Tobacco Documents Online

r PREPARED FOR: YOUR INFORMATION' BY~ THEINS'TITUTESTAFF1TTB'.KSTR'EET; N.W., WASHINGTON, D.C.20006 •296FB111 Number 1'A7' September: 23, 1974. CONSUM'ER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMI5SI0N' reportedly voted 4-0 (Chairman,Simpson,was said to be ab- sent)' last Thursday to reject the furniture mfrs.,' petition that the burning time of cigarettes be regulated before upholstery flammability standards are imposed. WASH IiNGTON r lleadingi' and severa'l important items were left out. The report re- ferred to arsenic as a tobacco pesticide and said' the compound "could" be left in smokers" llungs. Qmitted,, according to TWI: .any mention of arsenic pesticides being used on ai host of other crops. . ." • " .the quantity:of arsenic actually concentratedi inn the C lung during smokingi. . ." ~ • the conclusion of the "64: Surgeon General's~r:eport whichh I W said:: "It seems unlikely that the amount of arsenic de- ~ rived even,from unfiltered cigarettes is sufficient to present a health hazardi." . ~ ~ Adminisrration.,about alleged' healith hazards of factory workers' expo- sure to arsenic (Newsletter 1106)'. In aistinging letter to OSHA, TWI execs said several items referring to tobacco in the report were "mis- No written statement of'the action was released by the Com- mission, but staff members confirmed that the decision was that the agency does not have jurisdictiion in the matter raised by the furniture mfrs. Last month, The Tobacco In- stitute filed', a formal memo in the case, documenting the Commission's lack of authoriity to act. After that,, furni- ture industry representatives had continued to press their case at a meeting wi~th: CPSC staff."REMARRABLY:IiNCOMPLETE" is the way the Tobacco Workers International. Union sees the Dow'Chemical report to the Occupational Safety and' Health,

-2- r the conclusion of the 162 British Roya1 ColllegP, of' Physi~- cians report-which said: "The arsenic content of ci~ga- rettes iis now infini~tesiimal. ..There has never been enough arsenic in tobacco for this to be likely to cause cancer by itself." • the fact that the 1972 Surgeon Generall's report di~dn't include arsenic in its list of "harmful constituents of cigarette,smoke." "Could it be," the letter to OSHA said, "that insertion of cigarette smoking in such a report is an att'empt to set up a defense against workers who are the victims of an unhealthy work environment? This classic tactic of'bZ'aming the victim is a nrcdeZ'y, used diversion., And unf,ortunatel'y, it i's successful in too many inst'ances."' CLEARINGHOUSEIFOR SMOKINGIAND HEALTHi, the govt."s headquar- ters for fanciful propaganda attack:s against tobacco for the past nine years, appears to be withering away. Fbr some time a Washington appendage of'the Publlic Health:Service''s Atlanta, based'Communicable Diseases Center, the tiny bureau has been; ordered movedlto Georgia;effective iniOct. Its director,, Daniel Horn, is openly seeking another assignment. Lesser staffers have already departed to other agencies & pursuits, and it,"s reportedlthat Clearinghouse services are being re- duced. YOUTH SMOKING concerns many persons, including tobaccomen who regard smoking as an adult custom. The Clearinghouse has hired a po11i-take:r four times since 1968 to measure teen smoking trends. What they db is call' up a"random sample" every two years. Here are the "current regu- lar smoker" figures among the 12-to-18'group just put out by the Clear- inghouse--the figures in the parentheses did not appear inithe published'd report: Bpys Girls 1968 14.7% 8.4% 1970 18.5$ ('up 2'6$)l 11.9% (up 42%)' 1972' 15,7$: (down 15%) 13.:3% (up 1!2%), 1974 15.8% (up: 1%) 15.3$ (up 15%): If the data are worth anything, they show that '68-'70 were the "alarm- ing years for smoking foes.. And,it so happens that those were the years oflthe crescendo of antismoking tv announcements required by the U.S., govt. at the behest of John Banzhaf. SCIENCE, NEWS queried govt. sciienti~stsas to themerits of'the Stewart study that said'Americans have highil'evels of carbon monoxide in their blood (Newsletter 1d6).. Nicolas Rummo, a CO researcher at the National Institute of Environmen- tal Health.Sciences, said that while the report is a valuable piece of information, the govt. will not rush to change air quality standards because of'its publication. He said that the study only measures one type of pollutant, CO,, that the measuring methods were not the most accurate available and1that,knowing a person's CO level "'dbesn't tell MED TA. I

