Tobacco Documents Online

PREPARED FOR YOUR INFORMATIONBYTNE INSTITUTE STAFF 17T8'.KSTREET, N'.W.,. WASHINGTON,. D.C., 20006 •'296F9N3i WASHDNGTON. Number 122 May 6:,1975 U'.S., DISTRICT'COURT in D.C. ruled that the Con- sumer Product,Sa'fety Commission has the author- ity to consider and pass a rule that would ban cigarettes which~yield more than 211 milligrams of'tar from interstate commerce. The decision arose from,a suit against CPSC filied'by the Amer- ican Public Health'Assn. and Sen. Moss (D-Uta'h) who had peti- tioned'the.agency earlier fo:r suchia rule (Newsletters 99:, 105). A CPSC decisioniin July stated it had no' jurisdiiction over tabacco based'on the Consumer Producti Safety Act of 197,2., The matter was then taken to federal court. The:judge, Oliver Gasch, stated the commiission was responsible for en- forci~ngi seueral acts,and hisn opinion states:: "One of'these is the FederaZ Hazardous Substances Act,,which jurisdiction and:authority was transferred,to the com- mi'ssion from the Secretary of Health; Education and WeZfare by Congress in 1g73." (Th:is is same,law~another judg,e cited in a decision which would aSlow. L the_CPSC,_to_ban:_handgun bullets as "hazardous substances."), Gasch ruled against a government-tobacco company motion to'dismissthe court case., Afterward, APHA and Moss asked him to ord'er the CPSC to take up'theirr petition and that's where the matter stands. Richard Simpson:,CPSC'.chairman, sa:idlamendments to'the act are pending in Congress which' woulld remove the commission's jur3:sdiction'over cigarettes and ammunition and noted': would prefer that the Congress act."' Cigarette compani~es, as intervenors in this case,and the:Dept., of Justice, whi~chde- fended CPSC in it, were considering question:s of appeal'., PHENOMENAL PROGRESS is being made in the fight against cancer and as, proof:Rep.Dan'ie:l Flood (D-Pa.,) said aIll you have to~do is read'a speech by Dr. Rosemond--president of ACS--to realize it., The speech, placed in' the Congressional Record by Flood, contains such "facts" as:, . "How much are we willing to change our enUironment? Thr;squestion brings us to cigarette smoking;, cnnply proved,by Hcmvnond„ Horn„ Wynder, (.:. 46= s=

-2- DoZ:Z„ Hirayama; and others to be the chief cause of the rise of lung cancer,, and a majbr causaZ factor incircuZ'atory disease and emphy- sema. "' "Zn enviranmentaZ'cancer we will see wider acceptance by workers and management of protective measures against the industriaZ carcinogens now known and others that sureZy will be found: What about cigarettes;, the major carcinogenic threat of our modern world?" Frlood, a House Appropriations subcommittee chairman, credits Rosemond with pulling together data that proves positively that Congress has been wise in supportingithe war against cancer., SENI. KENNEDY (D-Mass.) and Rep., Carter (R-Ky.) introduced identical bills to set up new agencies to~tell Americans:how to take care of their health. In separate introductory speeches, in part with identical phrasing, Kennedy referred to accidents,, alcoholism,, delinquency,, deprivation,, parent neglect, loneli~ness, occupational boredom and suici~de as "epidemics" which might be dealt with,by the new agencies. Carter talked about "'selif-imposed risks" which he said'cause accidents, heart and respiratory disease, lung cancer and suicide. Neither made a specific reference to smoking. The new agencies--one in the government and the other a public corpor- ation -would be responsible for indoctrinating the public with~Uncle Sam''s official heaLth:care instructions. A P'ROPOSEDiAMENDMENT being circulated in Congress by some manufacturers of upholstered furniture recently drew the at- tention of;Rep. Walter Jones (D-N.C:)., The congressmaniob- served'it was desi.gned to eliminate,the manufacturers' re- sponsibility for cooperating in establishing reasonable flam- mability standards as well as trying to find "a scapegoat" in the tobacco industry. He asserted the mattress industry was an excellent example for themito folllow. He said they cooperated with the Consumer Product Safety Com- mission without pleading that government look beyond their product forr the,"causes"' of'fires. He urged the furniture manufacturers to adoptt the