a proposal to ban smoking during the council's meetings. A Wayne County Board' of Commissioners' committee approved a proposal to ban smoking in rooms smaller than the 550-seat main auditorium of the City- County Buildingi. The sponsor of the resolution said: "I believe that Wayne County, can set an example for other governments in the Detroit area whose nonsmoking members must wade t'hrough,smoke t'o see who is talking,or even to read papers im front of'him." AND:TE?4AS: Houston City Council voted unanimous final ap- proval of an ordinance banning smoking in many public,and private areas, which takes effect with posting of no-smoking signs. The ordinance allows 30 days for,posting in super- markets, designated areas of certain retail stores,, hospitals, nursing homes, passenger elevators, theaters, libraries and display areas of museums. A proposed ordinance before the Lubbock City Councili to prohibit smoking in elevators, res- taurants, theaters, buses and public meeting places,, unless special areas are set aside for smokers, drew strange re- sponses. There were smokers who believed the curb was neededd and nonsmokers who found the idealof additional govt., con- trol of any kind more offensive than smoking if, wheniandi where one wished., TWO:WITP!1ESSES waited to testify before an Qhio: Senate committee on a smoking bam bill. Phil Smith, of the Ohio Assn. of Tobacco Dilstribu- tors, was against it. Gene Gorrow, an unemployed social worker,, was for it., According to the page one story i~n the Columbus Dispatch, a senator had to step in to prevent a pushing match when Gorrow tried to snatch away Smith's cigarette. . . _... _.. . ___ . ..-.,.. _ _ ,. ,,,, .-. -._...;_.., .. ~.. ;~ - - LETTER TO EDITOR'of a metropolitan Denver newspaper, the Times-C'a11,,from a Boulder County Health Department employee addressed the subject of requests for mandatory no-smoking sections in food establiishments. The writer said, "The trend nationally and'localay is to adopt anti'-smoking, lau:s; as,is evi;~~denced by the new Boulder City mzti-smoking,ordinance., N1any people, however, feel we have too many lizWs,.; or that' anti-smoking, laws unjustly infringe on the rights of private business. " He went on to~ urge a, voluntary approach andiconsideration of laws onliy if it fails. BUSINESS WEEK carried a page regardiing anti-smoking crusade by non- smokers that was mostly Banzhaf. TI,'s Kloepfer was quoted on points regarding ambiguous research and segregation of,smokers. EDITORIAL in the Columbus (Ga.) Enquirer concludes nonsmokers should'be protectedi, but not at the total expense of'the smoker.

-5- BUSINESS EDITOR'of'the Lafayette (Ind.) Journal, S Courier wrote that a. Caliifornia-based insurance company had expanded its nonsmoker discounts into the areas of auto, homeowner and renter insurance with premiumicuts up to 25%. MEDICAL EDITOR of the Seattle Times says there is:no signn that busine:ss.places and smokers have,stampeded to folilow the new Washington smoking regulation:(Newsletter 119).. He also reported'that a spokesman of the Board'of Health said few conmplaints had been received. ERIE COUNTY, N.Y., requires 80% of the space at public:gatherings to be set aside for nonsmokers, and the firemen in the town of Evans are burn- ed up. The local fire companies hold bingo games to raise funds for equipment, and1told,the town board that the ordinance is cutting atten- diance. WHAT'S THE MOTIVE? Rosoff's restaurant in NYC announced it plans to expand its no-smoking area because of customer re- sponse but the manager also noted:nonsmokers eat faster. WA'S H I'N GTONI DEPT. OF JUSTICE moved that U.S. District Cburt in,Washington:ho:Td up further action on,the Con- sumer Product Safety Commission matter (Newsletter 122)unt,il pending congressional activity is completed., The Senate and House have identi- cal! bills that:would affirmithat the CPSC has no authority over tobacco and legislativel'y:moot the court's decision in the so-called