NYSA Indexed
Smoking and Health Review: Volume XI Number January-February 1981
Abstract
A major argument that the board advanced for repealing its existing rules is that free market competition should deal with the problem of smok-ing and that a seat in a nonsmoking section should be just another element of the barrier's price service mix
Fields
- Box
- 0004. TI Counsel Files - (Milway)
- NYSA numbers
- 2423 B1793 03B
- Type
- Memorandum
- REPORT
- newsletter
- Author
- Lang, Clara
- Named Person
- Abrams, Eve
- Addison, Rita
- Administration, Drug
- Reagan
- Albert
- Alexander, Mary
- Allard, Michael
- Armstrong, Alexander
- Aronoff, Miss Sarah
- Asimov, Isaac
- Banzhaf, John F
- Barrett, Stephen
- Baumgartner, Leona
- Beattie, J
- Beet, Fred
- Beeler, Michael
- Benedit, James S
- Betty
- Blum, Alan
- Blum, Conrad
- Borkey, Paul
- Boso
- Bower, James R
- Boynton
- Burton T
- Byrne, Brendan
- Calhoun, B L
- Califano, Joseph A
- Cares, Daniel
- Carlson, Regina
- Carnes, Betty
- Castelli, William
- Cenci, Louis
- Charles
- Chittenden, John L
- Clarence
- Codman, R
- College, John
- Cowan, D
- Deford, Ronald K
- Delarue, Norman
- Donald M
- Dreyfus, Governor Lee
- Drinan, Robert F
- East, Robert
- Edey, Maitland A
- Edward
- Efroymson, Miriam
- Elliott, Joe W
- Ewing
- Foster
- Frank, Gerald B
- Gardiner, Richard
- Garlio, T
- Gere, Kenneth
- Gere, Renee
- Gest, Lillian
- Gibbs, Frederick R
- Gordon, John
- Graf, Irene A
- Graff
- Gregory, Ralph
- Griese, Bob
- Grimes, Paul
- Gross, Howard
- Groves, Webster
- Hadden, Frank
- Hagman, Larry
- Hallmen, Grady L
- Harmon, Cordelia
- He, Mw
- Hilda
- Hobbs
- Huber
- James G
- James H
- Jensen, Janice M
- Jernstrom, Paul H
- John
- Jordan, Otis
- Judge
- Karl
- Kenneth T
- Kinsey
- Knoll, J
- Koch, Mayor
- Langmuir, Alexander D
- Lauda, Malta
- Linn, D C
- Loveday, Paul
- Madison
- Marshal
- Marvin Cohen, Chairman S
- Marx
- Merrlam, Allison W
- Miller, G H
- Moreton, Wendy
- Mueller
- Munzer, Alfred
- Nekpelov, Yuri
- Norman
- Norwood
- Oberdorfer, Judge
- Ockene, J
- Pegelow, Ruth S
- Pfeiffer, Paul
- Plato, Dean
- Polinger, Howard
- Puryear, R M
- Rapp
- Richmond, Julius
- Sadat, Anwar
- Sadat, Jihan
- Sanzhaf, John F
- Saraca, Charley
- Sarasohn, H
- Savage, George
- Seltzer, Carl C
- Serebrov, F
- Sharlin, Meyer
- Shine, J R
- Shipley, Robert H
- Sinsheimer, Richard
- Slepak, Leon
- Solomon, Nell
- Stan L
- Stephens, Dorothy G
- Stettner, Barbara A
- Stuart
- Swanson, Jim
- Tare, Charles
- Thacher, Thomas
- Thames
- Towers, Bridget
- Traner
- Uffman
- Vanderbilt, Amy
- Venutti, Dennis
- Verdi
- Watkins, Ray
- Weaver, Dennis
- Webber, Dorothea H
- Whitehil, Joseph
- Wilkes, John B
- William D
- Wilson
- Woodruff, A M
- Woollams, Stan
- Yeargin, W W
- Named Organization
- ACAS
- Action On Smoking And Health
- Air Canada
- Air France
- Air India
- Air United Pan
- American Cancer Society
- American Cancer Society In Spokane Washington
- American Heart Association
- Asbestos Company
- ASH
- Ash Executive Director
- Ash Staff Counsel Athena
- Benson & Hedges Company
- Board Of Equalization
- Board Of Sponsors
- Boston University School
- Braniff Airways
- British Airways
- CAB
- California Court Of Appeals
- Cambridge
- Cancer Society
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- College Of Physicians And Surgeons Of Canada
- Committee Of The Minnesota House Of Representatives
- Congress
- Court Of Appeals
- Dc Superior Court
- Delta Airlines
- Department Of Energy
- Department Of Health
- District Court
- District Of Columbia
- District Of Columbia Lung Association
- Dominion Electric Supply Company
- DOW
- DUKE
- Duke University
- Egyptian Cancer Society
- Eileen L Norris Foundation Ms
- Embarrasses Fda
- Executive Director
- Family Health
- FCC
- FDA
- Fda Consumer
- Federal Communications Commission
- Federal Trade Commission
- Federation Of Nursing Homes
- FTC
- GB
- General Counsel Paul
- George Washington University
- Grand Teton National Park
- GW
- Harvard
- Harvard School Of Public
- Harvard School Of Public Health
- Harvard University Medical School
- Health Fraud Inc
- HEW
- HHS
- House Of Representatives
- Human Services
- Indiana State Medical Association
- Information Committee
- Institute On Aiu
- Internal Medicine News
- JM
- Journal Of The American Medical Association
- KGB
- Knesset
- Lorillard
- Lufthansa
- Lung Association
- MAS
- Medical Tribune
- National Cancer Institute
- National Cancer Institute - Veterans Administration Hospital
- National Institute On Drug
- National Interagency Council
- NCI
- Philip Morris
- Plan Inc
- PLE
- PNS
- Polytechnic Health Education Research Team School Of Sociology Pen
- Pratt & Whitney
- Public Health Service
- R J Reynolds Industries Inc
- R J Reynolds Tobacco Co
- RCE
- Regulatory Affairs
- Research Institute
- Research Reports
- Reynolds
- Reynolds Tobacco Company
- Rhythm Jewelry Co
- Royal Society Of Medicine
- Savin Corporation
- School Committee
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- Services Administration
- Siwel Investment Corp
- Smoking And Health Committee Of The American Lung Association
- Smoking Pollution Gasp
- Society Of Heating Refrigerating
- Sos Plan Inc
- State University
- Surgeon General
- Syndicated New York Times
- TFNS
- Times
- Tobacco Company