-3- where the person got the bulk of the CO."' For example, Rummo cited to- bacco smoke, defective heaters and mufflers as sources and said in all these cases, the CO level may be high and the implication that the bulk of the exposure was due to ambient air would be wrong., MORE ON CARBONiMONOXIDE from an AMA news release: Glowingi charcoal briquets, it saidl, are a plleasant,, convenient fuel for grilling foods--if they are used outdoors. "In a closed space," AMA said, "they can kill you." AMA reported a JAMA feature about how CO from burning charcoal can be deadly without proper ventilation., IN ITS REGULAR "Sound'Off" feature last June, Nation's Business askedi readers to answer the question, "Should smokers be isolated in, or ban- ned from, public pliaces?" They answered yes about eight to one in thee heaviest response to any question this year,the magazine reported in its August issue under the double-entendre headline, "A Triumph of'Iso- ~ lationi~st Sentiment."' r._..,._...-..,..,- _ Published sampl'e'comments included several,from oil execu- tives, c tives, curious]Jy., Phillips Petroleum's Washington man said a crackdown is justified by harmful physical effects on non- smokers. A Gulf financial analyst said he drives to work to avoid smoke-filledibuses and' that tobacco smoke can spoil a meal. The president of H'ughes OiI saw~it differentlly,:, Action should be taken against drunk drivers, killers,, rap- ists and "'the majority of our politicians"'before "we pick on smokers." L.A:. TIMES WASN'T PLEASED:with energy czar Sawhill's announcement thatt tobacco farmers will receive 100% of their fuel requirements if gaso- line becomes scare again. "That's ridiculous" said a Times editorial. It added: "To Zump tobacco growers with those who raise food ignores the reaZ'ity, that the harvest of one is:danraging to health and that' of'the other is essential'to IN FORTUNE MAGAZINE, writer Gene B linski examined diseases alleged'ly linked with,heredity an said researchers have found some people to be "predisposed to: Zung,cancer from. smoking, and'possibZy to other cancers frrom exposure to industrial chem, icals." He noted that at U. of Texas me&. school, tests are ` being developed that would make it possible to screen and }' identify individuals who are likely to contract cancer ~ from smokingior exposure to industrial chemicals. These tests,, he reported,, would allow companies to avoid assigning ` genetically susceptible workers to hazardous duties. SEVENTEEN magazine ran ailengthy testimonial feature, "How I Quit Smok- in."Citing death rates, Cancer Society and govt. statistics, the story told how alyoung girl quit smokingiand'iinvitedireaders to write the Clearinghouse and a lilst of voluntary health organizations for in- formation and "help" on quitting cigarettes. AS A MEMBER of an American Medical Assn., delegation to Chinai„ Ann: Lande rs wrote: "A great many Chinese smoke cigarettes and no one asks zf'-` you mind. I inqui'red of a chain-smoking Chinese doctor if he had heard of our Surgeon General;'s report. He replied, 'Yes, but we do not believe it contains any, concZusive evidence. "' Mti

