Tobacco Documents Online

® ft reA a H9 a ! 0 ! PITISSBtktGH P(1ST-GA7ETT1~ Pittsbu¢'gh, Pennsylvania t +4 l~pril g, 196o trti, r~ t ;~Physician Blame~ g Cancer On Smoking ~ ~, (:Nlest Expert Testifies That Smoi~ing t§ First Medical Witness In Cigaret Trial KIs Largest Single Factor in Dl~ease <'!n Word Duel With Defense Attorney 'tI"~ s+, AI BEgT W. BLOOM a. The first h slcIan to testif , in Rederal' Court's cy ~:~sy t P y Y ;:Sfi aus w ~eer t,e +..u cancer trial blamed the plaintift' ~Precedented ~~ °~, "" Mlce men and lung caacer vted for attention lns tor- l'' i mer lung tumor on "rieavy smoking over many ~~ F'ederal Court here ye9terday. : M F at tt Sl t d~, yeats" t !~ ~ t aret smoking," insisted Dr. Dr. Richard H. (Jverholt,,cllesb surgeon-ln-chlef at ~j~~+~~ Dr. Willlam F. Kremer, for Kremer. ,,r ~, tne Overholt Thoracic Clinic, Boston, yesterday ad bteriy of Presbytedan Hoapi Mr. Haas asked hi I m If he 'mitted that laborato tests ti to rove that' Bmok- , tai, said he had never seen meant to say that only cigarets ~ ry ymg P can aMually trigger tung can• iJ~"'fOg causes lung cancer are dif- W written that "the cause "epidermoid carcinoma" of the cer. !~t( . ffcu1L dcancer: is unkrtswn•" Also, lung without a"con-,iderable '"m thee cases I've seen." re- 'The trouble is we re having }hat °satoken, the tobacco history of smoktng " plied the doctor. ~a hard time getting a mouse lnteresta uti aD ot ua want a he sald Is the type Eul the attorney noted ic to smokelike a man; he told naore information that will . suffered by Otto E. Pritch- a jury of seven women and g n d o u b t e d 1 , come with that all studies show non• (~. y .Y ':ard.:8l~.betore his right lung smokers slao contract the I~. flve men : ,~'u w° w.e removed In. November, disease. ~ Dlamea Tobaoco Smoke r e v i s e d my estimate ~Iyy}::._'R7fere Is no question that shot back Dr. Overholt R- 1933 Str• Pritchard la suing Dr„Ki•emerretusedtaagree. hope I have matured as I.'•Liggett & Myets Tobacco He said this may Havrbeen in lNtalation of tobacco smoke is grew older, I believe I am Ca tor t1350,000. contend• dicalM b prior surveys In the " :the largest single faotor in the atore convinced of this t heavy Ing he smoked Chesterftelds Y 'eausation oftlils typeof lung ~gr.et smokiitgi) asa causal~ for 32 years. ~,k early Rfties. but he'd like to rc- s`, F caneer," he asserted i: -• relationship between smoking Mew' current studies on this Dr . pverholt, an urbane and and lung cancen"' ~' Dr. Kremer, who Brst exam, matter. tmperturbable Bostonian with "Overwhelming ercumstan- `d lned the Brookline carpenter But I thougHtyou said you ~ an evident missionary seal to tial evidence must be aecepted, •for cancer symptoms, engaged were familiar with those stu ~~ ({+:'eorb rising lung cancer rates, and I accept it;" said Dr. Over• in severali peppery exchanges dles," Mr. Haas protested. ran head on into the cross- holt, who earlier said he him• with Defense Attorney Fred I'm familiar with the issue stake ~ r~ ~natiFrcde ick~P. Nass. The pkrogression otl~epider• ~~ons.MraHaas crthnallenged the the witness. here today;'snappcd, But not tmtil~ the doctor moid, squamous cell type. lurtg physician's statements, and his 'No Expert'-Doctor V ' scored point after point In the cancer goes this way under status as a cancer expert. in a He was later asked: "Do you esae as It entered its t61rd Iong term ezposure to a can• series of questions covering a regard yourself as an expett S, jday, eer-causing a g e n t, he eY- multitude of researchh reports on cancer causation?" Dr. Overholt~ testifled` that Plalred~~ re~ are con D actor Challenged "No," he answered. He - u t~ 4+4 : he came here at his own ex- salfld he derived his opinion in ~~ 1{ i ually irritated; 2. A cell change • At one point. Attorney Haas pense and without any offer c a! 1 e d "meta lasii " takes the Pritchard case from his in- Y°~ f~! ~ft'of a fee' p mqDaevou mean to sa e i formation -as the attending {~(r~8~t`~:; He took off at one point'~so p~ce: 3. Cancer "in situ" (at drmoid cancer o2 the P h Ysician. ylung e lx idl that he had condemned me sitr) torms; 4 Full bJown ~= p y the tobacco industry, its ad- "clinical case" of