same,position and get about the business of not obstructing regula- tion in the public interest., OPPOSING'vIEWS by Reps. Broomfield (R-Mich.) andPerkins (D-Ky.) on whether the tobacco prilce program should be abol- ished is presented in the May American Legion.Magazine,. "Yes" says Broomfield citing ".,..no clearer excnrrple of conf,Zicting govern- mental policy than the federal programs relating to tobacco and its use." "No" says Perkins noting "The American tobacco farmer produces a crop which generates:milZions and'mill'ions of dollars of revenues for nationaZ, state: and local governments, as:welZ as millions of dollars of income for workers and' busiixesses., " Both pursue traditionali lines of arguments an&Perkins' closing comment --just above the readers' response coupon--states: "...abol'ishing the support price wouZd destroy, the tobacco farming in- dustry, d'riving, thousands of smaller farmers out of business and •tnto

-3- cities tooking for aobs that don't'exist. That should not happen to a program which isn't costing the taxpayer a penny." NATIONAL CENTER'FOR'HEALTH STATISTICS reported March 21 that deaths', from major lung diseases, excluding cancer, reached an all-time high~ .in 19'73. UPI wire said: "Two of the diseases in,th'is group have been associ- at'ed with,ci!garett'e smoking since the first U.3. Surgeon General's smoking report which said;' 'Cigarette smoking is the most important of the causes of chronic bron- chitis in the United'States and increases the risk,of dying from chronic bronchitis and emphysema.'" PRESI~IDENTIAL NOMI'NATIONSe Dr. Theodore Cooper, former direc- tor of National Heart and Lung Institute,, selected tolbecome Assistant Secretary for Health at HESd', and Dr. Donald,S_.~ Fredrickson, president of the Institute of Mndici:ne of the National Academyof Sciences, chosen for director of NIH. Amintierestingicomment by Fredrickson in the April issue of SCIENCE: "our success in.the past.in deaZing with infectious diseases has made thzngs_To-ok deceptively easy. Now we are in a new era, one of chronic diseases that may, not Zend themselves as easily to molecular solutions. They,are diseases in:rahich,genet- ics and envi'ronrnent and nutrition pZay,a role." RESEARCH AMERICAN HEALTH FOUNDA'TION scientiis:ts:(Schmeltz, Hoffmann,, w nder); published in Preventive:M'edi- cine a 17-page review of the literature on "The Influence of Tobacco Smoke on Iindbor Atmospheres." Inimany ways, they stated conclusions: putting themselves at oddLs with American LungiAssn., ASH, GASP and others. Examples: 0 rr ..in our view, no difinite conclusions have yet been arrived at." .":..me know of no data suggesting; that passive inhalation of eiga- rette smoke increases the risk of developing lung cancer." "Whether a,signi,f,icant health probZem exists for those who spend a great deal of time indoors, be it in offices; bus or train termiunals, airports;, theaters, sports arenas, other public buil'd£ngs, and par- ti'cuZ'arly submarines where up to 80% of the crew may smoke, is a key eepidentioLogical que:sti'on. •"Its (nicotine''s)~significance in tobacco-reZated'dz.seases is still open to question."' •":.,.the extent of adverse heaZth ef,fects in humans due to passive . smoking has not yet been firmly estabZished."' . •"Nonsmokers passively inhale nicotine. . . The significance of this exposure with regard'to health is not' known." • r "Additional studies are needed'to establish whether passive inhalation of'cigarette smoke represents a significant' health risk..." !"...it appears:that' passive inhalation of'tobacco smoke by nonsmokers or smokers does not increase their risk for chronic illnesses such as cancer of the respiratory tract, emphysema, or cardiovascular disease." ~ ~. CL" `-Z N

