Tobacco Documents Online

n stiitwte Newsletter iPREPARED FOR YOUR INFORMATION BY'THE:INSTITUTESTAFF1776: N, STREET„ N.W., WASHINGTON, D.C. 20006. • 296=64J4 Number 90: January 21, 19741 MASSIVE MEDIA COVERAGE'reminded Americans of the tenthianniversary of .the smoking-health report of the Surgeon General's Advisory Committee. Editorial judg;nents on its newsworthiness were not, however, unanimous:: While the New York Times focused on it for three days, and the Philar delphiaiBullietin gave it the better part of two pages, and all the radio and tv networks divelt on it, the "event" was ignored by the Wash- ington Post and the Wall Street Journal. Luther Terry, aidedlby the PR resources of the American Can- cer Society and the National Interagency Council on Smoking & Health,, kept up a frenetic pace of filmed and printed in- terviews andlrecordings., All that behind him, he was the main speaker on anniversary day at ceremonies.in Philadelphia ad'opti~ng, a"nonsmokers bill of r,ights" (see below). Other tobacco adversaries were made available to'and,used in the media: Vincent, a Roswell Park M.D.; Williams, a Clearinghouse M.D,,;, Stein, president of the Cancer Society; S ai~n, a New York researcher. In contrast, with far' less exposure,, there were two or, three voices sug- gesti~ng that the smoking-health jury may still be out: Kilpatrick, the syndicated columnist; Cleary, the Philadelphia Bulletin science writer; and Kornegay, president of'The Tobacco Institute., Kornegay„ inia widely distributed, seven-page,statement, called the 1964'report "tnuchimore a beginning than an end in the smoking-health controversy." Noting "more recent findings with respect to suchiinfluences on health as en- vironment and'pollution, sex, and race differences, geography and' genetics," he said, "The research,which: liles ahead will be much more significant than what has'.already beenidone." He said„"The adversaries of tobacco have drilled us:in slogans and statistics until they have ceased' to have any ~ C ~'. ~ ~ UT CJ. 6110-~

-2- meaning." Kornegay was seen and!heard on several radio andd tv networks:. Kilpatrick, doubting that "platoons of Surgeons General" could dissuade people from smoking,, coined a,memorablle phrase: "The:cigarette,"'he wrote, "has many lovers but few friends." PREPONDERANCE OF THE COVERAGE focused on three subjects: More people are smoking more cigarettes than ten,years ago, though the growth rate,h,as slowed; allegations that smokingi is unhealthy; and nonsmokers have begun to rebel. NOTE:~ Media reports to The,Institute on,the anniversary are incomplete.. There will be a further summary in a subsequent i~ssue of The Newsletter. TWO EVENTS reportedly timed,for the anniversary didh,"t come off: Re- lease of the 1974 HEW report to Congress on smokingrh:ealth, later re- ported to still be undergpi!ng review and a petiltion, from Sen. t+loss, the American Lung,Assn. and the American Public H;eaLth:Assn. to the Cbnsumer Product Safety Commission, seeking outlawing of cigarette brands yielding more than,20 mg. "tar"', said to be stilli in the,draft- ing,stage.: THAT "NONSMOKERS BIL,L OF RIGHTS" convention, sponsored'by the National Interagency Cbuncil on Stnok:ing & Health,, took place iniYlistoric Car- penter,'s Hall and then reconvened in Congress Hall (,the builld'ing where the origi:nal U:S. Bill of:Rights was also signed) in Phi!ladelphila.. Attended by some 5&"delegates," the proceed!ings were chaired by Donald C. Kent, M.D., chairman of the Council and salaried medical director of the American Lung Assn., Terry delivered a,17-page speecYi:., Special awards for antismoking crusaders were presented, coupled with solemn standing "moments off silence" in tribute to those present and "the countless num- ber,s who remain unnamed" but whose work is so appreci~ated by the Council., While local TV camer:as~recorded the scene,, Kent instructed the group: "We are here to play a~role that is as important,for our times as was the role played by the colonists when they met in thi~s gracious room in 1774r to register an offi~cial prot.est.: .." TERRY then reiterated the alleged importance of his report of a,decade ago and described its release as "a dramatic event whilchihas been rarely equalled in this Nation's recent history." He recalled certain events:involving tobacco over the past ten years and offered advice for the future that included further intensifiedl"informational campaigns", urging,health workers to speak out strongly about the "dan- gers of smoking", further development of smoking-cessation