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- TOR
- Truste And See
- Tufts University
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- Two Surgeon General
- UN
- United States Tobacco Journal
- University Of Kentucky-S Tobacco And Health
- University Of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
- University Of Pennsylvania
- University Of Toronto
- University Of Wisconsin
- Visual Center National Ar
- Washington Dc Board Of Education
- Wharton Applied Research Center
- New York Times
- Thesaurus Term
- anti-smoking advocacy
- airplane
- smoking restriction
- mass media
- government agency
- cancer
- secondhand smoke
Document Images
Volume XI, Number
January-February 1981
CAB Considers Abolishing
Protections for Nonsmoking
Passengers; Comments
Requested By April 13
The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) has
formally proposed that it abolish all of
ils rules designed to protect nons'mok-
ing passengers, including the basic re-
quirement that plan~s provide sepa-
rate smoking and no:s.rnoking sec-
tions. A major argument that the board
advanced for repealing its existing
rules is that free-market competition
should deal with the problem of smok-
ing, and that a seat in a nonsmoking
section should be just "another ele-
ment of [the barrier's] price/service mix
over which they compete."
In its notice soliciting comments, the
board also expressed a willingness t5
consider a total ban on all smoking, but
at open meeting and in pdvate con-
versations, board members and em-
ployees have indicated that such a ban
is unlikely. The attitude of the board
and its staff toward the whole smoking
problem may also be reflected in
several recent actions.
As was reported in the November-
December 1980 ASH Newsletter, the
board adopted a rule permitting airlines
to obtain a waiver of the existing rules
simply by going to the CAB staff. ASH
vigorously opposed the waiver--which
was suddenly passed with no prior
notice---but at a recent meeting it was
affirmed w;th little discussion.
The CAB enforcement staffmthe
same people who would be in charge
of granting waivers of existing rules--
recently dismissed several formal
complaints alle~jihg violations of ex-
isting rules. In one situation, a passen-
ger who had suffered from "two heart
attacks and who had' to. have open
heart surgery for the impiantation of a
triple bypass was forced to leave his
seat and stand in the aisle in order to
avoid the smoke drifting-to" his
assigned seat. In another case, the
smoke pollution became so bad that
the flight attendant had to spray the
entire cabin, and the complainant, a
physician, nevertheles~ suffered from
eye, nose, and throat irritatioh. ASH
has challenged these dismissals in a
~ormal motion.
Although the board has agreed to let
ASH present an oral argument on the
problems of smoking aboard aircraft, it
has refused to provide a crucial docu-
ment setting forth arguments made in
secret to the board by its own senior
staff. Unless that document can be
obtained, ASH attorneys will be forced
to guess what are the arguments made
against them, and they will not receive
a copy of the document until after the
board has voted.
In This Issue
• Cigarette Manufacturers Sued by
Asbestos Company
• CAB Considers Abolishing
Protections for Nonsmoking
Passengers; Comments Requested
• Court Says Nicotine Is Not a Drug
• Warning: Other People's Smokihg
Can Give You CANCER
• Surgeon General Reports on Low
Tar and Nicotine Cigarettes
• Caution: CigaretteADDITIVES May
Be Hazardous to Your Health
• ASH Open House April 25
• ASH Negotiating Substantial
Settlements for Disgruntled
Nonsmoking Passengers
• Tobacco Institute Forced To Admit
P~:obler~
.• Criticism of Cancer Society Growing
• Dow To Test Nicotine Gum"
• IndoorAirPollutionan Emerging
Health Problem
• Tobacco Advertising and Editorial
Policy
• Advice From Two Columnists
• Former Hostage '~Fumigated" by
PanAm
• Smoking Policies on Foreign Airlines
• AMA Speaks Out on Smoking
Cor, tinued on page 2 * Regular features
T!36310931
~I(:;ILi Vl~
~od example. The Health and Wel-
,.re Committee of the Minnesota
House of Representatives has voted to
prohibit committee members from
smoking during hearings. "We're just
trying to set a good e~:ample," said
committee chairman Jim Swanson. "If
any members have to smoke, they can
get excused and leave the room." (St.
Pau/ Sunday Pioneer Press, January
lS, 1981)
GASP of Massachusetts won one
and lost one before the Boston City
Council on December 30, 1980. The
council voted to restrict smoking in
public buildings owned and maintained
by the city, then ~t turned around and
defeated a bill that would have banned
cigarette giveaways. GASP of Mas-
sachusetts president Rita Addison re-
ported that the tobacco industry sent
representatives from New Jersey, Cali-
fornia, Washington, D.C., and North
~ Carolina to augment its Massachusetts
lobbyists in its successful effort to de-
feat the giveaway ban.
Assault with a coffin.nail. Legislation
being introduced in the current session
of the Maine state legislature would
make it a crime to blow smoke in the
face of an unwilling recipient. For the
first offense of "tobacco smoke
assault," a smoker would be liable to a
$25 fine, and "for each person So
assaulted for e.ach successive
offense," the fine goes up to $50.
