Tobacco Documents Online

{.Ri¢hmond, Kentucky `,1Qovember, 1962' Z(~ ~3 53 ~'~ O~ ~ EFFECT ' OF SMOKING ON HEALTH TO 8'E EX'PC'Oft'ED BY '' ~S.CIENTPSTS rrittf tintietit b tonrtee oen emen scnss haseen appointed to make a s~udy of the effects ,j, of smoking 6n health. Surgeon Generafi Luther L. Terry seems to ' ~~ hav~ei`chox~en competent rnen~ to serve with~ a~ group oFl "ic'h `he is chairman. ~ „ 'r~':1~ ,_'trrdrvidiuailk who~~ ha~dl p~revi~ously~ fakeni a~~p~ublic posi- tion on the possibi'dity of there beiimq a connection be- fwreen smokirng and disease were eliminated from the. group. None of the members are from states in which. wtobacool is a principal cash crop, These were justifiable' :precauti~onsa~seffort was made to pickai girouip t~ wouild make an uinbiased effort tio get scientific-facts. ,:}-, sThere is a wide difference of' opiinion on the quest'ton "fffetfki Pidetd o the e'cs o &minqi on 'health.lresn Kenney recognizedi this when he directed'thaf the stwdy be made, upon advice of the Pubinc Health Service. It is desir- eble that as much doubt and uncertainty be cleared up as possible. There is evidence that smog, climatic conditions,, the over-all physical condition of the individiuals have a . relatior><ship to lung cancer. However, if cigarette ~smoking is the principal cause of ' lung cancer that in= formation should be avaiill ~~ The~ -p~ubliic~ espe~ci~ally~~ and' the~ `toba~cco~ indvsfi~ry~ ~--incidentally have much to gain, from a thoroug!h, fair study, of the problem, by experts. When facts become known action may then be taken to meet the situation. Iin' the meantiime we sl'Oall' continue to, smoke our piipe. , NEW YORK P06°r New York, N.Y. •.Oetober 29, 1962 The Surgeon Ceneral's Pcanel on Smoking There are rather perplexing omissions i fromi the panel of' scientists appointed too make a study of the impact of smoking, on health. The panel of ten appointed by the Surgeon General, distinguished as it is, lacks both a psychiatrist and a neuro- logist. ' One of th~.~ main purposes of the inves- ti ;ation is to evaluate evidence regarding the link between smoking and lung cancer 0 as well as other diseases. It is conceiivabl'e„ hnwever,andl has been soarguedl that s•mu'.ing, and cancNr, instcad of' havin- a Smoking and Health In an attempt to settle one of inedf a`~ eine's most controversial questions, blue-ribbon jury of ten scientists sat down ~',~•°3 ~ for the first time last week in a Was}uing X ton conference room of' the Department ;1 of Health; Education, and Welfare. The ~ Tquestion: What is the role of cigarettes `~ .ut kng cancer and heart disease? U.S. Surgeon CeneraliLuther L, Terry ~ had selected the scientists on the basis of their "impartialitN"' (none had ever spoken out publicly on cigarettes and health). Despite their reticence, honv- ever, the ten men are distinguished in ~`. their fields. The panel includes such men ~ as Stanhope Bayne-Jones, former head ol Yale and Cornell medicall sehools;, Jacoh ~ Fth of N Yok' Fis IDi£lll ;; ur,ewrsranceaie~ Hospital; Louis Fieser of Harvard, Un; ~ and Emmanuel Farber of the ~ versity, University of Pittsburgh. n 'ak' At their two-day clbsed, sessio. HEW headquarters, the group agreed on the best ways to tackle their monu- mental project. First, they willi wadr- through all "relevant data" on, smoking and health„ with due attiention to suc6 related aspects of the questionias air pol+ : lution and, heredity. Then, by next sum+ ;? mer, the scient6sts are expected to recommend what, action,, if' any, the U.S. Public Health Service should, take. After the meetings, none of the panel= y ists gave any clue as to their positions. }" Like all jurors they had been warned ; against talking to newsmen. EIn a$;21'3,000 damage suit agamst~the:r Liggett & Myers Tobacco Co., a Pitts- : burgh jury reached a conclusion of its- own about cigarettes. The jurors dpcided"" ; that plaintiff Ott~o, Pritchard's heavy ciga- rette smoking was a cause of his lung cancer (which required surgical reinovall of his right lung)'. But the jury did not' hold the manufacturer responsible, X Pritcliard gmt no money. cause-andLeffect relationship, are both results of some other cause, neurogenic ini origin, and reflected in nervous ten>ion: Perhaps the evidence the panel wilt be called uponi to judge will be so overwhelm- ing and conclusive as to rule out debate. The more likely outcomehowever is that no diagnosis will be wholly persurasive. In suchi a situation, the presence of'a, psychiatrist and neuroliogist' on the paneli <<,; would help insitre that no hypothesis is simply minimized b:^cause iit' lacks :+^ .;' advocate.