-g- I CONTENIDING'THAT CIGARETTES'are hazardous to heal'th,,, the Pueblo, Colo., Chieftain said in an editorial that "we al'so believe that the public, having; been warned; has the right to make up its own mind'whether it wants to smoke ciga- rettes. . .The question here is one involving man's right of freedom of choice. Modern men~have few freedoms left. This seems to us one that in almost all cases can,be spared for them." ONE OF THOSE SYNDICATED EDITORIALS--the,&,ind mailed from a central service,and published as alpaper's own--dealt with. New Smoking Material: and appeared in ainumber of newspapers. It said the materi al~ "sounds like the sweepings from~a carpenter's work shop"' and noted that "scientists have spent years analyzing tobacco smoke to find a,link,with diseases it seems to cause. We wonder if'the experts wil'l' have to start all over again to see if smoking wood shavings is hazardous to health." un~ cancer, which some sources asser y, es fqr 4 ~;~h~esti~,g perspective en(erges:jg&K ~~3 r o x d s©rder", deatXate~ among wf~ites' are lown 'ates ~ Among ianwhiteS th,ey're ; h, igher'~ 3 6 e ~it ~ re maximized- obacco"s foes e'"~aus }~f, '~Y1 lung cancer'`,' bn '~Lhe other hand, 'Met ~ . i m IN CINCINNATI a counciTwoman referred to the board of health, a proposali to ban smoking in public buildings. The city council will consider the,proposal' after the health: boardisubmits its recommendations. 1 I t; it`~_k~`~~'" ~ ~ y ~ ~ ~ ~ or~ders" : n the` u. S ~y ~rbm?~alcohold si t r' '~ma~EaTi am~ar~~g'~de$t~~~~~ ~s~i.n 1958-5 Snd 1968 9`among whites and non~,; fi~9,,,, males~ain ~ emales.~~;If one putsongsidc 'them the compar=, t is`caased lb O~';1AC P~p e iPERSPEGTIVE' W, N p s listed bx iritern~tional-agreemgnt,.aq 6Ah in' vitaT ,stat'YStics. tMe`tropolitan ;Life ~ F~n 'i'ts Statistical Bulletin z,~ ~ e he ~'alcoholic disorc1er"'2'ates are j~substan ~ ~~4 ~; ~e, lte &Mnce" ,to xeport alcoholism as a cause of '. AV e~ cahol lies behind half the t'raffic deaths y. n~~one. ~e'~ttcTuded in the "alcoholic disordcrs" rates". xIt says "~ ~~ohdTi'cs~~I tt~r~'" ~~~talF the homicides and one'thsrd of the `sui ~V ~ -an3`}zone- are "3 "a~.uded i 'the li,sgt ed rates ~ ~', « .w~..~_ . .. . NbNSN1OIGER ISSUE ESCONDIDO, Calif., city council banned smoking in its city hall council,chambers during all public meetings. FREEMONT,, Calif., city council is considering,a proposal to ban smoking in many public areas including retail stores and restaurants with,50 or more seats. The proposed' ordinance,is based oma model presented'd to the council by a local Group Against Smoking Pollution (GASP) chap- ter.,

-5*- IN~SANTA MONICA, !Calif., a proposal to ban smoking (News- letter 104) in retail stores anditheaters was rejected by the city council there unanimously. The council then in- structed the city attorney's office to draft another ordi- nance imposing limits on smoking in public buildings. NEWS STORIES spark headlines about the nonsmoker issue iin:! Ft. Lauderd'ale,, Fla., News: "No-57noki'ng Drive Gains Allies Ontario-Uplandi,, Calif-, Report: "Smoldering Resentment at Smokers Catches Fire. " rr READING,, Pai., Eagle supported the nonsmoker movement across the nation and noted that "here in Pennsyl'vania; public agencies seem alinost deaf to any pro- posal to ban or restrictsmoking in public places. ...Aside from the health dan- ger.. smoking is a nuisance that'. Zegions of nonsmokers find inexcusabZy offensive." THE RALEIGH, N~.C., chapter ofActiomon Smoking & Health (ASH) is~lobbying for smoker segregation in restaurants., The News;& Obsezver,, not happy with: the suggestion, said in an editorial that ASH~should also push for other regulations:: 1. Segregate eaters who insist on,tallking and chewing si- multaneously., 2. Provide soundproof booths for couples who choose to discuss intimate, private affairs at a public restaurant. 3. Demand that gum chewers be immediately es- corted to the restroom upon entering an eatery and'then be subject to an "empty-mouth inspection" before being seatedi for dinner. "THE NATION'S 170 million nonsmokers," said the Memphis Commercial Appeal in an editorial, "having tasted clean air, are not about to let the revolution rest at this point. There are Z'ots of smoke-filled rooms still to conquer." NOW there''s a "Nonsmoker Travel Club." Advertising in a local N.W. Washington newspaper, the "Club"announced a trip for nonsmokers to Mexico City. It noted that the group will have its own bus with a nonsmoking driver to boot. COLLEGE CREDIT for quit smoking course? Bi~rmingham~News reports that U. of Ala. is offeringia one-week,course, with credit, that features the "five-day" plan to quit smoking. The instructor told the newspaper: "I think this course wilZattract not