The only people who have. been
charged with violating" Iowa's 20-
month-old ban on smoking in most
areas of public buildings and many pri-
vate ones were 18 students in the
Waterloo, iowa, public schools. A
spokesman in the Iowa attorney gener-
al's office believes that most people
are, nevertheless, obeying the law.
A new no-smoking bylaw in Hamil-
ton, Ontario, was gutted by a last-
minute addition, which specified that
"second-hand smoke does not include
smoke that has drifted into a place or
~9~ -P~
CAB
Continued from page 1
All ASH supporters are strongly
urged to write to the CAB to oppose
abolition of the no-smoking rules
and to ask instead that the board
prohibit all smoking or at least
establish the following require-
ments:
1. A ban on smo.king aboard all small
commuter planes
2. A ban on smoking on flights and
flight segments of two hours or less
3. The placement of curtains or other
physical barriers such as plastic
separators (except in the aisles) to
prevent drifting tobacco smoke
4. The permitting of sm, oking in only
one section of the prane
5. Special protections for passengers
with special sensitivities to tobacco
smoke
6. A total ban on pipe and cigar smok-
ing
Comments should be sent to the
CAB at the following address and
must be received by April 13.
DOCKET 29044
CAB
1825 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20428
A carbon copy should be sent to ASH
in an envelope marked "NEW CAB
RULE;' Comments should clearly indi-
cate the physical and medical prob-
lems that tobacco smoke causes you, if
any, and describe in specific detail any
• problems you have experienced with
smoking aboard aircraft under the cur-
rent rules.
You should write even if you have
written before, or if you have pre-
viously filed complaints, since the
board will probably base its deci-
sion on the current reoord in this
new proceeding. Please write and
urge your friends to write also.
area in which smoking is Wohibited
from a place or area in which smoking
is not prohibited." One of the antismok-
ing activists who initiated the law com-
mented, "It is a measure of human stu-
pidity that anyone can pretend that im-
mediately second-hand smoke has
passed a certain line, it is defined as no
longer being second-hand smoke."
A second attempt to ban smoking in
the chambers of the New Hampshire
state senate was defeated on January
15, 1981. Said an opponent of the ban,
the senate had more important things to
do and the senators should be allowed
to smoke if they want to.
In what was believed to be Connecti-
cut's first prosecution under its 15-
month-old law requiring nonsmoking
sections in restaurants,, a restaura-
teur was. summoned to appear in court
after Renee and Kenneth Gere were
not provided with seats in the non-
smoking section of his restaurant. If
found guilty of breaking the .law, he
could be fined a maximum of $5.
.The U.S. Public Health Service re-
ports that in 1979 only two state legis-
latures did not introduce legislation re-
lated to tobacco products and smok-
ing. The legislature of one, Kentucky,
did not convene that year. The other
was Nevada.
T!36310932
ASH open HoiJse April
meet ASH's staff and Trust~e~ and See our new national ~e~q~rters!
I'o celebrate the reuniting of the entire ASH staff in the same building for the first
in many years and to thank our many supporters who helped to make it all
possible, Action on Smoking and Health will be holding an'open house on Saturday,
.Apd125, 1981, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. We hope that many of our ~upl~orters in
the greater Washir~gton, D.C.,area will come by to say hello. In addition, there may
be other supporters who~vere planning a s~)ring trip to the nation's capital who might
also be able to drop b~ Whilewe can't promise yod any cherry blossoms, you will be
able to meet the ASH attordeys and support staff, as well as the five Trustees who
set the policy for the organization.... ,:: ,. _.,
ASH is located at 2013 H Street, N.W., hear the corner of 20thand H Streets.
Please d~op by t~) gee ~J~ if.ybu canl_:. ~' ~',~;~:'~~~:'':-~:: "-"--" ~;-:';.:""
To reserve your invitation; write "ASH ~pen House" (please don't tele-
phone) afi~nclos_e.~.a."~tamped,,, self-a~dr-essed envelope..;-:~-...-: ~-.'~ ~.~'~." ~ ..
Tobacco Institute Forced
To Admit Problem
Less than two years after running
full-page ads in publications across
the country portraying people con-
cemed with clean indoor air as "a
tiny handful of intolerant anti-
smokers," the Tobacco Institute (TI)
has been forced to publicly admit
how strong and important the non-
smokers'-rights movement is. In a
recent ad in the Atlanta Constitution,
TI said, "Some people feel that
smokers should never light up when
nonsmokers are in the room. They
find tobacco smoke annoying, and
feel that many smokers just aren't
sensitive to that fact. They believe
it's much easier for smokers to ab-
stain than it is for nonsmokers to
tolerate the situation."
Even when looking at the issue
from the smoker's point of view, T!
recognizes the problem but says,
"Most smokers are polite people,
who, when politely asked, will direct
their smoke away from others, or put
a smoke out if it's really an
annoyance." The Institute admits
that it"[doesn't] have all the
answers" and invites letters to it at
1875 I St., N.W., Washington, DC
20006.
ASH Negotiating
Substantial Settlements
for Disgruntled
Nonsmoking Passengers
ASH general counsel Paul Pf~iffer has
been able to negotiate several sub-
stantial settlements on behalf of non-
smoking passengers who suffered as
a result of violation~ qf CAB no-
smoking rules. Among th~ carriers that
have recently agreed to settle with pas-
sengers rather than face a CAB hear-
ing are U.S. Air, United, Pan Am, and
Republic. In many instances the reci-
pients have donated part of the settle-
ments to ASH--generosity for which
ASH is grateful.
