Tobacco Documents Online

(continuledifrom previous page). SCIENCE' NEWS LETrEFt' March 10, 1962 their products;, and the products of' incom- plete combustion of carbonaceous materials.. In all of these the cancer causers pre- sumably belong to the general family of l N'poly,nuclear hydrocarbons, of which the ~; prototype 3,4-benzpyrene was identified in ~ V coal, tar. .The ultraviolet light of the sun, has. ~ caused skin cancer in farmers In certain ~. geographical locations. X-raye in radiologists and arsenic in insecticide manufacture have ~' been responsible for oecupartional'skin can- cer. cer. ©steosarcoma is the dominant tumor found in radium, dial painters. ~ Dr. Norton Nelson of' the Institute of Q Industrial Medicine, New York Univasity, ~ Medical! Center, New York, says the asso- aation of lung cancer with chromium ~ chemical manufacture now is well estab- lished. Experimentally, bronchoRCnic lung cancer from inhaled chromium has been reported. Both the refining of nickell and the manufacture of isopropyl' alcohol have been linked' with increasedl incidence of cancer of the respiratory tract, especially, of the sinuses. . ~ More than 1,400 1bladder cancers of' occu- pational origin have been reported. Aniline was originally blamed and' bladder cancers were dubbedl aniline rpn+oer,, but a fairly narrow group of analogous compounds having similar properties to this poisonous liquid, used in making dyes, now appear to be the cause. Betanaphthylamine, benra- dine and 4aminodlphenyl have been' im- plicated. Control within Industry il making large strides, ranging from rigid protective meas- ures 'to abandoning, the manufacturing process. However, all hazards are not under control. Nuclear testing In the atmosphere and underground has addedla whole new group of environmental causes of'eancer for study. This man-made radiation, because of its special scope, has not been includedl in this discussion of the more eommon, environ- mental problems. MEDICAL,TRIBUNE March 1962 60,000 Cigarettee Called Safety'Thresh0ld' JVledicat' 7Mibune-World fi5dr Report Canadian Bureau ToROn+ro-Three thousand packs of'ciga- rettes represents the probable lifetime "threshold" for safety in smoking with, comparatively little risk pf contracting respiratory disease, a team of, public health investigators said here. Beyond that figure, the risk rises "si2ad ily and comparably in both sexes," " ac- cording, to Dr. Benjamin O. Ferris, of'the Harvard University Sthoolt of Public Health. He reported a 1951 survey in Berlin, Nl H., in which "inereasing, current and lifetime cigarette smoking exposure" was found associated' with "a constant and virtually regular increase" in all chronic respiratory disease. Similar correlations were found with chronic bronchitis and irreversible obstructive bronchoputmo-, narydisease. "In all cases,"'Dr. Ferris said, "the cigarette smoking variable was highly signiflcant even, after age standardization," He said the faetor, of age also had an important effect on the prevalence of all respiratory disease in, both sexes: He stressed the Importance of such tnforma- iion, in epidemlologic st+±dies of respira- tory disease. "For example," Dr. Ferris said, "it is~ felt that nonsmokers may be the mosr suitable subjects to observe In order to, study the pure effect of atmospheric pollu- tion or occupational exposure to dust or gases." Dr. Donald O. Anderson, of the Univer- sity ofi.Briti'sh Columbia, collaborated. THE NEW YORK TTMMS New York, New York Marcl;i 2Q, 1962 1S;RIOY K. N0Rh; LED A DRIVE QN SMOKING ' Isroy' M: Nnrr of 233 East 8txty-ninth 8treet, a. publlcibt •andi crusader against' smnking, died 8unda,v night in i~enox F$ill F3ospitiLl' after a'short it1L ness, He was 75 years old. • A former newsman, Mr. Norr 'worked ih the New York office of the Reuters news service during World War I. In recent years he devoted himself to pubiicizing.the relation between smoking and health. He wrote articles on the sub- Ject in several' publications and' contributed to a book titkd' "Smoking and Health" by Dr. Alton Ochsner. In 1954 he began circulktion, of his "Norr Newsletter About Smoking and FIea1t~1L" ~ • Mr. Norr, served earlter, as a public relations consultant to the soap industry and to the Radio Gorporation of America. He also was associated with the late Will Yday,s, who headed the office now known as the Motion Picturs Associatton of America. Survivors Include his widow, the former Rudy Crohn; a daughter; Mrs. Lorrie X Erd- man; two sisters„ Mrs. Jean, Johnson, and Mrs. Sarah Belll; a brother, Harris Norr, andifour grandchildren. W,Li:3 ;~~ : G22 R / 003'5-3 76Z2_ `~