Tobacco Documents Online

AGENCY REPORT' "11.00 A.M. " 7'. 5. 79 FOR PERSOI1:aG REVIEW OML}` NOT TO BE DISSEMINATED Steve: W'e31' an American doctor who at the moment is in Sydney is claimingithat he's smashed, if you like, one of his theories with Nyree Cree. he's not concerned about its effects on him and'he di~scusses the most common theories about smoking. He's dbctor Carl Sel'tzer• and he's been studying smoking and its effects at Harvard' University since back in 19E4 an6his years of' study have lead him to conclud'e that smoking does not cause heart disease. Dr. Seltzer says that people who give up smoking have a'lower V rate of heart disease, but that's because they were healthier in the first place. Dr:- Seltzer who smokediall his li1e says 11 ~ ~"~ health~ problems? Nyree: Do you think smoking is blamed' for too many coronary heart disease. I've partilcipated in and another an independent study in, England whichishows that stopping smoking d'oes not reduce in England, in the United States and' other places that there is no proof that smoking causes coronary heart disease and onSy' recently howeverthere' are two studies, one!of mi~nei'n whi~ch . print in the many major medical journals throughout the world,, .of mine and it is my belief over the years and'I've said'i't in where I've spent the major porti'on of my time in this. I have concentrated principally on the subject of smoking and coronary heart disease and' this has been virtually a full time concern, Dr. Seltzer: Yes I'''micertain of that through my own personal experience and research in this matter for more than ten years, greater risk of having a heart dilsease, getting heart disease,, if you do smoke7 ~~ree: Is there evidence to show that you have a E Dr. Seltzer: We11 there are a number of'studies which indicate that ex-smokers,, persons who stop smoking, have lower rates of • :`VEn'J :rc"Oh:' Ia MADL T0 EtlSURE ACCURACY. ROf.'EJER„ NO'RESPt7NSI'BILITY, IS TAf;EN FOR INA'CCUF,^:'.^'l W NMI . 41

-2- ' {• heart disease than persons who continue to smoke, but this doess not necessarily mean that the-fact that the smokers who stop smoking, that stoppingismoking resulted' in the lower rates. _ B'oth oflthese studi'es indicatte that the cause of the lower rates of heart disease in ex-smokers are dhe t'.o the fact that ex- smokers are different kinds of people than continuing smokers. They are healthier, they are at less risk of coronary heart disease to begin with, no wonder they end up withil!ower raKess of'hear*_ disease. - Ny,ree: Is there any evidence that there is a certain kind of person who is likely to take up smoking and that a r Dr. Seltzer: Yes indeed. As a matter of fact there are hundreds of studies done. I'myself have published at least a dozen studies on characteristics of smokers and non-smokers. Smokers di~ffer from non-smokers in (inintelligible)' trades and body builds, in physilogical trades,, in bi-chemistry, in personality, in style of life andlall that sort of thing. For example, smokers are known.to be specifically more extrovert statistically more extroverted, more outgoing, more dynamic ki'nd of people than non-smokers who appear to be more inerdirective andiintroverted and quiet. Smokers marry more often, they get divorced'more often, they drink more often and consume much more aLcohol,, they drink more coffee than others, they are on the whole in the lower ed'uucated' stratum,, they have more difficulty in personality psychological features and so forth, but they are also much more interesting persons. certain_kind of person wilil have great difficulty in giving upp smoking? Nyree: Is there such a thing as a born smoker? Dr. Seltzer: Yes. There have been studies done,, whether or not there is a genetic basis in smoki!ng. These studies have been done, there was a first one that was ever done by the .very famous R.A. Fischer, the world famous statistician who actually happened tu be an Australian to begin with, he died in Australia, but he did most of his work in England.. R.A. Fischer studied, he studied twins and he foundithat among twins of' monozigotic twins which are identical' twins in genetic< ~

that they were more or like in their smoking,habits than unident °twins you see, but there have been other studies which have also You smoke don't you? Dr. Seltzer: Yes I'm a life lona,smoker. I started to smoke, , mayt'be at 14' years of age and I' can't even remember why I startedl, but I smoke and'I derive great pleasure out of smoking, but the ~ fact that I smoke has nothing to 4b~with my scientific work it i , ,~ just happens to be a happenstance. " a little bft?' I investigating smoking and its~effects,, doesWt i'.tfrighten you, Nyreer, - But you have spent the last ten years at least Oh~no~,~ I~'m~not the~1!east ~biit~concernedL~ ,;s . 4~--

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