- 3- - fl- .- m_.n, .~® a.~ ,.~~.. ..,,. ,..u .. ~.~ Mr. Foote, Dr. Terry and Dr. Kent (1. to r.) pose impassively f'or cameras at "Nonsmokers Bill of Rights" convention. Tight script (see left):permitted no "nays". clinics, resumption of anti-cigarette broadcast messages,, con- tinued reduction of "tar" andl nicotine levels in ci~garettes„ a more specific health warning on cigarette packages. He also suggested that "the public andiCongress must deplore the de- vious actions of the cigarette industry to:gain reentry to teLevision advertising by sponsoring sporting and other events with large televi~sion audiences." t. Mrs.,Carolyn Hendrick of the National Congress of Parents & Teacherss gave the Council's special awards to Terrys to the American Cancer So- ciety (it was accepted by former Council president Emerson Foote); to the National Clearinghouse for Smoking and Health (accepted'by, NCSH PR- man, Emil Corwin); to John Banzhaf, director of Action on Smoking & Health (who did not attend) and to Sen., Magnuson (D-Wash.), Sen. Moss (D-Utah) and Rep. Moss (D-Calif'.)',, all of whom also didinot attend., After the ceremonies,, the group filed out "in an orderly fashion" to watch:Terry, Foote andiKent sign the bill in Congress Hall., It provides~for "the right to breathe clean air" which "supersedes the right to smoke when the two con- flict;" "the right"'of nonsmokers "to voice their objections when smokers l'ight up without asking permi~ssion,"'and "the right" of nonsmokers "to take action through legislative channels, social pressures or any other legitimate means-- as individuals or in groups -- to prevent or discourage smokers from polluting the atmosphere and to seek the re- striction of smoking in public places." *** *** ,~** *** BANZHAF announced he:woulld petition the Federal Trade Commsssion to ban cigarette billboard advertising. Banzhaf charged that on billboards the "health warnings are too small to read when driving past at 50

-4- miles per hour." Hie also saiid that "billlboards may have:a subliminal effect on the viewer because of the speed at whilch:he is passing and may not reallize,that he even saw the advertisement.," THE FEDERAL,CON4MUNICATION9' COMM'ISSIONi"S "FAIRNESS DOCTRINE!" appTication,to commercials i~s being reassessed in a special. FCC'staff'report, and,, says Advertising Age, there"s a good' chance the commission may reverse its mandatory requirement of "counter" ads where a controversial product is being advertisedl. Banzhaf has:taken credit since 1967'for achieving the policy. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY'COMMISSION Chairman Simpson saidiin a CBS-TV' interview that "'I personally believe it would be wrong for any govern- ment agency to try to ban cigarettes." He added that CPSC'shouldl"lookC at cigarettes, possibly with an eye towards max,imum tar and nicotine levels or an,eye towards doing something in the areas of smoking,in public places. However it has not come before the commission yet. I do expect to get a petition to do something this month." NEW N.Y'. GOV. WILSON attacked cigarette bootlegging in his "State of the State" message to the N.Y. legislature and'pro- posed "a one-year, experimental repeal of New York City's' taxes on cigarettes."' I AFTER'THREE YEARSIOF STUDY„ a"chemiicalls and health" panel of The Pres- ident's Science Advisory Committee delivered its 211-page report. Among 23 "general" recommendations: The Federal govt. should take "more ef- fective measures to reduce the smoking of cigarettes." Smoking was. noted as one of "those threats':to health which arise from,the threat- ened individual,"s own choice., ..Where suchidangerous choice is deter- mined by social pressures, these pressures should be weakened." The recommendation mentioned "the magnitude o:f' the health effects associated'with cigarette smoking--corresponding, roughly to four million people who might be alive, but are not." Cigarettes were dealt with throughout,the report, but,no reference was more amazing than the following expla- nation--found in an appendix--of what others have called the. "excess deaths"'demonstration. In a word, the concept is imaqinary! Here"s the explanation:: "This does NOT mean that had no one born in the last eight or nine de- cades smoked cigarettes, that 3 3/4 million more would be alive. It DOES mean, though, that thinki~ngiabout 3'3/4!million more now:alive is a reasonable way to grasp the importance of deaths linked1to cigarette, smoking." FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION APPROVED test marketing by a major American, pharmaceutical corporation of materials to measure bodily levelis of' carcinogenic embryonic'antigen (CEA),, The,test will reportedly cost