If you have not already done so,
write to ASH-CAB CARDS to request
one or more wallet-sized cards that tell
you what your dgl~ts are as a nonsmok-
ing airiine passenger. Then, if your
rights have been violated on a recent
flight, write to ASH and request a CAB
complaint form. Under its new policy
ASH will attempt to obtain a settlement
satisfactory to you before it files your
complaint. ,If a settlement cannot be
negotiated, ASH will assist you in pro-
secuting your complaint before the
CAB. There is no charge for any of this,
and persons assisted b.y ASH are
under no obligation whatsoever.
~1 ! lUi~ll !~ rUllUII;;~ Ul I
Foreign Airlines
As international travelers have surely
noticed, foreign airlines are not cov-
ered by the Civil Aeronautics Board
(CAB) regulation that requires domes-
tic airlines to provide a no-smoking
seat to every passenger who wants
one. For a recent Chicago Tribune arti-
cle, seven foreign airlines were sur-
veyed about their policy on nonsmok-
ing sections.
• Air Canada.' The percentage of no-
smoking seats is about to be in-
creased from 60 to 70 percent. The
smoking section is at the rear of the
plane, and adjustments are routinely
made to accommodate extra pas-
sengers in either category.
• Air France; They adhere voluntarily
to CAB rules.
• Air India: They normally allow 55
percent of their seats for non-
smokers; unfortunately they divide
the cabin longitudinally, so that
smokers and nonsmokers are sepa-
rated only by the aisle of the airplane.
• British Airways: An attemptis made
to accommodate all nonsmoking
passengers. Strangely enough, the
first class and business class cabins
are divided longitudinally, while the
economy cabin is divided crosswise
with the smoking section generally to
the rear of the plane.
• Aer Lingus: "We do what everyone
else does." Allocation of seats de-
pends on the preferences expressed
by passengers when they book their
reservations. -
Lufthansa; At present the left side is
reserved for nonsmokers, but the air-
line is presently reevaluating this
arrangement.
Qantas: A specific number of seats
are reserved for nonsmokers in va-
rious parts of the plane, and there is
no apparent allowance for extra
nonsmokers; they can either sit in the
smoking section or pay for a seat in
another class.
T!36310933
Volume X, Number 5
September-October 1980
Court Orders FDA To Consider
Cigarettes
ASH Suit Prompts
CAB Action
In a major victory for Action on
Smoking and Health, U.S. District
Court Judge Oberdorfer has order-
ed the Food and Drug Administra-
tion (FDA) to set a definite sched-
ule for responding to ASH's peti-
tions that it regulate cigarettes
and/or cigarette filters as "medical
devices" under the FDA statute.
Pursuant to the court's order,
the FDA promised to respond to
ASH's petitions by December 1,
1980.
The court's decision came in
response to a suit ASH filed in
November 1979, complaining of
the FDA's delay in acting on its
requests, some of which go back to
November 1977. Judge Oberdorfer
agreed with ASH's arguments, hold-
ing that "delay here has been
serious enough to constitute a
violation of law" and that many
of the FDA's arguments "are
easily rejected."
ASH has long been concerned
that cigarettes, the nation's most
dangerous con~um~ p~uuuct, ~s
also virtually the only one that is
not subject to regulation by any
agency. :.:oreover, al(hough most
other products - such as foods,
drugs, cosmetics, and even chewing
gum - that come into intimate
contact with the human body are
closely regulated and required tn
list their ingredients, cigarettes
need meet no requirements, and
consumers need not be informed
as to which of hundreds of pos-
sible chemical additives and/or
residues are in a particular brand.
The FDA did not hesitate to
attempt to ban saccharin on the
basis of very limited tests that
possibly showed a very small
risk of cancer in a limited num-
ber of users, but it has turned a
deaf ear to requests that it regulate
cigarettes - which contain the
"classic drug" nicotine and have
been proven to cause cancer and
other diseases in humans.
ASH therefore asked the FDA
to take action under any one of
three arguments:
• That nicotine and/or cigarettes
containing nicotine are a "drug"
Inside This Issue
• Toh=cco Industry Buying
Researchers?
• ASH Filing Embarrasses FDA
• ASH to the Rescue
• California Contributions
Confusion
• ASH's New National Head-
quarters
• News You Should Know
• Now Available
• Research Reports
Three law suits filed by Action on
Smoking and Health against the
Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) for
falling to adopt tougher rules
protecting nonsmoking airline pas-
sengers seem to have had some
effect. Attorneys for the CAB
have notified the U.S. Court of
Appeals, before which the suits are
pending, that the CAB staff will, by
the end of October 1980, make
recommendations to the board for
action on this matter.
Action on Smoking and Health
has sued the CAB concerning its
existing rules because the rules do
not provide adequate protection for
nonsmokers, particularly in small
planes, and for persons who are
particularly susceptible to tobacco
smoke. ASH also sued because the
CAB refused to ban pipe and
cigar smoking entirely, settling in.
stead for an ill-defined "special
separation" of such smokers.
The court agreed not to go
ahead with the cases until the CAB
had a chance to revise its own rules,
and over a year ago ~ issued an
order staying all further pro-
ceedings. The staff's decision to
recommend changes to the board
may mean that nonsmokers may
enjoy ~nc~eased protection by l:he
end of the year. On the other
Ti36310934
ASH Suit Prompts
CAB Action
hand, sources within the CAB
indicate that the staff and the
board are reluctant to extend the
existing rules much further, and
ASH attorneys fear [hat they may
have to continue their suit against
the CAB to obtain effective relief
for nonsmok~ng airline oassengers.
International Smoke Signals
At their conference in Baghdad,
Iraq, in January 1980, the health
ministers of the seven Arab states
around the Persian Gulf placed a
high priority on curtailing smoking.
