Tobacco Documents Online

`Statisticat Assoeiation' Cited ~ A" H• A's reaognition of the ; need for continued research in ; this area of cardiovascular dis- ease and Heavy Cigarette Smokers tobacco use. We wlll continue, as in the past, to - _ - offer our fullest co-operation in this effort. Research results in autioned by Heart Group the past few years have shown - ° : that•many previous ideas about ~ „ By Philip S. Cook laged menwere found to be from tobacco's effect on the cardio- The American Heart Associa- tion warned in a report issued tyesterday that heavy cigarette smoking may contribute :o or ~ ;.hasten the development of coro- nary heart disease. In its most definitive state- `ment to date on the possibie _'connection between smoking and the nation's leading cause J of death and disability, the as- sociation stopped considerably ahort' of flnding any d'irect eause-and-effect relationship. ~ - ' Said the report: "Up to the present, a number of inedical studies have been made, nearly all demonstrating a statistieal association between' heavy cigarette smoking an mortality (death) or morbidity (illness) from coronary heart diaeaae. In these studies, death rates from coronary heart dis- eass (lteart attacka) in middle- 50 to 150 per cent higher among vascular system were wrong. " heavy cigarette smokers thanparticularly signifleant is the among those who do not smoke recognition by the A. H. A. that , This statistical association does biological and medical research not prove that heavy cigarette does not support the idea of a causal relationship between smoking causPs coronary heart smoking and coFonary heari disease, but the data strongly djsease:" suggest that heavy cigarette ~' ;`The A.~P A. Report smoking may contribute to or ^ aecelerate the development of The A. H. A: report, which coronarg heart disease or ita tP'as made public by Dr. A. Carl- complications:' ton Ernstene, association presi- chair- dent, was prepared by a special' I Timothy V. Hartnett, ad hoc committee on smoking man of the Tobacco Industry headed by Dr. Louis N. Katz, iZesearch Committee, said ia chief of the cardiovascular de- a statement: partment, Michael Reese Hos- "The American Heart As• pitai, Chicago, and a former soeiation's new statement on A• H. A. president. It was ap- smoking raises its own ques- proved by. the association's tions and doubts The state- board of directors here Satur- .ment admits lack of evidencs day at a semi-annual meeting to implicate tobacco use in the at the Sheraton-Atlantic Hotel. development of cardiovasculaj The board recommended that disease, ~ the full report, together with "We eertainly welcome the• supporting documentation, be published officially in the July • fesue of "Circulation" the as- , "sociation's monthly scientific journal, and released to the public at the same time. "A misleading and unauthor- ized release on the- statement (:i~;areucs and Heart Uisease The American Heart Association in a Tecent statement warning that heavv„ ciga- rette smoking may contribute to or hasten #he development of coronaiy heart disease doesn't pretend to have proof of any definite And direct cause-and•effect reiationship. Yet the concern shown by the association in its itudies on coronary ailments suggests that its observations deserve serious consid- eration. . . "Up to the present," the association said, "a number of inedical studies have been rnade; nearly all demonstrating a statistical association between heavy cigarette smok- Jig and mortality (death) or morbidity ('illness) from coronary heart disease. In these studies, death rates from coronary heart disease (heart attack) in middle aged '- rhen were found to be from 50 to 150 per eent higher among heavy cigarette smokers than among those who do not smoke. This s~atistical association does not prove that Aeavy cigarette smoking causes coronary heart disease, but the data strongly suggest that heavy cigarette smoking may contrib• ute to or accelerate the development of ooronary heart disease or its complications," The Heart Association makes it cleaf that !'stati'stical assoeiation" does not in itself prove that' the cigarette is to blame: And in many studies which have been made in recent years no positive, clear-cut link be- t*vePn cigarette smoking and coronary dis- e.ase has been established .As a rule, the cigarette-heart- disease re- 'ports emphasize "heavy" smoking. This, of caursc, may mean one thing to certain smokers and something else to offiers. How- ever, the cigarette smo,ker should get from the assoiciation's warning and from the rrYany prevto,us discussions,of cigarettes and their possible relation to heart troubles the general idea that if one • must smoke, he should do so with modrerAtion., 'Wliile there is still no ex- perimental or laboratory proof of a causal relationshiq be- = tween cigarette smoking and ' heart disease, Dr. Ernstene said, the public should ca.re- iully weigh the statistical as- sociation apparent in recent itudies. He urged individuals wishing advice regarding their use of cigare.ttes to be guided by their physicians. Medical advice is particularly important ior persons with a history of heart or biood-vessel disease, Dr. Ernstene said. The Katz committee re- portedly looked into a dozen ioientific studies which in- eluded data relating to smok- ~ ..-.,, ing and heart disease. The committee members then rec- ommended that the A. H. A. ~ undertake a campaign to dis- courage smoking among teen- •" agers and persons known to be susceptible to heart trouble ~~ The group also urged an aggres sive program of continued re search into the issue ; After lengthy discussion at ` two general meetings, the 120- - man board of directors of the Heart Assoeiation decided that the Katz committee report should be limited stYictly to lscientific data. In the absence of a clear-cut causal relation- ship between cigarette smoking and heart disease any more ad- vanced position would be pre- mature, the board felt ~ - Sat: Ii Silent g . p.. .~ 1O11'Uu`YU'tl~r~ Moreover, an association spokesman said yesterday the directors were eonvineed that both a broad educationai cam- paign and any majpr new study devoted solFly to proving or dis- - proving a causal relationship between smoking and heart disease would be beyond . the means of the association. Dr. George E. Wakerlin, the,-asso K" ciation's research director, feels that a proper scientific study would cost "=1,000;000 or more : - „ a year. When reached by telephone at his Chicago office yesterday, -~; D K d li d to com " stz ee ne ment ~ r. s The policy of the Amerlcan Heart Association, Dr. Wakerlin ~`~~ has been to avoid „ b N York new a er said,dic- y a ew ~ p tating" the type of research now makes it necessary, in the public interest, to issue the performed by the nation's sci- official statement," Dr. Ern- entists. The association, he said, f t t 1 ted stene said. pre ers o suppor se ec ac- ( tivities put forth by the scien- Statistical Relation I tists themselves. It will eon- tinue this pattern in the com- ing flscal year starting July 1, when the A. H. A, anli tts af- filiated state and local chapters jointly devote more than =9,- 000,000 in support of research. . A spokesman for t•1he tobacco ` research group noted that the A. H. :: s statemgnt states cleariy that the stablstical as- soeiation reported in sorne sur- veys "does not prove that heavs cigarette smrking causes eoro- nary heart dis,^.ase." NE[J YORK HERALD TRIBUNE New York, New York June 7, 1960