cancer, cap• cannot occur without cigaret He said he is a specialist in ti 4 vertisin its "indoctrination" able of spreading and killing smoking?" lnternal medicine, and now of you gsters, and its plugs the patient, then follows. Dr• Kremer repiicd: "You serves as medical director for j ''~ Sor more cigaret smoking "So Says Work Exposure Mtld place on me the judgment of the Denver Chemical Corp, of ~i'more people can get sick." be Dr. Overholt lnsisfed that in God' Nobody can state what Hartsdale• N. Y. As such, he ?lore the Judge John L Miller ltqr, pt ichard's case, his car- can or what cannot occur. We said, he was obligated to keep y S~{ ,, stopped him. penter's o c c u p a t i o n hack only state what is our expe• pace with cancer literature in • ' a search for ' That part of his testimony round and work in metal rience new drugs. -' was ordered stricken from the 8rms could only be assigned Dr Kremer said he had ob +-court record by Judge Miller about "10 per centl' of the The tvithess was asked If served 15 or 20 lung cancer "t },` afterMr. . Haas jumped to his blamee for his'cancer,."no more tkwould concede that thee cases, confirmed by patholo-feet'to object. Judge Miller ad• than thatl" basic mechanism whereby gists, a:d mayy have seon "over ~t . vised Dr. Overholt to answer lung Dr. Victor !ia nitzi ng cancer at,.pears In hu• 100" that weren't positively t..L,Att ~ornegHaas"questionsoniy, y,aaher chest surgeon, but mans is unknown. : identified. - ,. "' ' 'U'out making a speech. ~m. BuCalo• declared that "I F Promises to Obey ]tave nttser been able to relate Dr. t'h'erholtit atilt the tall,, any man's lung car.cer to his coot and imperturable Boston• occupation:" ' 7an.. took a drinkof water, HP_ . tao, testified thatt he promised toobeyo came here.ate his own expense, A professor of thorttnic to underscore the dangers of (thest) surgery at Tutts Col- heavy smoking and lung can• lege of Medtcine, IDr: Overholl cer• ' testified inn the: case of Otto E. "Thee more puHlicity that Pritchard agai.nst the Liggetti this iss given before theen• ~ Myers tobacco ~ompany, tire population thrbetter, and Mr• Pritchard' 1s sumg the then perhaps these tragedies .. tobacco flrm foC~~ S1i2i0,lNY~, can be averted~ln the future." elaiming long years of heav} ;; smoking, mainlv Che>terfield cigarets. caused his lung can- cer. The lower sections of his rtght'lung wtre surgically rC- _ rrtoved at Presbyterian Hosp tal here Decemtier 11, 19:a3. But Mr. Aass brought oulthat in. 1956. Dr. Osrerholt ~_ .".~, . . .... ,.'j~t.. . 4, . tPITISBURGH PRESS Pittsburgh, Petulsylvani ,ppril"q, 1yEp ~e~i, Proof C i garet5 Cause Lun~Cancer Difficult, ~~~. . I~t . jxa `hW go tarther than that:"$e said.!te ret•eived his.de- he said, "1'0 ~ mechanism in gree fromm iite UnlverAty of tifee iss known." Amsterdar. in The iether- However, he refused to ac• lands, and also wasi trained' knowledge thatt theree arehereatVeteransAAministra- "multiple causes"' for cancen tion Hospital In Aspinwall. inslsting: ' He said Mr..Prichard,.ot.1833 "I think there are many pre• Pioneer Ave: first reported to disposing factors." himon~Nov. 7;:1953,~ complain. .lfany. huctors 1ng of chest pains.andlcough• By this, he indicated: he Ing• At first, he expiained, doc• meant that age. sex. occupa- tors thought he had another tion, urban or rural residence blood clot in the lung. He had -all may predispose a person a clot the year before while Dr. William F. Kremer, now to canter; but he doesn't con• recovering from a fractured medical director of the Den• sider them the direct cause:. hip suffered in a scaffold' fall. w:er C h e m i c a 1 Corporation. Attorney Haas had quizzed He was questioned by Attor Hinsdaie, N. Y:, and the man him oninumerous reports In• ney James P: McArdte on who diagnosed the Pritchard dicatingavaricty.ofmaterials, direct examination.,Mr: McAre caae hel'e in 1953;b1amed lton and cii'cumstances. can pro- dle said Dr. Kremer may be kis "Hnavy amoking." The case duce cancer. the first physician to testify resumes at 10 a• m. today In "But all cases have one thing Under oath in the world con• Federal Court In common ,•. a:W that is cig- troversy over cancer agents•