Among the measures recommended
were a total ban on tobacco adver-
tisin[~, an .r- ~ase in customs duties
charged for tobacco products, and
the use of a stronger, more specific
health warning on cigarette pack.
ages and adv~ ,;sements.
Now that U.N. trade sanctions have
been lifted from the African
~ation of Zimbabwe (formerly
Rhodesia}, experts say that Zim-
babwe could be selling 200
million to 400 million pounds of
leaf tobacco in world markets
by the middle of the 1980s. Be-
fore the sanctions were imposed
15 years ago, Rhodesia's tobacco
ranked second in quality only to
that of the United States.
Tobacco Industry Buying
Researchers?
ASH protested strongly when the
Harvard University Medical School
accepted a $2.8 million grant from
major cigarette manufacturers to
study the relationship between
smoking and lung and heart disease.
ASH believes that tobacco industry
sponsorship imperils the objectivity
of any such research and can easily
tempt the persons receiving the
money to see things from the
industry's point of view. Con-
sider the following and decide for
yourself:
Dr. G.ary Huber has left his job
as director of the Harvard tobacco
study to direct the University of
Kentucky's Tobacco and Health
Research Institute, which receives
about $3.5 million a year from a
tax on cigarettes and has a board
representing tobacco and other
interests in the state. One of
Dr, Huber's first moves was to
cancel about. 40 ongoing projects
and to redirect research into what
he says are "neglected questions,"
such as whether smoking might
actually "provide something to
mankind that is of benefit in
coping with the stresses we all
face." He has already said, "'1
know of probably no safer
tranquilizing agent th~n nicotine."
Dr. Carl C. Seltzer. a cigar
smoker who served for 15 years as
a senior research associate at the
Harvard School of Public Health
and is now at Tufts University, has
written in the ,4merican Heart
Journa/that science has not proven
that cigarette smoking causes heart
disease or that quitting reduces
the risk of heart attack. His con-
clusions were immediately attacked
by Dr. William Castelli, director of
the Framingham, Massachusetts,
Heart Study, who noted that
Seltzer's studies are partially
funded by the tobacco industry.
The American Heart Association
branded Seltzer's argument a
"misinterpretation."
The prestigious and respected
Wharton Applied Research Center
at the University of Pennsylvania
has issued a study purporting to
show the many economic advan-
tages and benefits of the tobacco
industry, and its results have been
widely disseminated in a booklet
put out by the Tobacco Institute
and entitled The (;oMen Leaf. The
study ignores the direct and in-
direct costs to the economy and to
individuals of cigarette smoking,
and it does not point out that these
costs are largely borne by non-
smokers. The study was reportedly
financed by the tobacco industry
and is currently under investigation.
Jihan Sadat, wife of Egypt's presi-
dent Anwar Sadat and head of the
Egyptian Cancer Society, is an
antismoking activist. She is cre-
dited with being the moving force
behind the ban on outdoor ciga-
rette advertising in the Cairo and
Alexandria regions; it is expected
that this ban will soon be extended
to the rest of the country, accord-
ing to A dvertisinE Age.
The government of Finland has
ordered the classification of to-
bacco products into two categories:
the stronger ones, which are labeled
"extremely harmful"; and the
lighter ones, labeled "harmful."
Manufacturers have been rushing
to decrease the tar content in their
products and thus become eligible
for the "harmful" rating.
A cricket club in Australia that
rejected a sponsorship offer from
a tobacco company because it
"is totally opposed to the pro-
motion of tobacco products
through sport" was denied support
by the South Australian Cricket
Association because its action
might "offend the Benson &
Hedges Company."
The Knesset has passed a bill
calling for the end of ad tobacco
produc~s advertising in Israel.
T!36310935
ASH Filing Embarrasses FDA
ASH has filed with the U.S. Court
of Appeals two documents that
may make it more difficult for the
Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) to continue to maintain
that cigarettes containing nicotine
should not be subject to FDA
regulation. The first document is
an internal memorandum conclud-
ing that "Free," a non-tobacco
"cigarette" that contains no nico-
tine, should nevertheless be
regulated as a "drug" by the F DA.
The second document is a final
report of the National Institute on
Drug Abuse concluding that
cigarette smoking is a form of
drug addiction and that nicotine
in cigarettes is an addicting drug.
In November 1977 ASH asked
the FDA to regulate cigarettes
because they contain the drug
nicotine. Despite evidence that
nicotine meets all of the standard
medical definitions of a drug
and that it is so powerful that many
smokers become addicted to it,
the commissioner of the FDA
ruled that it was not a drug subject
to FDA regulation. That decision
is now being reviewed in an action
brought by ASH in the U.S. Court
of Appeals in the District of
Columbia.
ASH has just filed with the
court a previously secret memoran-
dum from the FDA associate com-
missioner for Regulatory Affairs
to the head of the Office on
Smoking and Health that concludes
that F,ee cigarettes are a drug
under the act and that interstate
distribution of the product is un-
lawful. However, the FDA indi-
cated that because of its limited
resources it might take no action
to prevent the shipment or sale of
Free cigarettes. The FDA may now
be forced to explain to the court
how cigarettes that do not contain
nicotine, that are not addictive,
and that haven't been proven to
be a health hazard are within its
jurisdiction and subject to being
banned, whereas cigarettes that
contain a deadly and addictive
drug that causes hundreds of
thousands of deaths each year
escape its regulatory vigilance.
