Tobacco Documents Online

.'Rcn~E />nrt (°~P.w. L131E$ . PROGRAM OF JUNN 20th ML"PJTING It seems important that the June 20th meetinn avoid discussion of even the broad aspects of any agenda for future meetings on cooperation wi.th U.S.P.H.5. Sane of the reasons for this are as follows. They are listed with no attempt to evaluate thei.r relative importanee. (1) The June 20th meeting has, itself, no agreed upon agenda. If poli.cX for cooperation is di.scussed., the subject matter of the discussion is likely to be presented in' haphazard order and with no predictable emphasis. 7^.iis couldd result in conl'usion and prematurity of decisions. (2) The C.T.R., A.M.A., I.T.C. and ?ndustry Officers are about to co- operate rrith an organization~(U.B.P.H.5.) which has an established position. They must have emule time to coordinate the w^oP,ress which the Industry is stpporting in order'toinsur.e the freedom of action which the need for i.ndependent research demands. (3) The Personnel of the June 2o,;h meeting rrilll be very hetcrol;eneous boLh in ba.ckQroandknoraledgeof the problems of tobacco and health and in nature andd degrec of activity which they wi11 exercise in the Research Progre.m. It would be well to have the meetinQ'on APends, sugl;estedd by Dr. Baker planned by a sraller S;roup, the mmbers of which wi11 have greater community of i.nterests and of poten- tial particiFationinthe~ProQram as it develope:. If therefore the June 20th meeting can agree to accept the two guiding principles which are submitt:cdd herewi.th, it Mdll have laid the foundation for the proposed meeting on Agenda. Unless the ]:ndustry has agreed upon representatives from S.A.13., C.T.R. staff and 7.T.C., a date should be fi.xed for the submi.se.i.on of their names to }3aker, if they are chosen by June 20th. , .

In approaching a program of cooperation in research it is desir- able to agree on two pri.nciples which will contribute to the mutua7l under- standing and confidence which we all desire. The first of these is the mutual agreement on the continuing need for Amther knowledge of the nature and mechanislns of the causativc and contributary influences in a7]l the diseases with which tobacco use has been stntistical]y associated. The eeeond is the mutual recognition of the right of ea.ch coopera- tSve research group to select its own work'ing hypotheses and to determine the relative emphasis which it wishes to place on the %arious phases of such-ww hypotheses as they are developed. There is nothing new or startling about either of these prin- ciples but recognition of their acceptancc as a foundation for further cooperative steps to be considered is essential.

Itilis quite possible that U.S.P.H.S. representatives may come to the. June 20th meeting with some fairly definite idens about the"Aaenda mecti.ng" and . its progrean. Any acceptance of any such ideas on June 20th would seem to.be~un.desi.rablc. . . ...', I.. .. The C:T.R. has spent more time and effort on and has a'broad.er and 7:ess personal background in the field of Tobacco and. Health than has any of the other groups. This means that it has and should maintain leadership in basic researeh,.- To accomplish this the following points of guidance are importent:!.. , 1) Insure the informality of coopera.tive meetings (no votes). . ._ ,. 2) Keep the "Safer Cigarette" Program initiated and sponsored by the Covernment rigidly separate from C.T.H. or A.M.A. rescarch. ... 3) Keep the canplexity of the problem evident by initiating and sup- -, porting planned programs of research in the variouc bas:i.c fi.eldc. h) Take ol.y enty of timcin working out coopcration. Do not be pressured or hurried. Time is on our side. I would hope that the meeting on Agenda. could be tactfully de].ayed.unti.l T.oosli's return as I feell that he can and should play an increasingly imoortant . role in future develoFrnents. The difficulty in assembling academic personnel Sor, . meetings involving careful program plann:i.ng duri.ng the swnmcr months is gencra?.ly recogni.aed. This does not preclude staff contacts to work towards cooperati_onn between C.T.R. and A.M.A. which fram the Industry point of view is the best guaran- tee of the continued protection of the freedom of research, which is essential.