- 5'- $25-35. A spokesman for the company saidlheavy cigarette smokers have high, levels of CEA and the,test ultimately may be able,to disti~nguii~sh between those smokers who are likely to develop lung cancer and those who are not. PUBLIC BROADCASTINGItelevised its second installment of "The Killers", on pulmonary diseases (the first was heart). Alleged damage of smoking was woven throughout the 90 minutes. A sample of the scientific level --quoted from a review,of the showin the Washington Post: ". ..Dr. Marvin Kushner of'the,State University of New Y'ork toys with, a pair of'human lung specimens sitting on a table inifront of him. One set of lungs belonged in life to a non- smoker. They look smooth,,, healthy„ nice.. The others are the two-pack-a-day lungs of:a heavy smoker. They look rotten„ dirty, nasty--yech, ughl, ick. Just this demonstration ought to be enough to frighten cigarette fiends into giving them up, but it probably won't."' NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH announced aI"service agreement"'under which "National Cancer Institute:and National C'learinghouse for Slnoking and Health,have pooled their resources to combat lung cancer." What it meant was that NCI has handed Horni$1.7'million to supplement his own budget,of $,900y0001this year. CHICAGO TRIBUNE SCIENCE EDITOR Ronald Kotulak wrote that "'there is no definitive evidence" that controlling choles- terol, smoking and hypertension "will reduce a person's chance of having a heart attack."' SWEDISH RESEARCHERS published results of a nine-year follow-up of heart disease "risk,factors" in 834 men., High cholesterol, smoking and high blood pressure were among the "predlictive" risk factors,, they sai~d, but cautionedc "Studies performed so far have not shown that any of' the risk factors is actually causative.,It i~s.likely that some of the themiare not. . . " THE'AMERICAN HEART,ASSNi. COMPLAINED to the Foderal Trade Com- missioniabout egg industry ads run in several major media outlets:, (Newsletter 88). It said the egg ads are "false,, deceptive and misleading" and askedlfo:r a temporary injunction pending,issuance of,a complaint. The ads claim that eating eggs does not increase cholesterol. CHICAGO DAILY NEWS Science Editor Arthur Snider referred to National Heart & Lung Institute Director Cooper as "the government's top heart authority" and quoted'Ihim as saying that "the epidemic" of heart at- tacks in the U.S., "has reached a plateau and now there is some,indii- cation it is going down." Snider also reported that Cooper "expressed regret that the campaign toIcut down smoking has been somewhat of a

-6- fai~lure." Presumably Cboper regards smoking as a heart disease ".riskk factor," but there was no indication in the published interview of how he would account for a downtrend in~illness against the rising trend in smoki~ng. ONE TO REMEMBER: "Epidemiology,," said Science News in ann article about Hodgkin's disease,, "deals with the inci~dence, distribution and control of disease i~n a population; it is one of the shakier modes of medical science." BRITISH STATISTICIAN GOLDSTEIN, who publishes statistics about alleged effects of smoking duringipregnancy,, conceded in ailetter to Nature "that the scientific; case for a causal relationship:" between mothers' smoking and lower-weight babies "is not yet completely conclusive." But he thought pregnant women should be discouraged fromismoking anyway. ~** FRENCH1NEWS AGENCY, in a feature from Peking, reported the Chinese are among the heaviest cigarette smokers in the world, that even the smail est grocery shops stock as many as 50 cigarette brands--and there is no advertising of'cigarettesat.all. CANADIAN GOVT. RELEASED NEW "TAR"-NICOTINE SCORES--covering brands manufa.ctured'only in Canada., None was reported high- er than~21 mg."'tar:"=-but butt lengths were longer than in U:S. gavt., tests. Health Minister Lalonde accompanied the data with a plea for less smoking. JAPANiTIMES reported that the Japanese Fair Trade Commission scolded 15 cigarette holder mfrs., for false claims:about how much, "tar"'and nicoti!ne: they might filter. At least one U~,S. product reportedly was includ'ed.. BRTTAIN'S'HOUSE OF LORDS debated alcomplaint from the Lord` Bishop of Southwark about whether "Royal Warrants of Ap- pointment'" of two cigarette brands for the Royal! Household are "in the public interest." Lord Aberdare, Mi~nister: of State for the Department of'Health and Social Security, un- dertook to defend the customias innocuous, had no particular reply when Lord'Leatherllandlinquired, "My T.ords,, woul'd the noble Lord nip along to the other place in the next half hour and urge his right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer to increase,the tax on cigarettes?" *** *** ~** *** ". ..FAMI~LIES THAT SMOKE-TOGETHER CHOKE TOGETHER" was the headline,of a full-page story in the "Young World," sectionlof the Baltimore News- to:' ~ American that warned young people about the alleged hazards of smoking cigarettes. Riddled with all kinds of:scary statistics,, the story said "the case against cigarettes i~s algood one" and noted that i~t'ss I~