only smokers who want to break the habit, but also some nonsmokers who want to learn how to help others stop smoking." HARRIS, NEGRONS andlassociates, long-time stu- dents of effects of tobacco smoke onimice, pub- lished new experiimental results which they said showed smoke gives mice a higher incidence of lung cancer, that flue-cured tobacco is "more toxic" and that filters didn't seem to make much difference. But Lancet, the British,journal, wasn"t impressed. Too many other factors, Lancet said in an editorial, weren't accountedfor., RESEARCH WHITE SMOKERS have less ability to tolerate pain than1white nonsmokers, saidia recent report in Archives of Environmental Health, authorediby Seltzer of Harvard and three researchers affiliated with the Kaiser Permanente Med'ical Group, Oakland,

-6- Calif. The stud{y invoTved: examination of 66,410;patients.. The authors wrote that explanations for,differences in pain tolerance "are not clear at this time."' HEW'S NATIANAL HEART & LUNG INSTITUTE'announced a $900,000 grant for establishment of a National Research:and Demonstration Center at U., of Vt., under the direction of Vt., med. school's,D:r., Gareth M. Green. Con- gress,, via the National Hearii,, Blood Vessel, Lung andlBlood Act of 1972, authorized establishment and support of up to 30 such centers. Their purpose, according to an HEW news release,, is to carry out basic re- search on heart, lungiand'iblood diseases, to train scientists to treatt such diseases and to educate health professionals and the general pub- lic about the diseases. The Vt. program, said the release, will con- centrate on lung diseases "with special emphasis on: occupationaZ'pulmonary dis- orders resulting; from prolonged exposure to harmful dusts and'fumes in various in- dustrties and occupations." WYNDER'S AmericaniHealth:Foundation, saidlU.S.ID.A. inia news release, will receive $39,,85'5'as part of a research grant to "deterrmine physical'characteristics and chemical constituents of smoke from cigarettes made of'experimentaZ'tobaccos." Meanwhile, the Foundatioa, tossed an awards luncheon at the St. Regis for 300 persons, gave a citation to, amongiothers, tobacco foe andiph:il- anth:ropist M'aryLasker. HEALTH ORGANI'ZA'TIIONS THE', M'OTIiVES of voluntary healthiorganizations are rarely questioned. H;owever,, an,editorial in a recent issue of' Science did just that: "One of the more unfortunate things about the: war against cancer is:its implicit promise that cancer wi;ll'one day be simpZ'y cured and that the more we spend the sooner that day will come. Over and over again, concerned scientists have warned against promising the public too much, and their listeners sagely nod agreement., But'r their alluring promise continues to be made,, and'in some`cases there is nothing subtle or indirect about i't.. The people who write: ads for the American Cancer Society have gone about as far as you can go in: making the promise explici't., The ACS has placed its fund-raising ad in dozens of magaaines„ including those aimed especially at momen.: ..T'he publishers may think they are serving the public,• the ACS, in this case, is not."' WITHOUT'ANY IDOCUM'ENTATION supporting his cIaim,, Jack J_. Adler, M.D., chairman of the Council of Lung Assns. of N.Y., said iin the N'.Y. Lung Assn. Annual Reportr, "It'' is estimated that two: miZ- lion Americans are sensitive to tobacco smoke and:suf,fer smoke-caused asthma attacks." c= UNDER THE AUSPICES of tributed placards and (Don't Smoke, Day) will the culmination of efforts ment's., ..and other organi Minnesotans who are smoker persuade them to consider the "Minnesota D-Day Committee," campaigners dis- literature around Minneapolis, noti~ngithat "D-Day" be Oct. 7. A leaflet said that "D-Day,., ..wiZZ be :by health agencies, state health and'education depart- zations and individuals. The goaZ: To attempt to get all s to sign a pledge not to smoke:on D-Day itself. And to kicking the nicotine habit for keeps." W PEOPLE REP., PEYSER (R-N.Y.), is conducting &no-punches- Ul W. pulTed campaign against the govt."s "Food For Peace" program because tobacco is included and, he says, it"s costing Q - -~..

