Tobacco Documents Online

THE TIlMES-PICAYUNE New Orleans, Louisiana March 28y 1960 ' r:• P• . 1s ~ l.lf-.E ~~ aU t)Sl j si.AatsU JJs Zv Souas>fe l• c- ~i^ ~~ ~~, _. ~ +.as7, ~-tl~r^ _ r• r z r S s.{. e,It1i ~"~ 1~ 0 d vS-~. r1 •L . y1c r1 i 1 31c ifl°_t~~kL`EI4 L.7~Q °tUi n,t'n.•i ? ~t fs4 `ea4 ~.i~f:n r-,. 3 _.~'A~CTS D~I~~~D '" $~{~+~ + In keeping with our position,•~~ ' 1• 5 we do not believe it is fair to _ SAYS OCHSNER ~1 (`the general public or those con- "~ ttected with the tobacco industry ~ I - from grower to retailer- to permit extreme and untrue -'h t uhallpged cargeso goncn. ' Many doctors and scientists 'il dt tht the ; smpyo no agreea lung cancer quesUon has been s~~ r F aettled." 1+=, Alton Ochsner of New Orleans `"t ` l s~~r ' c-5 Monday said he thinks the to- More Research . bacco industry Is "guilty of denying facts because of finan- cial gain" In the cigarette ~ ot iie4evE ilung. cancer,,.controversy.- The ,,,, ~+ i~„baGco fndustry research com- lnittee s2id Monday no " C =1 , uu =': surgeon long has held cigarettes r'posi- u• i .i ., t',w tive eonclusions" could be ~ a direct cause of lung obaccoIndustry Targef w~~r ciwrer.+ f',' of N.©. Surgeon T z= _ . T ~.`1,1 1 IALTISViId.E, Ky. (AP) Dr cancer. "In spite of the overwhelming evidence of the causal relation- ship of cigarette smoking and cancer, the tobacco industry h,ass refused to admit the evidence, and has tried to confuse the issue by blaming other possible ''ililactors, such as air pollution," ~ Dr. Ochsner told an American Cancer Society seminar for Bcience writers. "It seems to us that' they .d would be on much firmer ground if they would admit that there is a calculated risk in smoking . , and inform the public of this risk so that the -- respunsibility of smoking is en• . tirely the individual's." 'GREAT RISK' The calculated risk "is not great because it requires a re- latively long period of time, 20, ~s years or more, for the condition to develop, although there is = tremendous variation in one's ° susceptibility to cancer," Dn. -: Ochsner said.---_ "As long, however, as the ~," industry refuses to accept the evidence, which is apparently irrefutable, it appears to me that they are guilty of denying facts because of financial gain. "It is extremely unfortunate that the public has become un- derstandably confused because of their inability to differentiale between the motives of the American Cancer Society an& those of the tobacco industry. STATEMENT ISSUED In New York, the tobacco in- dustry research, committee said in a statement: "Our position is and has been that much more knowledge about cancer and especially lung cancer is neccesary before positive conclusions about the cause or causes can be estab- lished. This position is shared by outstanding scientists here and abroad. .,-,drawn on the cause of lung can- : cer without more research to get' needed facts and evidence. .= Committee chairman Timothy Hartnett issued the statement i. .a`' in response to reports presented ,,.., ,.. an American Cancer Society seminar on cancer research at '`'IauisvilIe, Ky. °^`Hartnett said "outstanding scientists here and abroad" 'shared the opinion that more research was necessary before a definite link could be proved. r,:-", We do not tlunk that the present campaign of repeating the anti-smoking theories of the ^ e :~emists will ever constitute proof of the charges they make against smoking," Hartnett saidi He quoted a recent' editorial ° of the journal of the American ~biedical Association as saying ~ • "that there is not 'sufficient evi- ;: dence to warrant the assumption of an all.or-none authoritative position" in regard' to the smok- ing theory." ~ ... , x