Tobacco Documents Online

r Tfie dfndings of'the survey that win The study could have,a apeotacttfady be launched'thi>ti fail by the,U:,S.' Pub-• depressing effecYonthe nation's tobae- '1(ie Health ~ Service to determine the ef- co industry, which does an estimatedl -JeMs ot'atqQ~(ing,and ait• pollution on annual business of'~'billion. If such a health ahoul-d' fiave the ring of au- bastion of the economy were to shrivel;, thority. But it seems reasonable to the weakening influence would be wide- wronder whether the nagging questions spread. The suppliers and serviceri ot'. in the American smoker's mind,will be such a vastoperation„as well as their answered in, full - and how he will . employees and those of' the tobacco 'teact it they are answeredi firms themselves, would be casualties. " Dr. Iutther I. Terry, surgeon, gen- The stock market would be shaken to .•eral;,has the dellcate chore of selecting ]ts foundstions, and the Impact would ,& 12-member study, committee from a, probably be felt worldwide. But It •Yist ot 15o scientists prepare& by the would lake,more tttan oertatn findings Public Health Service and' representa- by the study group to wreak such , tives of several federal' agencies, medi- damage. The smoking, public would Eal groups and the tobacco industry.' have to react emphatically to such ;'l'tie committee, with Dr6 Terry or some- findings - much more so than in the - one designated, by him as chairman," case of past pronouncements by the 1vil1 conduct a study thaG could have Public Health Service. ~ 'am unprecedented bearing on the eeon- ;omy and' the pet'sonali habits of the population:. The study will have tnyo. .phases - the nature and magnitude. ot the health hazards, expected to take C aboui six months for completionl and -=ecommendations for action, for which 'ato estimate of required time has been ~ttade. The eommittee members, who jre to turn out papers relating to ]imoking, andi air pollution effects !n ',particulAr, disca.es, will' repre:cent all •ttw oertinent areas of medical scir•nce. The ultimate effect' of the survey, then, would appear to rest first' on thef, findings themselves and then on the, manner In which the American public responda to them. It may well be that the survey will come up with nothingg more than , guarded observations„ lim- ited by'wide variances in medicaliopin• Ion. Even if it' offered clear-cut' evi+ dence that smoking was a major hazard to health, the effect might not be pro- nounced For human nature finds i0 easy to rationalize its own weaknesses. OKLAHUMitNl Olclahoma, City, Ok]Jahoma August 4, 1962 The Mountain Labors FBOM the federal public health service comes word of another pending study concerning the possi- ble harmful effeMs of moking: The first., phase of the study wt nsist of defining the nature and magni- tude of'the problem. This will take an estimated', six months. There- after a second, phase will include the preparation of recommendations for action. No estimates are avail- able concerning how long this will _ take., Nor is it yet apparent howw long the government' will need to persuade tlie public to give up amok- Jng if that ia the recommended course. 5 DISPATCH Henderson, N.C.. July 28, 1962 Tobacco's Destiny • President Kennedy has ordered, a study to determine the relation of to to disease, meaning chiefly lung cancer and heart ailments. Government experts who will make the study are not expected!to be ready with their, conclusions before the middle of'. ' nexY year, but their findings will carry con-. siderable weight. A factor which cannot be overlooked in the investigation is the, tremendous stake government has in the tobacco industry by reason of' the taxes it receives from that source. The Federal government alone last year took just under tXvo billion dollars from such excises, and,the State reaped a harvest' right' at one: billion dollars in the aggregate. That is„of course;,a minor consideration if it shallibe estAblished that tobacco constitutes a substantial, health haaard.' First considera+ tion altvays is the wellbeing of'humans Foes of tobacco, and of cigarettes in par- ticulary have, in recent years carried, on a relentless campaign,against,smoking.; Tobac- co interests have consistently maintainedi that findings have been largely statistical' rather than biolcgical. But the fight goes on, apace. President Kennedy's intervention follows similar action in Great Britain, whichi haa had a deterrent litfluenee upon consumption - there. It has seeined not'to reflect noticeably inthe United'States: That could be,different, though, if government studies here, should go against tobacco. Whatever the outcome, the industry will come up with its own answer by.way of making consupmption safer. The investment is too great, all the way-from producer to eonsumer„to permit billions of dollars to go 11 n dowrt the.drain because of this or any other .potential setback that might occur.