The National Institute on Drug
Abuse, which is like the F DA a
part of the Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS, former-
ly HEW), recently concluded in
a final report that "cigarette
smoking is an addiction. The
broadest implication of this conclu-
sion is that cigarette smoking
should now be re-examined in light
of the range of policy considera-
tions which are presently con-
sidered germane to the classic
forms of drug addiction such as
addiction to narcotics, sedatives,
stimulants, or alcohol." In other
words, it appears that one part of
HHS has concluded that nicotine
is an addictive drug that should be
regulated like narcotics and seda-
tives, while a sister aqencv says that
the substance is not even a drug.
ASH has asked the court to re-
quire the FDA to reconsider and
explain its position.
Court Orders FDA
within the meaning of the FDA's
statute.
• That cigarettes are a "medical
device" under the act, a classi-
fication Congress said was de-
signed to be broader and more
inclusive than "drugs."
• That cigarette filters are "medi-
cal devices" under the act.
Meanwhile, an official panel of
experts set up by the FDA under
the act to classify "medical de-
vices" unanimously recommended
that cigarette filters be regulated
under this classification.
The FDA ruled against ASH on
the first argument, a ruling that
is now being appealed by ASH.
(See related story.) But it has
failed to rule on ASH's other
requests and on the recommen-
dation of its own advisory panel.
ASH's suit was brought to force
the F DA to act.
If the FDA agrees with ASH's
arguments that it can regulate
cigarettes, it could be the
most important decision since the
Federal Communications Commis-
sion ruled, in response to ASH
founder John Banzhaf's petition,
that cigarette commercials fell
under the fairness doctrine and that
stations were required to provide
free time for antismoking messages.
F DA regulation could mean -
• That the tar, nicotine, and/or
carbon monoxide from cigarettes
would be limited,
• That cigarette packs would be
required to list their ingredients,
including additives.
• That new chemicals would have
to be tested before they could
be added to cigarettes.
That cigarettes would no longer
be sold through unattended
vending machines.
Let's get moving! Mississippi,
Vermont, and West Virginia are
now the only states where there are
no state or local restrictions on
smoking in public places, according
to a spokesman for the Tobacco
I nsthute.
T136310936
"What the Surgeon General Didn't
Tell Us" is an extremely hard-
hitting story of cigarette industry
deception that was written by
anti-cigarette act~v,st ~,an Blum,
M.D. Dr. Blum's article appears
as a chapter in the 1980 edition of
The He,~ltb Robbers - How To
Protect Your Mo~tey m2d Your
Lif,'. a comprehensive expose of
quackery and health fraud written
by a team of physicians, nutri-
tionists, health educators, and
journalists. Stephen Barrett, M.D.,
the book's editor and a Iongtime
supporter of ASH, has arranged for
ASH to receive $3 for each book
ordered by ASH members. Orders
($13 per book) should be sent to
the Lehigh Valley Committee
Against Health Fraud, Inc., P.O.
Box 1602, Allentown, PA 18105.
Be sure to identify yourself as an
ASH member.
If you want to present a program
on smoking and what people can
do about it, you might be in-
terested in "Everyone Can Do
Something About Smoking," which
was developed by the American
Lung Association, the American
Academy of Family Physicians, a.nd
the National Cancer Institute. The
complete program kit is available
for $27.50 from the National
Audio-Visual Center, National Ar-
chives and Records, General
Services Administration Order
Section, Washington, DC 20409.
Make checks and money orders
payable to the National Archives
Trust Fund.
The Occupational Quit Smoking
Programme was designed in Eng-
land for use by company personnel
who are setting up or running
work-based stop-smoking programs.
The packet is available for £5 from
the program designers, Dr. Robert
East, Dr. Bridget Towers, and
Wendy Moreton, Kingston Poly-
technic, Health Education Research
Team, School of Sociology, Pen-
rhyn Road. Kingston Upon Thames
KTI 2EE, England.
Now Available
Informal invitations that specify
"'TFNS (Thanks for not smoking)"
are available from Minerva, Box 96,
Sheridan, NY 14135. A packet of
cards and envelopes costs $1.50
plus 50 cents for postage and
handling.
"'I'm allergic to smoke, please
don't force me to breathe yours"
is the message on a t-shirt that is
available from Arizonans Con-
cerned About Smoking and Health.
To order yours, send $6 (postage
included) to Nonsmokers' T-Shirts,
3412 West Rosewood, Pi,oenix,
AZ 85029.
From How To Cope With Smokers
How To Cope With Smokers
is a good-humored guide to assert-
ing your right to breathe clean air
without losing your friends or
infuriating your co-workers and
relatives. The guide is available
from Dickson Feature Service,
17700 Western, No. 69A, Gardena,
CA 90248, for $2.25 plus $1.00
for mailing. Bulk rates are avail.
able.
The SOS (Success Over Smoking}
Plan, Inc., is aimed at physicians
who want to help their patients
give up smoking. For further
information, i-~e~ti~ p,ofessiona~s
can write The SOS Plan, Inc.,
1730 Eye Street, N.W., Washington,
DC 20006.
Author Clara Lang has informed
ASH that .\'o Smokit~g. Ple,zse,
her book about nonsmoking for
young readers, is now available
in a Braille edition and on tape
for visually handicapped readers.
For more information, write Mrs.
Lang at 130 N.E. 26th Avenue,
Boynton 8each, FL 33435.
How To E~zjo.y NomSmohhzg can
talk you into quitting if you
smoke and talk you out of starting
if you don't. Its many photo-
graphs effectively satirize the
glamorous-smoker image that the
cigarette manufacturers are trying
to sell you. To order a copy of this
108-page book, write to the author,
Dean Plato, P.O. Box 1974, San
Diego, CA 92112.
"Safer" Cigarette.
