Tobacco Documents Online

liev York -- Timothy V. Hartnett, Chairman of the Tobacco Industry I ;,.,, t s, Research Cc®ittee, today issued the following statement: , r ~ „ ~ ._ ..~ r ~ :1..; . .. ,., ....: . . ~.. . .. . - - ~'"Recent news st'oriesiabout smoking have prompted ~~ . ~ , , . ~. . .. . . . .. ~ ~ c .. as to our reaction. ,,. "Anti-smoking campaigns seem strsngely in conflict with the grosring recognition by scientists that many aspects of human experience may be involved in the origins of our major health problems -- cancer and heart . dlisease., ,'"When faced with a question about present scientific knowLedge on smoking andihealth, the Surgeon General of the United States recently announced that he would appoint an expert ad{visory committee to undertake approach to scientific problems. 'a comprehensive review of'all availiable diata.' We welcome a scientific "Nevertheless, ttiere appear to be,contiinuing efforts by others to avoid an impartial approach to the problems by insisting that cigarette smoking shoulid'be singled out from among the many suspects. "Such efforts should not be allowed to obscure the fact that the _.x~...:.;~ scientific and medical'problems of cancer and heart disease have not been solved, that these problems are complexy and that a broad'range of' possible causal factors is and must continue to be under study. ('more )'

"These Pacts are made clear through nummerous research reports from scientists throughout the world. These reports do not necessarily exonerate smoking, but they show that studies or conclusions that consider only one factor -- such as smoking -- tend to oversimplify complex health problems ' ~ .. . . .. . . . and mislead the public. "For example, there is a growing volume of evidence linking the -"efPects of viruses to~the origin of cancer, including lung cancer. Scientists who stress this evidence include the Nobel Prize winner, IDr. Wendell Stanley, and Dr. R~obert J. Huebner, director of the gpvernment's National Institute of'Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Their views are in the June 22 issue oP'Life magazine. included in a review of this evidence, in layman's terms, which appears "Air pollutants are .also gettling increased attention. The U.5. including lung cancer. On June P3; testifying before a task force of the Pennsylvania legislature investigating the health effects of air pollution,. Public Health Service recently issuedia 506-page report giving evidence that air pollution and smog may be involved in a number of diseases, Dr. W. C. Hueper, head oP'the Environmental Cancer Section of the National Cancer Institutey said he believes that air pollution is the major factor in lung cancer, although he does not rule out a possible rolle for smoking. "Another pertinent question being studied by scientists is: What is the role of constitutional and psychological differences among people in determining individual susceptibility to various diseases? Significant studies on this are beginning to appear in the scientific journals. Some of the research findings are reviewed in the July issue of The Atlantic Monthly magazine by Dr. Carl C. SeTtzerof Harvard University."