Tobacco Documents Online

By ARTHUR JOHNSEY HeraW S1att Wtaea , `"A ` surgeon who operated on Eontractor Edwin M. Green tex- - tified Wednesday he believes the lung cancer that caused - Green's death was "due to his heavy smoking." ~: Dr. DeWitt C. Daughtry gave' ; a federal court jury the •first -testimony directly linking to- ,i.bacco smoking with the Coco- nut Grove man's death in.1958. ;Dr. Daughtry, assistant pro- fessor of 9urgery at the Uni- versity of Miami medical sthool, took the stand as a witness for Green's estate in its damage suit' against the -'Ameticah Tobacco Co ~ Thittd th e su conense com- ., pany failed to warn Green its cigarets contained t a r s perhaps injurious to his health. Other witnesses had testified . the contractor smoked Lucky Strike cigarets, a product of " 'Arnerican Tobacco, regularly for 30 years and only occasion- ally smoked other brands. ; ,-- The surgeon testified that "epidermoid cancer," due to smoking, was the cause of fact, Dr. Daughtry told F: the jury, he could not' recall a single case of this particular type of cancer in his experience T • ~. J. ., .? ! ! !n{; ~ •. 11E MJ..C31•1I n r'RALD ;; :Miami, Florida 2-B r July ~1, 1960 QAM1 that occurred "without a his- tory of smoku~g On cross examination Dr. Daughtry acknowledged that acientiets do not know what happens in the lung cells to - produce epidermoid cancer. He also adniitted that the medical record In Green's case disclosed another sympton -- a difficulty of getting his food down for two years before he in a deposition ready l~ law• died. If- yers for the estate of a man Dr. Richard Overholt, Boston !chest surgeon, testified after reading the Green medical his- tory that hb believed smoking had some relation'to his death. "If this man had not smoked he would not have died of lang cancer at the time," he said, ` t' 4~A Il tobacco company's top of- ficial has been smoking "B0 to 80 cigarets a day for more than 40 years" and he hasn't gotten the •nicotine habit yet, ,, . a Federal Court jury was told Thursday. «: The statement was made by <• John A. Crowe, American To- bacco Co. senior vice president, ; ;>who charged that the firm's -; cigarets gave him lung cancer. ; Tae attorneys for Edwin M. Green, Mlami contractor who died In 1958, were sound- fng Crowe out on his o w n . : smoking habits. and added "we don't know ,; "' about the future: Ever g i v e up smoking? ~ they asked him. ' "No." Choate also directed dismis- sal of charges the company violated a specific warranty that its product was safe, or that it had violated the U:S. Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act. _. His directed verdict that a part of the complaint be dis- missed came at the end of the plaintiff's testimony. Left in the complaint are allegations that American To- bacco is liable for damages based on negligence and viola- tion of ar- implied warranty that the cigarets are safe. A federal judge Monday threw out some of the claims on which the late Edwin M- `1 Green's estate is aaking dam• ages from a cigaret manufac- turer turer because of his death froai The implied warranty te the ~ lung cancer. = type of assurance that grows Judge Emett' Choate directed out of the company's offerirg ~` the dismissal of the action in- of its product on the market. [~ sofar as it is based on charges the defendant, American Tobucr Attorneys for Green's estate ~, co Co., misrepresented its have offered witnesses in an ~ cigarets. attempt to prove the company ~, was negligent in failing to re- The estate of Green, a Co- move tars and minute traces ~ conut Grove contractor, Is of arsenic they contend were attempting to prove his lung harmfuL ~ cancer was brought on by Testimony for the defense ia ~ heavy smoking for 32 years. , scheduled'to begin today. . Miami, Florida 5~ - July 26, 1g6o "Ever attempt to give smoking?" Then they asked him sev-• eral times it he thought the nIc• ' otine In cigarets are habit • forming. Crowe testifed the nicotine "hasn't affected e" v e though he has been smoking _~ . three to four packs a day for more than 40 years. ,J, The attorneys also question- `. ed Crowe closely on what ~~ American Tobacco has done In researching cancer and heart 4 disease tie-ups with smoking. ~~ Crowe called the f I e I d "health" problems and said his firm had joined the Tobacco Industry Research Committee, : but he said he was vague on _ specificactivities. American Tobacco has a re- search director, he said. Crowe himself is in charge of research but he tesified that' he is the money man with underlings do- ing the work. Judge Emett Choate told the jury - 11 smokers, one ab- stainer = t h e trial was re cessed until Monday. The court has criminal andd bankruptcy t: T issues today. '~a