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Volume XV, Number 1
ASH Urges State Commissioners To Support
Nonsmokers' Health Insurance Discount
ASH Executive Director John Banzhaf
was invited to make a speciaresen-
tation to the National Association of In-
surance Commissioners (NAICLhe a-
peared at a press conference with the
NAIC Presid_t en and other key o'ci Is
t~~r_ornote the concept of _dif rent_
health insurance rates for smokers and
ngnsmokers. Although many compan-
ies already offer lower rates to
nonsmokers for LIFE insurance, this
idea would dramatically affect the
HEALTH insurance industry. It could
provide a powerful additional economic
incentive for smokers to quit.
The NAIC is made uo of&,ommis-
sioners in the 50 states who reaulate
insurance rates andLLhe_lnsu_ran__ce, in_-
dustry. Since their approval is required
for most insurance rate increases,__and
they are often influential in proposing
new insurance legislation, they have
the ability to strongly encourqge_if not
actually reguire the adoption of various
r_ate structures.
Under the proposal to be consid-
ered by the NAIC both smokers and
nQnsmokers would be charqed rates
that reflect their different health_care
costs. Thus, the majority of American
adults who are nonsmokers would pay
less for their health insurance, and the
minority who smoke and voluntarily
subject themselves to far greater
health risks would pay substantially
more.
The Evidence
Banzhaf _beaan by oresenting the
noted that it does _so by causing a
variety of very serious diseases such
as lung cancer and cardiovascular pro-
blems; by causing or exacerbating a
wide variety of conditions that, though
less serious, still require medical treat-
ment; by generally weakenincLthe pa-
tient and requiring longer hospital ss
and longer recovery periods; and by
causingjncreased health problems for
the spouses and children (who are
usually covered under a family policy)
and co-workers (who are often covered
by a company policy).
Figures cited by a George
Washington University task force testi-
fying with Professor Banzhaf showed
that smoking unnecessarily increases
health care costs by at least $11 billion
In This Issue
.
.
.
.
0
.
.
.
ASH Urges State Commis-
sioners To Support
Nonsmokers' Health
Insurance Discount
ASH Overview: Promising Suit
Filed on Behalf of Youth Killed
by Snuff
R. J. Reynolds Still Deceives
Public
Curb Tobacco Addiction, U.S.
Official Says
Passengers Again Demand
Smoke-Free Flights
Send a "Somebody Loves
You" Valentine
Nonsmoking Activists Honored
Regular features
January 1985
each year, although the figure might go
as high as $80 billion. Thus, even
under the most conservative estimate,
smokers might be forced to pay an ad-
ditional $200 a year for their health in-
surance; another estimate is that rates
for smokers should increase by at least
50 percent. For those who suggest that
smokers are being asked to pay too
much, Banzhaf notes that these figures
represent only a small part of the total
cost of smoking that nonsmokers are
now forced to bear. This figure could
easily top $100 billion.
Policy Analysis
Under a system where all insured pay
the same rates, nonsmokers subsidize
the habits of smokers; Banzhaf main-
tained that this is not only fundamen-
tally unfair but possibly illegal. One ma-
jor benefit of differential rates is that
they would end this mandatory subsidy
and require smokers to bear their own
fair share. The other major advantage,
he argued, is that it will provide a
strong additional financial incentive for
smokers to quit. The threat of financial
sanctions is often a major factor in con-
trolling dangerous behavior, Banzhaf
said, citing compliance with traffic laws
as a good example.
One problem troubling the health in-
surance industry is determining the
risk factors on which it would be, both
fair and legal to_base rate dfferentials.
Professor Banzhaf offered the NAIC
three criteria suggestingthat rate dif-
ferentials based upon risk_factors that
Continued on page 2
SMOKING AND HEALTH REVIEW. Action on Smoking and Health. 2013 H St.. N.W.. Washington. DC 20006.