Funding Ended
After spending almost $60 million!
of taxpayers' money to try toi
develop less hazardous cigarettes,.
the National Cancer Institute (NCI) i
has finally decided to abandon the
effort and to concentrate instead
on persuading and helping people
to quit. ASH has long opposedl
this research on several grounds:l
(1) that the money could be i
better spent in other more produc-I
tive areas of smoking research;}
(2) that the expenses of "'ira-'
proving" the product should be
borne by the industry; and (3)
that the proper role of govern-i
ment is to adopt appropriate
regulations and require the
tobacco companies to meet them.
The NCI says it hopes to start an:
"epidemic of smoking cessation.'"
T!36310937
ASH Advises Nonsmokers in
Syndicated New York Times Article
Action on bmordng and Health,
which is increas;~g~y called upon
by the media to serve as the spokes-
man for nonsmokers' rights, was
featured in a recent article on
smoking aloft. Entitled "Practical
Traveler: Smokers vs. Nonsmokers"
and written by Paul Grimes, tn~
article originally appeared in the
.\'e~ York Times and was reprinted
across the country. Here is part of
what the Times said:
Several organizations, how-
ever, are working hard to teach travel.
ers who object to smoke that they have
a right w a legal right -- to be pro-
t~ted against drifting smoke.
At the forefront of this campaign is a
nonprofit organization called Action on
Smoking and Health (ASH). Its roster
of trustees and sponsors includes many
persons prominent in medicine and
public life, among them Dr. Leona
Baumgartner of the Harvard School of
Public I-lealth, Mayor Koch of New
York and Bob Griese, quarterback of
the Miami Dolphins. Among its pri-
mary aims, ASH literature says, is
"protecting the rights of the nonsmok-
[ng majority."
In the view of John F. Banzhaf 3d, the
executive director of ASH, smokers do
not have a right to smoke but only a
privilege to do so. "Every bit of re-
search I've done supports this view,"
he said In an interview. "Drifting to-
b~ew.o smoke can impinge on health. A
traveler ha~ the privilege to smoke
only so long a~ it does not inter/ere with
someone else,"
To further its nonsmoking cause and
inform the public, ASH has prepared
wallet-size cards that:
qDetail the rlg.hts of nonsmoking
passengers.
qQuote the.appropriate C.A.B. rule
so that it may be shown to airline per.
sonnel in case of doubt.
qContain a warning to airline person-
nel that violations of the C.A.B. rule
may lead to a fine of $1,000 for each
proved complaint.
qTell passengers how to file formal
complaints.
Up to 10 cards are available free to
any individual who requests them and
up to 100 to any organization. Simply
send a stamped, self-addressed en-
velope, large enough for the number of
cards requested, to ASH --CAB Cards,
2013 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.
2~.
The article also repeated ASH's
request that passengers who have
been bothered by drifting tobacco
smoke while flying with Pan Am-
which seats smokers across the
aisle from nonsmokers- should
write to ASH for a formal com-
plaint form.
Research Reports
Passive smokers don't benefit when
the smokers around them switch
to lower-tar brands of cigarettes,
according to the annual report
of Great Britain's government
chemist. Sidestream smoke can
contain more tar than the main-
stream smoke inhaled by the
smoker, and the sidestream smoke
of a very-low-tar cigarette can
yield more tar than that of a
medium-tar brand. The report
also states that there is no clear
correlation between a cigarette's
tar level and its carbon monoxide
content.
A recent study of 444 urban
children in the Boston area found
that 13 percent of the children
between the ages of 5 and 9
smoked regularly. All of the 57
children who smoked had smoking
parents.
Ventilation can be cut in half
without affecting odor levels and a
great deal of energy can be saved
in buildings where no one smokes,
according to a study that was
commissioned by the Department
of Energy and presented to the
annual meeting of the American
Society of Heating, Refrigerating,
and Air-Conditioning Engineers.
"Radioactive Cigarettes," an article
in the May-June 1980 issue of
Nezv Roots magazine, discusses the
controversial "warm particle the-
ory," which says that "insoluble,
low-level radioactive Darticles in
cigarette smoke trigger the majority
of diseases associated with smok-
ing."
A study of longevity among the
Amish in Pennsylvania showed
that men lived as long or longer
than women. In The Journal of
the Indiana State Medical Associ-
ation, researcher Dr. G. H. Miller
wrote that this may be because the
Amish do not smoke. Other studies
among the non-Amish population
have shown that women generally
live six to eight years longer than
men.
T!36310938
News You Should Know
A person's smoking habits can be
an important factor in the effective-
ness of the prescription drugs
that he or she uses. The Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) has
already made it clear that women
who use oral contraceptives should
not smoke. FDA Consumer noted
that "the dominant effect of
smoking on drug metabolism comes
from the ability of nicotine and
other tobacco constituents to speed
up the process by which the body
uses and eliminates a drug."
"Small tobacco farmers face a dim
future," is the conclusion of a
two-part special report on "'To-
bacco and the Small Farmer" in
RuralAdvance. An important
cause of the prediction is the
trend toward fewer, larger to-
bacco farms that can afford the
mechanized technology to produce
large quantities of low-cost
tobacco.
A fire that charred 140 acres of
brush and timber in the Verdi area
of Nevada was caused by a cigarette
carelessly thrown on the ground.
A Verdi resident has been charged
with "negligently placing burning
material where it might start a
fire." If convicted, she faces a
maximum penalty of a $500 fine,
a six-month prison sentence, and
the cost of the damage and the
fire-suppression effort.
Larry Hagman, who plays J. R.
Ewing in the TV series "Dallas,"
is an assertive antismoker. He
always carries with him two or
three small, battery-powered fans in
case someone lights a cigarette or
pipe in his vicinity. Then he turns
on the fan and points it at the
smoker.