-7- positively "established that smokiing,has adverse affects on one"s health." The,newspaper compared the "threat" of smoking with, the "great epidemics of typhoid, cholera and tuberculosis." A POLL OF STUDENTS in 2,000 high schools conducted by Scho- lasti~c Magazine and reported in the Wash,ington Star-News showed that those questioned would,like to see tobacco smok- ing banned in pubLic places. Only 11 percent thought a ban on smoking in public places wouTd infringe onithe:rights of smokers. ANiANTISMOKIiNG DRIVE that proved',to be a failure was featured in the Minneapolis Star. The campaign was conducted by a psychology class at a suburban Minneapolis higliischool., Said,the Star: "Despite a massive antismoking campaign, the same kind national antismoking,organi~zations annually pay thousands of dol~lars for, the students concludedith,at - scare tactics don't work." THE',D'IRECTOR OF PUBLIC EDUCATIONifor the,Oh,io Division of the American Cancer Society im,Cleveland, James Cobb, told a group of youths that adkzlt antismoking literature,is appar- entliy ineffective and that it "turn(s) you people off." He announced that "this year I am not ordering all of'our fancy literature to pass out,, but I am instead asking you to help me in writing the material."' INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMM'.ISSIONiordered new smoking,rules on all the intercity passenger trains:! In brief, segregation of passenger facili- ities:on a 50-50 basis,, except in private bedrooms., GASP (Group Against Smoking Pollution) chapters in Cali- fornia are publishing "newsletters." Sample story: Lady on a bus from Berkeley to Palo Alto got,the driver to stop several persons from smoking., One of them "spit in her face and hit her on,the,head with his fists." He was successfully _~ __ ,. ....--._ .. ., pro:secuted for battery. A MIiCHIGAN STATE'EMPLOYEE, according to UPI, filed a claim for work- men's compensation due to time lost from illnesses that she claims were linked to her co-workers' cigarette smoking. SM'OKING'BANNED:: o In,a11 San Diego County public facillities includi~ng,court- rooms, publlic conference rooms, reception areas and ele- vators. Infractions are punishable by fines rangingifrom $10-100. SMOKING BANS PRO'PQSED: o By an Indiana legislator whoisaid he will propose a bill

f -8- to prohibit smoking in~buildings or public conveyances owned or controlled by the state or in private buildings in which products are soldlor services provided for the: public. o By a Los Angeles city councilman who introdhced a re- solution that would ban smoking in certain areas of build- ings and facilities open to the general public.: He saidd smok:ing, "like other forms of air polluting. . . is an un- authorized use of nonsmokers' air." SMOKING BAN DEFEATED: o At the Texas Constitutional Convention where a 49-111 vote killedlan attempt to make the convention "smokeliess." One cigar-smoking delegate said a ban "would traumatize: the delegates." SMOKERS SEGREGATED: o In PalmiSprings, Calif. where 20 of the resort areai's restaurants are offering nonsmoking diningiareas. The programiwas ini~tiated by the Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau., TOLEDO BLAIDE rescinded its 3-year-old policy of refusing cigarette ad- vertising. FOUR CALIF'., RADIO STATI~ONS are experimenting with a new program de- signed to get late night listeners to quit smokingiby lulling them to sleep with,ant.ismok,ing messages and music. THE FIRM'QF STRICKMAN, inventor of the widely publicized (1967) filter,, paid back wages to two employees and aifine for violating New Jersey's wage-hour laws, accordi~ngito the Hackensack Recordl. DEPARTMENT'OF AGRICULTURE ECONOMIST Robert H. Miller said U.S. cigarette output should reach alrecord 630 billion in '74,, up five percent in two years:. ANONYMOUS PUBLISHER of'a mbmeo newsletter "from the Harvard Medical Area" devoted,the four-page issue for October,, 1973, to criticism of the Harvard Medical School' for acceptance,of a tobacco industry grant a,year ago for'respiratory disease research. "The very act," said'the publication, "provides support for the industry's~positionion smoking andihealth.,"' The front-page headlline said, "Caution:! HarvardlM'ay Be Hazardous to Your Health,." "SMOKING AND~HEALTH--THE NEED TO KNOW;" TI's 30-minute film featuring scientist interviews,, was seen by more than 66,000 persons in 1'„455 showings inithe first year of its distribution, just ended., ~