Action on Smoking and Health. a national nonprofit tax ASH Review
exempt orgamzauon concerned with the problems of smoking and the rights of nonsmokers, is entirely
supported by tax-deductible contributions. Regular contributors _ Jan. 1985
receive the Smokmg and Health Review, Printed portions of the Review may be reprinted with credit to
ASH Page 1
2500082869 ~ °.
evidence that now conclusivelv
demonstrates __that_ smoking causes_
vastly increased health care costs. He

ASH Urges Health Insurance Discount
Continued from page 1
met each of the criteria would be clear-
ly proper and clearly legal. The three
criteria are:
1. The risk factor must cause substan-
tially increased reased health care costs.
2. It must be easily and obiectively
verifiable.
3. It must be subject to change by the
insured and, if changedt reault in
lower health care costs.
ASH's executive director argued that
smoking meets each of these criteria
On the Job
To provide nonsmoking employees
"with a working environment that is
as smoke-free as practical," the giant
Grumman Corporation will designate
most public areas as no-smoking. At
least half of all eating spaces and
lounges will be reserved for non-
smokers.
Austin, Texas, firefighter Tom
Newsom was transferred to a desk job
after he asked the fire chief to ban
cigarette smoking inside fire stations.
Newsom said that he had no problem
at fires because everyone was provid-
ed with air masks. "We're better off at
a fire than we are at our own stations,"
he observed.
Former Fresno County (California)
employee Linda Batchelor has been
awarded $27,397 in back pay and
$10,000 in damages for emotional dis-
tress suffered because the county
didn't try to find her a smoke-free
office when it became apparent that
she was allergic to tobacco smoke. The
grant was made by the state Fair Em-
ployment and Housing Commission.
Canada's Labor Code has been
revised, and one of the changes gives
workers the right to refuse to work in
dangerous circumstances. _"Danger"
has been redefined to mean "any
hazard or condition that could reason-
ably be expected to cause injua or ill-
ness to a person exposed thereto."
Nonsmokers'-rights activists' betieve
that the new wording will give non-
smoking workers a new tool to safe-
guard their health in the workplace.
more strongly than any other risk fac-
tor, and is therefore a most appropriate
basis for rate differentials. Maintaining
proper weight and controlling blood
pressure are two other risk factors that
may meet those criteria; the NAIC is
considering them also.
Other Health Risks
According to this analysis, it might not
be possible to charge higher rates to
alcohol abusers because of the difficul-
ty and expense of determining who
they are. However, since most alcohol
abusers are also smokers, a rate
category for nonsmokers would also
reflect cost saving resulting from the
relative absence of diseases caused by
alcohol abuse.
Similarly, failure to exercise regular-
ly, "Type A" behavior, and the use of
illicit drugs might not provide a good
basis for higher rates because of the
difficulties of objective verification.
Smoking, on the other hand, as Ban-
zhaf pointed out, is something that is
asked about every time medical care
or hospital admission is sought. An in-
dividual's smoking habit is well known
to friends and co-workers and can be
easily detected during blood or urine
General U.S. N.C.
breakdown deaths deaths
Hsart disease 170,000 5,644
Cancer (all types) 130,000 3,109
Other COLD' (all types) 50,000 1,272
'Chvonic obstructlve lung disease.
including emphysema and bronchitis
A Emphysema
' Chronic bronchitis
Other COLD
Lung cancer
* Laryngeal and oral cavity cancer
C Eaophagealcancer
E D Bladder and kidney cancer
F Pancreatic cancer
Q Coronary heart disease
H Stroke '
I Peripheralvascular disease
Atheroaclerosis
U.S. N.C.
deaths deaths
13,000
3,550, 1,272
33,450
94,350 2,371
U.S. N.C.
deaths deaths
7,900 189
4,150 101
7,000 133
6,600 159
170,000 5,644
Attributed to
smoking but not
recorded
N
~
~
O
0
Oa
N
100
"+3
0
Sources: US..Surgeun General Reports
on Smoking and Health (1982, 1983, 19841
N.C. Vital Health Statistics Branch
From Greensboro (N.C.) News & Record, 9/28/1984
analysis as well as by special saliva
tests.
For some behaviors that might tend
to improve health, the difference in
health costs is so small that a separate
rate category could not be justified
even if the behavior could be verified.
Some examples of this are getting
eight hours of sleep a night, eating a
regular breakfast, and taking regular
vacations.