-4- FROM,PAPERS GIVEN two months ago at the American Cancer Society"s an- nual seminar for science writers: r Enstrom, who has studied cancer rates (he reports them much lower) among abstentious Mormons: "Only one Zarge pros- pective study of cancer, looking at factors other than smok'ing,, has, ever been conducted. That was the American Cancer Society study,of' vol'unteers from 25 states, the results of which are still largely un- published. This hardZy, seems Zike an cnnount' of'effort' which will Zead',to a,speedy understanding of the etiological fact'ors invoZbed in,the deveZopment and prevention of cancer." • Rosemond, ACS president: "The chief cause of'Zung cancer is flagrantly advertised'on biZZboards,, in magaz:ines; and newspapers." (In the same speech, Rosemond reported without connecting the two that bladder cancer in~females has declined, and that smoking among females is up. He did not mention the reported statisticall link between smoking and bladder can- cer.)-.He also called cigarettes "'the major carcinogenic threat of our modern world." NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE nationwide survey of cancer death rates be- tween 1950 and' 1969 discovered: High,rates of'lung cancer were found along the Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida, with the heaviest concentration in Louisiana. • Lung cancer mortality was also excessive in a belt of counties on the southeast Atlantic Coast, northern New Jersey, New York City, andlalong the Hudson River. NONSMOKER ISSUE KANSAS adopted a law which would permit public bodies to ban smoking inipublic places. The much-amended bill became,law without the governor's signature and pro- vides that the presidingiofficer or person in charge of public prem- ises may post a no-smoking sign making smokers liable for a: $25 fine., The law specifies that the no-smoking ban will not apply to areas des- ignated by the person in control of the premises to be "smoking areas." Public places are defined as anywhere that public business is conducted'by state and local units of government and their subdivisions,, elevators, indoor theaters, libraries, art mu- seums, concert hallls, waiting rooms of doctors and dentists,, medicallfacilities and publ'ic buses.. The governor commented:: "I',cannot affix my signature to a proposal which I feel is an empty gesture fraught with l'egaZ questions and adnrinistrative difficulties. At the smme time; a:ve:to of this proposal could be misconstrued as a suggestion on my part that the connmon ruZ'es of courtesy should not be observed and that a problem does not in fact exist." I'N OTHER ACTION:: Indiana's limited public smoking ban b:il'1, (Newsletter 118) died with the adjournment of legiislature. New Hampshire House defeated smoking ban: bill (Newsletter 120) which would have l~imited smokingi in places of public assembly,, including restaurants, to designated areas.

-5- New York legislature passed law to reduce NYC Board of Health smoking ban viol'ation penalties (Newsletter 104)~. The state says maximum $50 fine and 15 days imprisonment enough for a simple violation. The board had pegged the penalties at,a maxi'mumi$1,000 fine and one year imprisonment., Rhode Island conducted hearings on three bills pertaining to the prohibi- tion of smoking in certain public places. A NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSN. publication reportediresults of a po11 of 3,192 persons:who were shown 22 different reasons:why diners might se- lect a restaurant. Having ""a no smoking section" came out so far down the list of preferences that the publication saidl, "While the Z'egislative intentions" to require such sections "are no doubt nobZ'e, it wouZd also seem that' consumers are: not quite as concerned about' this issue as some would have us be- Zieve."' Even "a free second cup of coffee" rankedlhigher. TWO RESTAURANTS in Seattle kept t-rack of requests for seat- ing in posted no-smoking areas during March. One had 23 re- quests out,.of 17,421 customers served'in that period;.the other hadi2l out of 9„389. MEANWHILE some papers are carrying public service stories in cooperation with the Mass. ALA,to determine local public interest in restaurant non- smoking sections. Readers are asked to fill out and forward a printed'd survey form. . r MEDIA, "SHOCK STATISTIiCSI," states an editoriall from the London Daiil Telegraph, now being advanced by the anti-smoking propagandists„ need perspective. "If smokers cost the nation 501mi1Lion (pounds)!,, they contributed to its revenues in 1973-74'well over 1,000 (million pounds). They pay for about one third of the whole National Health Service." Other points raised:, CseneraTly, smokers bear, their "heroic" contribution to the revenue