-7- Americans $3'0imillionlyearly. A,locali Westchester, N'.Y. newspaper re- ported that Peyser was circulating a petition in his district asking the President to end the federal program and that several hundred per- sons had signed' it. Peyser said (mistakenly)! the program was the re- su1't of lobbying efforts by the tobacco industry to unload excess to- bacco at taxpayers" expense. BANZHA'F, the ASHImani, disclosed during a Washington radio interview that he made a citi~zem"s arrest of a smoker in, a New York, theater., "I grabbed' him," Banzhaf said, "in a come-along, Zock and was taking him off'to the police station. I fi- naZZy reLented'because his wife and chr,ldren were there and he did' want to stay and see the movie, mid'quite frcmkZy, so did I." ANTISMOKERS, confronted with a specific argument against their hypothr- eses, often have to provide a tortuous response., Thus did Do11,, one of the grandfathers of smoking-health~statistilcs, inithe face of the report (Newsletter 106) that smokers who quit,when they have heart at- tacks have better recovery records than nonsmokers. He wrote British Medical Journal to say that "patients who have a probable cause for their dis- ease fare better,, once that cause has been removed, than,patients whose condition has no such removable cause.:" Thereby he ignoredl the possibility that thee cause of heart attacks might be the same for everybody, rather than just smoking for smokers and something else for nonsmokers. AT'THE WORLD: CARDIOLOGY CONGRESS'in Buenos Aire:s',. Dr. Finn Gyntelberg a Danish doctor who recently studied the relationship between~physical activity and coronary heart disease among 5,249 men between ages 40 and 59, saidismokers'were in s1!ightly better physical condition than nonsmokers and' that smokers who inhaled were more fit than those who dlidinot. FORE IGN IN'ENGLAND, a news story in the Manchester Guardianisaid that a confidential report showed for the first time that there''s a dramatically increased risk of developing lung cancer among men working near coke ovens i!n steel making,plants. IN AUSTRALIA,, federal and state health ministers~reached'agreement on further moves to phase out broadcast tobacco advertising at their annual conference. They are pressing for legislation to require tobacco adver- tisers to include a health warning in all print ads by Sept. 1975 andd they "noted," said an overseas report, that it is Australiian govt. policy to phase out cigarette broadoast advertising by Sept. 1976. AM'ERICANiMEDICAL NEWS reported that Maine's two- cent cigarette excise increase (Newsletter 96) will add $2 million to the state"s annual' income and willl finance a med- ical care program for some 45,000 indigent families. TAXES PER CAPITA CONSUMPTION of cigarettes among Amer- icanismokers', 18 years and older has increased to 4,2'70:cigarettes or 213.5 packs in 1974--edgiing even closer to the record 217.3!packs set in 1963, the year before publi~cati~on of the fi~rstt report of the Surgeon General onismoking and health. Dept. of Agricul- ture predicted a bright outlook for the cigarette industry and said: "Population and per capita conswnption are increasing and cigarette prices have in- creased only moderately im comparison ruith the infZationary, spiral the rest of the economy,is esperiencing." INDUSTRY NEWS #kl#

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