Not Like Sex
Questions naturally came up about re-
cent court decisions attacking plans
that discriminate on the basis of sex,
even where the different rates may be
justified by actuarial experience. But
Professor Banzhaf pointed out that
sex, like race, is an immutable char-
acteristic, and discrimination on this
basis is strictly limited by law. This, of
course, is not the case with smoking,
a behavior that can be changed and a
category not protected by law. As a pro-
fessor of the law related to the han-
dicapped, he also argued that smokers
are not "handicapped", and therefore
they are not protected under various
laws prohibiting discrimination against
the handicapped.
Deaths attributed to smoNing
StaH frannlc by Mldual H.11
ASH Review SMOKING AND HEALTH REVIEW. Action on Smoking and Health, 2013 H St.. N.W.. Washington. DC
20006. Action on Smoking and Heahh, a national nonprof t tax
Jan, 1985 exempt organization concerned with the problems of smoking and the rights of nonsmokers.
is entirely supported by taxdeductlble contnbutlons. Regular conlributors
Page 2 receive the Smoking and Health Review. Printed portions of the Review may be reprinted with
credit to ASH.

ASH OVERVIEW:
Promising Suit Filed on Behalf of Youth
Killed by Snuff
U.S. Tobacco has been sued for $37
million by a woman whose 19-year-old
son died from oral cancer apparently
caused by the company's tobacco
muff. ASH attorneys believe that the
s.uit has a significant chance of suc-
cess because it does not have some
of the problems presented in more
traditional suits by cigarette smokers.
The suit was filed by Betty APn
Marsee, the mother of Sean Marsee,
a former track star who died a painful
death from oral squamous cancer, a
condition that spread from his tongue
to his neck and finally to his brain. His
physician said that the youth's cancer
was caused by a build-up of tar and
nicotine in his mouth from using snuff
and other smokeless tobacco, a habit
he started at the age of nine.
From his deathbed, where he was in
great pain and unable to talk, Sean
scrawled some last wishes on a pad of
paper. One of his wishes was that his
own experience be used to warn other
young users of the potential health
hazards of smokeless tobacco. He said
that smokeless tobacco should carry a
warning similar to that now required on
cigarette packages and advertise-
ments, and that endorsements of the
product by athletes and entertainers
encourage many kids to take up the
deadly habit.
Sean's wish may well come true, in
part because of the lawsuit his mother
has filed. The suit claims that U,S,
Tobacco both negligently and wrongly
failed to place health warnings on its
smokeless tobacco products. The suit
also claims that U.S. Tobacco has pro-
rpoted its snuff as a "risk-free alter-
native" to smokina.
Legal Analysis
Sean's mother could win the suit under
at least three different legal theories.
The first called the theory of negli-
gence, requires her to show that the
tobacco company was neg!igent in fail-
ing to provide any warnings, i.e., that
it failed to be as diligent as a
reasonably prudent man in learning of
the possible health risks and warning
its users.
The second, called the theory of
warranty, says that a corripany can be
liable if it makes a claim that turns out
not to be true, even if the company
could not have known this. U.S. Tobac-
co's claims that snuff was a risk-free
alternative to smoking could satisfy this
requirement.
Third, many courts have held that
under a theory of strict liability a com-
pany can be liable for a defective pro-
duct that causes unreasonable risk of
injiuryeven if thev ma_d_e-r_1QS!aims_and
even if they did not know of the danger.
In addition to compensation for her
son's life, Mrs. Marsee may be able to
recover punitive damages-damages
designed to punish the company-if
she can prove that the company acted
improperly and with reckless disregard
of the consequences to her son.
ASH attorneys.point out that this suit
avoids many of the.problems of other
suits brought by smokers _ against
tobacco coMganies._First, cigarettes do
have a health warning, and a success-
ful plaintiff will probably have to show
that it was inade uate. Snuff carries no
similar warning. Second, the risks of
smoking have been very well publi-
cized and are therefore well known,
whereas the risks of using snuff are not
generally known. Third, most smokers
wha__contract deadlv_ d.is%a_ses _do so
after smokina fo__ many years as adults.
Jurors mav well f_l_that adults accept
the risks of smoking and should not be
allowed to recover.