A 62-year-old member of the
Norwood (Massachusetts) school
committee is threatening to quit if
the four smokers on the seven-
person committee do not stop
smoking during meetings. Charles
Saraca has already lost 60 percent
of his lungs to emphysema and
doesn't think he can survive
another meeting. He was a pack-a-
day man for 35 years until he
kicked the habit 6 years ago.
No smoking by anybody anywhere
in the building is the policy of the
five-month-old California Primary
Physicians Health Center in Los
Angeles. The policy extends to
both employees and patients.
The smoking ban in the visitors'
center at the "Moose" entrance
to Grand Teton National Park is
strictly enforced . . . to protect
the paintings that hang in the
lobby. Smoking is, however,
allowed in the restrooms in the
park.
BROOM-HILDA
A~ ~ ALWAY÷ ~
ASh~
Passive Smoker Settles Workers"
Comp Claim
;,~ March 1977, John R. Goroon,
a nonsmoker from Independence,
Missouri, was forced to quit his
job as a Greyhound bus driver after
almost 36 years of service. Con-
tinuous breathing of the ever-
present second-hand smoke on the
buses had brought on chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease, and
Gordon found that when smoke
was present, he could barely
breathe.
After 2V= years of pressing his
resulting workers' compensation
claim, Gordon has received a com-
promise settlement of $5,500.
Throughout his struggle, he has
had to combat skepticism and
ignorance about the hazards of
involuntary smoking. Mr. and
Mrs. John Gordon have been long-
time supporters of ASH, and we are
happy that their long struggle is
final ly over.
Another dance and social club for
nonsmokers, this time in the
Addison, Texas, area, is Fresh
Air Boogie, Box 492, Addison,
TX 75001.
A nonsmoker allergic to cigarette
smoke who quit her job when co-
workers continued to smoke near
her work station (where smoking
was prohibited) is entitled to
unemployment benefits, according
to the California Court of Appeals.
It ruled in Mary Alexander's case
that working under such conditions
was not "suitable employment" as
defined by state law.
Ironic? Right outside the office
of the American Cancer Society
in Spokane, Washington, is a large
billboard featuring an attractive
blonde woman and the message to
smoke Virginia Slims Lights.
T136310939
News You Should Know
A bill prohibiting smoking in "Don't let your concern for a
California hospitals, clinics, and potential risk [weight gain] deter
other health facilities has been you from giving up a present risk
passed by the California legislature [smoking]," syndicated medical
and signed into law by Governor writer Dr. Nell Solomon told a
Jerry Brown. Nevertheless, Califor- would-be quitter. "A gain in
nia GASP (Group Against Smoking weight can be handled much more
Pollution) reports that smoking easily than the consequences of
continues to be a problem for heavy cigarette smoking over a
patients, visitors, and employees in period of years."
these facilities.
"The growing segregationist atti-
tude is the biggest thing we have
to worry about for the 19B0s,"
said W. W. Yeargin, managing
director of the Tobacco Growers
Information Committee, in the
April American Busi~zess. "It
has become a radical-type thing.
People get to the point that they
don't really think. They just
wahl to ban tobacco."
"More than 50 enthusiastic, health-
oriented, nonsmoking members"
belong to the P.N.S. (Please No
Smoking) Club, the only private
nonsmokin~q social club in Al-
buquerque, New Mexico. The
group sponsors hikes, lectures,
theater evenings . . . and works
to keep the nonsmokers'-rights
issue before New Mexicans. If
you want to join and receive the
club newsletter, send $2 to the
P.N.S. Club, Post Office Box
25972, Albuquerque, NM 87125.
From the Sacramento Group
Against Smoking Pollution (GASP)
comes the following report: "A
new low in disgusting activities
took place last week at the Califor-
nia State Fair: the First Annual
State Fair Beech-Nut Chewing
Tobacco Spitting Contest."
Per capita cigarette consumption in
California has declined for the
fourth straight year, ac~.ording to
the state Board of Equalization.
The average Californian smoked
125 packs in the fiscal year that
ended July 1, 1980, compared to
127 in. the previous year and
almost 136 packs four years ago.
Would-be nonsmokers'-rights acti-
vists in New Mexico should get
in touch with the recently formed
New Mexico Nonsmoker Protection
Projects, P.O. Box 657, Los Alamos
NM 87544. A membership fee of
$5 a year ($2 for people over 60)
includes a subscription to the
organization's newsletter.
ASH to
the Rescue
When a member of the Washing-
ton, D.C., Board of Education
refused to refrain from smoking
during official meetings despite
a statute prohibiting such smok-
ing, the school board attorney
asked ASH Executive Director
John Banzhaf to assist him in
presenting the case for an in-
junction to the D.C. Superior
Court. The court, in a novel
procedure, permitted Professor
Banzhaf to represent the private
interests of a member of the
school board who was particLe-
lady sensitive to tobacco smoke.
At the hearing, Professor Banz-
hal helped to work out a com-
promise under which there
would be no smoking at any
board meetings.
ASH General Counsel Paul
Pfeiffer, a former chief adminis-
trative law judge, was able to
obtain a settlement of $200 for
two passengers denied seats in
the no-smoking section by Delta
Airlines and a $70 settlement in
a case involving Braniff Airways.
Unlike most previous situations
where the fines collected from
the airlines went to the govern-
ment, the money in these cases
went directly to the injured
passengers. Under a new policy
tentatively adopted by ASH,
Judge P[eiffer will attempt to
negotiate settlements involving
compensation for the injured
passenger in all CAB complaints
handled by ASH.
When a government employee
was placed on involuntary sick
leave because he became ill from
ambient tobacco smoke on the
job, ASH Staff Counsel Athena
Mueller was able to provide
research assistance and advice.
In addition, ASH filed an amicus
curiae brief (as a friend of the
court) supporting his position on
appeal.
TI36310940