patiently. They do not expect to be treated as "en- emies of society;" How many homes have been wrecked by the smell of'smoke in the curtains? But smokers, along with the "less fanatical non-smokers," must be:disturbed by present trends.: - The NHS'has,assumed a duty of looking after all our illls~at the tax- payer"s expense. Compulsory crash helmets, the clamour for compulsory seat belts, the vendetta against smoking is the th:in edge of the wedkle. "What next - holy wars agair¢st sweets and soft drinks; against' carbohydrates and ani'- mal fats, against mechanical transport and'Zi'fts...ry "Our liberties are best pre- served by those who always bear in,mind the American adage - there ain't no free. lunch." HAD~TO HAPPEN (or was it just bad reporting?): San Di~ego. Union reported announcement of discovery of "a new disease" at a Calif. LungiAssn., meeting. A spokesman said "we are very excited'about the diisease."' It's called "small air- waysAisease." The paper said "victims are invariably ciga- rette smokers." I VOGUE quoted Dr., Irvine Pa e as,sayi~n:g smoking, is the highest risk fac- tor "threatening your vital circulatory system.,'"...Har er's Bazaar calls

-6- Ernest (,sic) Wynder "the man,who did the most in linking cigarettes to lung cancer".,..Same magazine says "'heavy smokers have more wrinkles" .,..Seventeen reports that a 15-year-oTd'New Yorker,"uses cigarette ex- . tracts to induce cancer in fruit flies." FELLOW WRITES in the Indianapolis Star that he felt woozy, took an unwilling ambulance ride, spent two days in an in- tensive care unit, was diagnosed with "acute gastro-enteritis,"' relieved ofl $522 and sent home withiadvice to "lay off booze, quit smoking, avoid cholesterol and'eat no sweets." He said' "this seemed sound advice for almaniof my age, siince I had read it in Reader's Digest countl'ess times." MeCALL'S_'joins a number of magazines hitting smoking in the month of April. In its "Monthly Newsletter For Women": "A woman between the ages of 55 and 6S who has smoked a pack of'cigarettes or more a day for 20 years or Zonger,, inhales deeply and started smoking before the age of, 20 is five to ten times like- Zier to die of Zung cancer than her nonsmoking twin sister." EDITOR RAYMO.,,, . , . . .. ND~ HEADLEE, M4D.„ tellls Wisconsin Medical Journal readers that antismokiingiforces have:been barking up some wrong trees., He calls oniphysicians to return to trying to understand patients, rejecting "pharmacological Calvinism ...belief in salvation by abstinence," "the dire consequences system...movies of a lung cancer operation,"' and criticism of persons wholwon't "stopitheir 'filthy habit."" LONG PIECE IN STUDENT LAWYER, a magazine published by the American Bar Association"s law student division, argues for smoking restrictions. It cites precedents:, of a sort: "Vaccination and fluorid'ation." Au- thor is David Martin, the magazine's editor. Its circulation is over 23',,000'. JAMA:finally printed Tobacco Institute's response to its blast last December (Newsletter 113) against govt. tobacco programs. Reason for the delay was obvious: Weldon,Walker, M.Ds, author of the,original, error-fill!ed JAMA piece, need- edltime to prepare a labored rebuttal to the rebuttal!. JAMA ran it, too. LETTER TO1LANCET suggests makiing nicotine in inhal'able aerosol.sprays available to those wishing to stop smok:ing, to spare them from the as- serted toxicity of tars and carbon monoxide. NEWSWEEK'reported introduction of 110-120 mm cigarettes, as- summed that their purpose is to expand the overall market: "Some tobacco men worry that if the Zong cigarettes do sell well;, they may succeed'only at the expense of shorter cigarettes."' "BRORIBITION taught us that it'i's hard',for the government to stop people from using something that rvill:harm them or that' it' thinks wiZZ harm them, or to stop others from making or selling such products;," according to the Tacoma News-Tribune. But its editorial concludes, "That doesn't mean the governments7To-u`l subsi- dize our folly or those who cater to it.° CBS RADIO NETWORK'S "Report on,Medicine"'gave AmericaniLung Assn. President Stocklen four straight days to rebut TI''s "True? False? Tobacco Facts." But in the process,, TI views got substantiall coverage.

