Tobacco Documents Online

•'R1r.vc,y.~~rv;::. c.,wearr»,t,~erw*,v ~a;s»a .sc+ s t' : r t~ ,i,1.. ^ 1i:•~:t '...'4sr~;a~ <~1r.:;.ik ]..i'W,1='+-°+~.11 "},i Y~~r~`~Y\si :-~V3`r ~F..~1~'~ r,:~.r~~•!_.i:.~1,~;,~ :Additional press comments of Dr Burne 's receat'arGicle in the Journal of the Ameriean Medical Association (Other press comments * included in PR No 79 59, December , 1959 . tii ~^~-~:~1 tk~u ii T. r ~ ::r, :.Krr't.<t i~ ;~'-! a+~~~~~~Sc~~~.:1..,~-•G~~ 1!ti:t.o~ r, 'y^1`1 ."i4 °',~ rk C~''t t T ii ~ i ~x : . j~'Srt~i~i`~f y-4.,~a•,~,~, ' • ` k fr ws + -p BLADE ~ w.~y. 1 t,,z ~'w.'.5ii,. . . . r 1 A. f - -~.~''1t . . t,y. . . . ~1~ - . ,rf~- ~ .~?,.,~ loaeao, vuzo November 30, 1959 ) Sl .._~ A Burning Issue? 4; m ORE FUEL has been added to the s older- Ihg. debate over IiealLh and smoking by YI.S.Surgeon General Leroy E.Burncy; butlt It doubtful that his statement.a Impllcating to- bacco as a cause of lung cancer will stir ttp a eontrovei+aey matching the Great Cranberr7 Flasco. Although Dr. Burnev, 1n an artir.le In the ~Journal of the American Medical As.aoclatlon, is careful to cite 81 sclentffir. experltncntssuppnrt- Ing U.S. Public Health Service conclusions llnk- Ing smoking to the growing lung cancer rate, his report is merely another chapter its the long debate. The basic qurstlnn of tobacco:s role as a causative factor In lung cancer has still not been determined categnrically--althottch Dr. Burney's remarks are the most positive made _:?yct by a governmenl acrpcyon the subject. The smoke had no snimrr, settled from Dr. Aurney's revelatlons than Dr. C. C. Little, sr1- entlflc director of the tobacco htdustry re- search commlttce, whnse Interests might be eonstdered more biased than those of the Sur- geon General; spoke out In dlsagrnement. lie described Dr. Burney's findlncs as a rehash of old statistics, and went on to suggest that other new experiments In the fleld tend to support the tobacco Indnsta•y's Elatm that ev1- drnce on the matter is cnntrndictnry. Meanwhile, as thlfr debate aninng the men of >:olPnce goes on, what aboutIhe millions and: millions otAmericans who are apparently wedded to the habit of smnklnc? Judging from the facts, all the talk nbnnt .lung cancer hasn't exactlyruinrd: the tobacco market. For preceding Dr. Burncy's article by only a few weeks was a report by the Depart- Y' ntent~ of Agriculture that Anu•rlcans are puff- Ing up a new record this yr.1r. despite the eancer controversey. Cigarrtte production in 1959 Is expected to soar 1o the aslronomlcali total of 485bllllon, an Increase of 15 bll!!on over last year. And the output of cigars and cigarillos likewlse Is expected to hit a record output of nearly 7 bililon: Closer to home, the Uhin salrs tax depart- ment noted lust !ast week that Ohlonns are buying clgarettesnow at the reeardrate of 100 mililompacks a month, Elther we Amerlbans--inclndln¢ tliethlnk-Ing men amongus-are unperturbedby what-ever evidencehas been lnltndnrrd so far Ilnk- tnc smoklhg to lung cancnr, or the smnklnt hnbit Is so firmly lmbedded In our mores than ® we are determined to cling to It come whall may. Or perhaps there Is a general Incllnallor to view the whole dispute with some degree 0 fatalism. After all, Dr. Burney also pmtntHd out In hl: article that air pollutlon Is another probable- although lesser-eause of lung cancer. And nrohe has suggested yet that Americans stnll breathing. Give Up ~ 'C aarettes Ana Cities As Well The gnvernment's chief health offi- cer, the xurgQon general, says that the weight of evidence implicates smoking as the maimcause of rising lung cancer. He adds that filter tips developed so far do not do a good enough ;ob of straining out the tars suspect as cancel• producers. ,. The surgeon general ftes not stop with that. He declares that, air 1,o1- lution, chiefly industrial smog and au- to exhaust; is a prouable though a lesser.cause of lung cancer. The evidence is not yet eonclusive, but there now is too much of it to be dismissed. Plvdently we should give up cigarettes, automobiles, and indus- trial cities, along with cranberries, lipsticks, quiz programs, and disc jockeys. In so doing we all will live to such a ripe old age that the problem of our care in our senile years will be as formidable a one as that posed by the increase in lung cancer. REGISTER' , Des Moines; Io~ra December 1,'1959 IOWANS MUM ON 0'ANOERIINK The Iowa health depart- ment decidedMonday to leave the controversial linking of l ung cancer and cigarettes to iederal ffi i l '~ o c a s . r..e+:~J Dr. Leroy E. Burney, surgeon general of the U. S. Public Health Serv- lce, last week advised the best way to cut lung can- cer danger was to quit " smoking. " The public health service 2as concluded that smoking s the principal cause of the ncrease in lung cancer, Dr. Burney said. Iowa Health Commissioner Edmund G.'Zimmerer, after a ''} staff meeting here htonday„ said state health officials will let Dr., Burney. "carry the ball" on this one. 'There's no use getting Into something so contro- versial If you don't have to,,. Dr. Zimmerer said. Dr. Zimmerer said he did not take any exceptions to Dn Burney's statemer.ts on the link between cigarettes and lung cancer. But the link Is "not certain:" he said "and it's so controversial that we'll let him carry the ball. "People can use their own Judgment, to smoke or not to smoke. Anything we'd say probably wouldn't have much Influence any- way:' 4' , The health department's ~.I vitall statistics division re- ported lung cancer as the cause of 345 Iowa deaths in 1955; 379 in 1956; 475 in 1957' and 428 i 1958 n . / ~6 ~f3 ~~ / ~