Moss case. "THE SAD PART," editorialized the Fort Wayne (Ind'.) News- Sentinel which reviewed the history of the flap over CPSC's jurisdiction on tobacco, "we are hiring with our tax money people in government to do this kind of hair spl,itting:" USDA,SECRETARY Butz,'declared a Washington commentator, says what he thinks. And here's what he said in a Winston-Salem~news conference: "I know the health faddists and those people haue now:got this littZ'e thing on every package of cigarettes and every advertisement: Every tiine they put tit' on, the oansurnption goes up. But--I''ve made this steztementa, and I mean,every word of it,,that as Z'ong as tobacco i's not decZared ilZegaZ,,and it has not been that, we'Zl do everything we can in this De- partment' of Agriculture to~keep this tobacco industry healt'h'y,"' On a questi~on as to1whether there will be a law banning cigarettes, Butz said,, "No sir,, there are too many members of Congress who smoke." TAXES the state cigarette now 1q1cents. MARYLAND LEGISLATURE, in aispecial session,, finally settled onia 4-cent-a-pack increase in tax,that became effective June 1. The total'~ tax,is BANZHAF'S ASHisays inia direct mail'fund raising letter that the organization: is also working for new taxes~on cigarettes. The solicitatio:n almost gileefulily states:, "Remember, each dollar raised:on:cigarette taxes is money,you don't have to pay..."

-6- "QUIT!" CAMPAIGNS. RADIO STATION WCBS, New York, is broadcasting a five-tilmesra-day, month-long "Quit Smoking Clinia" i~n June with the assi~stance of the Cancer Society and the Heart and'Lung A'ssociations., SMOKERSIVACATION CLINIC INC'_,,in Great Neck, N.Y., advertises a new wrinkle for those who want to learn how to quit at "a carefully selected paradise vacation spot." Their brochure says, "We'll be happy to ga over the possibilities of aitax deduction for our program..." ACTOR CHUCK'CONNORS is on:the road and TV promoting Schick Centert for the Control of Stnoking.Schick-reformed Connors, well!-known as "The Rifleman", even gags on gun smoke according to the Fort Worthi(Tex.). Press. PEDPLE DR. LAURIE MOORE, new president of the Tidewater Chapter of the Va. Lung Assn., declared there is probably twenty times greater concentration of gases in the smoke from a cigarette than,in the smoke from a plant the federal govt. would close down for polluting the air, according the the Newport News (Va.,) Times-Herald. DR. HUGHiC. KIGER, retiring director of the Tobacco Division :of USDA,'s Foreign A'griculturaL Serv3ce,: was honored for 30 years of'outstanding service at a dinner given by The Tobacco Institute on May 27. His successor has not been named. RETIRED:: Al Forsythe,, longtime counsel for U!.S. Totiacco, member of TI"s committee of counsel, officer of the Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth. HEAVY DRINKERS AND' SMOKERS over 4',5 need periodic screening for cancer of the tongue, Dr. Condict Moore of the University .of Louisville (Ky,.)' School of Medicine asserted during ann international symposium on cancer of'the head and neck. The Medical Tribune which:reported the meeting, held in Montreux, Switzerland, noted Moore also said, "AI great many second-stage cancera can b'a avoidad if'the patient decides to stop smoking.,"' RESEARCH taking The Pill are they are al!so heavy report. MI SCELLANY A,TEAM INCLUDING SIR RICHARD DOLL reported in the British MedicaL J~urnali that youngi women at greater risk of heart attacks, the more so if smokers. Engli~sh an&U.S. newspapers covered the PHONED-IN COMMENT FROM'A CHEST PHYSICIAN during aiPeoria radio talk-show appearance of TI's William Dwyer: ". ., .you quote your statistics and you quote your studies, Some of t~em are very honest and some of'them I,just can't go along with. I aZ'so see studzes that are in our journals that are aZso~dishonest and prejudiced toward the opposite end where the study i:'s obviousZy biased against tobacco. Z°..hat's very true, and I can't deny this myself."