r_~ -7- UPI WIRE:: "A'national research council'panel of scientist has, raised the possibi'l- tty that nickell in tobacco may be a cancer-causing agent in ctigarettes." AP said: "A National Academy of Sciences report says nickel in the atmosphere is becoming an, increasing, environmental contaminant which should be viewed:rvit]i,caution." The AP report went on to say the metal may increase the risk of cancer, espec- iaLly among city dtaeTlers and'tobacco smokers. TAXES SPECIAL SESSIONistarts May 1'12 for the Maryland General Assembly. Governor Mandel announced he will veto a new revenue measure partly based,on a 2-cent increase per pack oflcigarettes and' wilil support a 41-cent rise. Opponents of the cigarette tax:increase filibustered the regular session into settlingi for the 2'-cent increase and are promisingimore of the same in the spe- cial session., SMOKERS are in poor repute these days, comments the Reno Gazette, but a proposali to saddle them with the cost of min- idome sports complexes in Washoe and Clark Counties (iNev.)" seems unfair. LETTER TO THE EDITOR of the New Londbn Day: "The peddlers of poison--ciga- rette merchants--like the heroin pushers show:l'ittle concern for the agony and'suf- fering,of our nicotine addicts because their sole interest,, purpose and function in life is to 'grab" a replica,of George Washington,on the doll'ar bill. Greed beclouds their thought processes." The writer was favoring a proposed i~ncrease in the Connecticut cigarette tax. INDUSTRY' WISCONSIN ASSN. of Tobacco & Candy Distributors toldlits members in a bulletin that "the smoker needs to become involved" in current regulatory activity. Otherwise, "individual choice will be prohibited by the combination of a1vocali minority and smoker apathy. ` DISTRIBUTOR ORGANIZATIONS',in thirteen states have ordered thousands of reprints of the Institute`'s leaflet, "True?' False?, Tobacco~Facts." TRAVELING SPOKESMEN from TI,, Drath and Dwyer (Newsletter 1i14):, have now logged 44 cities in-17 states in the past two months where they have made one or more public or media appearances during their stops.: They have made additional "appearances" by audio~and video tape recordings and by, telephone to~broadcast media iniother locations. FOREIGN writer David,M'cKie, TOBACCO TA% INCREASE;(Newsletter 121) was fa- vored by U.K. Department of Health, says Lancet as one attempt to,increase controlis on both smoking andithe tobacco industry. What the.department wants now,, he.writes,, is a tide of public opinion, based on tobacco industry's response to propose&re- strictions onipromotional activities, to sweep:the industry's negotiating position from under it. McKie states: "If' any serious dent is gaing to be rnade in the effectiveness of the industry's~promotional campaigns, a large chunk of them will have to be shut down altogether." Q

-8- THE STEEP RISE in tobacco taxes occurred in aibroad contextt of defi~cit,cutting (Newsletter 12:1). While the increase onn cig4rettes:averaged 7'pence per pack, (about 17C', American), there's ainew wine tax of:24p.,, 2p. for a pint of beer andl 64p. for a standard bottle of whiskey or gin. virtually every other tax in the nation was raised' or broadened in coverage. PEOPLE JOANNE Mb DUREN, two-term Wisconsin state repre- sentative, was the subject of Chicago Tribune feature on her legisliative war on smoking. The cigarette, accordingi to Miss Duren, is a noxious, disease-laden menace to society which, ought to be banished fromithe earth, along with pipes,, cigars, ashtrays,, lighters, and some cigarette advertisements. Begiining with constituent complaiints about smoke:rising intoo the public galleries from the floors.of the assembly chambers,, she launched,into measures toc, ban smoking from all indoor theaters,, schools, libraries, museums, concert halls, audi~- toriums„ restaurants,, gyms, buses and hospitals...require adi- vertisers to runione ad condeming cigarettes for every twoi praising them...include a skull and crossbones as large as the cigarett package shown on outdoor billboards. She also zeroed in onithe state capitol, demanding the governor issue an executive ordler against state employees smoking. He re- fused but did proclaim al"No Smoki~ng,Week" last January. Opponents to Miss Duren's bills have noted'her district raises a lott of tobacco to which she replies it is usediexclusively for chewing to which she has no objection at all. DR. JOHN OTTEN, president of the Illinois Division of ACS, proposed to its board of directors the phasing.out of fund- ing institutions whichicontinue to sell tobacco products.. This report, carried by the Peoria Morning,Journal-Star,. quoted the doctor as saying, "Whenever I fly I, of course, sit in the last row of the non-smoking section. And when smoke from some- one in the smoking section wafts my, wety, I compZain. " HEALTH AM'ERICANiLUNG ASSN. Chicago director, Dr. Whitney W. Addin ton, says, "There isn't much a doctor can do for a patient with emphysema t zf'me could reach him 10 or 15 years earlier utith,one basic message 'Stop Sknoking''we might be able to prevent him from deveZop- ing this crippZing disease. °' The doctor, coincidentalliy, was making an ap- peal for funds. M1I': SCELLANY ~ A BILLithat would banithe sale of cigarettes that do not self-extinguish withinil0minutes of lighting was introduced inithe:House of the Washington legislature. Author of bill said manufacturers treat their cigarettes to:make them burn up to,27'minutes andisuggested thiis constituted' a fire hazard. ###