Sean Marsee howeveC-bia~using
snuff as a child of nine, and his cancer
was apparently well under w;V even
before he became an adult. A jury is
unlikely to blame a young boy for be-
ing lured into a habit by seductive ads
on television featuring hero figures pro-
moting this deadly habit. Finally, Sean,
a former athlete trying from his death-
bed to warn other youngsters, makes
a very sympathetic claimant.
Other Views
Doctors say that teenagers who use
smokeless tobacco today may find
themselves confronting a painful crisis
as they approach middle age: cancer
of the gums. Dr. David Kirsh, a radi-
ologist in Coral Gables, Florida, notes
in addition that young male snuffers
and chewers "are showing early evi-
dence of mouth lesions that are likely
to turn into cancerous lesions later on.
There is impressive evidence that we
are dealing with something that really
has explosive potential."
Meanwhile, the director of the Na-
tional Cancer Institute has spoken out
about the increasing popularity of
smokeless tobacco among young peo-
ple. "This is a dangerous trend.
Smokeless tobacco is not safe. Adver-
tising for smokeless tobacco fails to
warn the public that dipping and chew-
ing tobacco may be associated with
cancer of the mouth, pharynx; larynx,
and esophagus."
Nonsmoking Activists
Honored
ASH Certificates of Appreciation
have been presented to the follow-
ing for their efforts on behalf of
nonsmokers' rights:
Joan Beck, columnist, Chicago
Tribune.
American Automobile Associa-
tion.
Bud Grant, former coach, Min-
nesota Vikings.
Rodney Ervin, president of Walter
Melon's (nonsmoking!) cafe.
Rothmans a Qanadian ciaare1#e
manufacturer has been accused of _
breaking the law because it doesn't
warn smokers that its product is_addic-
tive The charae was brouoht by-mol.e
than two dozen prominent doctors and
anti-smoking activists in Ontario, who
say that the company is violating the
province's Business Prac ice,5- Act.
The American Heart Association has
for the first time aimed one of its public
service ads specifically at women.
"Now you've come a long way," says
the new broadcast spot. "You've quit."
SMOKING AND HEALTH REVIEW Action on Smoking and Health, 2013 H St., N.W Washington, DC 20006.
Action on Smoking and Health, a national nonprofit tax
exempt organization concerned with the problems of smoking and the rights of nonsmokers. is entirely
supported by tax-deouctible contributions. Regularcontributors
receive the Smoking and Health Rewew. Printed portions of the Review may be reprinted with credit to
ASH. - -
ASH Review
Jan. 7985
Page 3
2500082871

- R. J. Reynolds Still Deceives Public
In its ad claiming that "there is little
evidence-and certainly nothing which
proves scientifically_-that cigarette
smoke causes disease in.nonsmol-_
ers," R. J. Reynolds cite_s two author-
ities-but out of context or in_ a very
misleading way_
One quote was from Lawrenc.eGar-
finkle, chief statistician of the American
Cancer Society. But Garfinkle says that
the use of his name was "scandalous",
and that he was guoted _
-"very_se-lect-
ively and entirely out of_ con_text:' In
reality, Garfinkle feels, "there is very
much evidence to document the
adverse health effects of second-hand
smoke."
The other study cited in the ads
allegedly calculated that a nonsmoker
inhales "1/1000 to 1/100 of one filter
cigarette per hour." But this study, done
by two Harvard researchers 10 years
ago, only measured nicotine levels in
the air, and from this extrapolated the
intake of other e!ements of ci arette
smoke-a method that many now find
questionable. At least one of the
study's two authors now says he
strongly disagrees with Reyno!ds' inter-
pretation of the report.
"They are technically quoting cor-
rectly, but giving a wrong impression,"
he said. "While_ I stand by the results
ofmv study. I realize that other stud_ies
sin_ce have s_ hown that passive smoke
inhaled by _nonsmokers to be very
much highe-r." In addition, epidemi-
ological data "seem to indicate that
there is a significant health hazard.
There is also, aside from any possible
health hazard, the great discomfort of
second-hand smoke, which no one
should have to live with."
This series of ads also_uses other
tricks and oimmick"pparent!y de-
signed to mi I.ad th . oubli_c, F-or_exam-
p!e, they cite the resu!ts of_one con-
ference without revealing_t-hat it was
sponsored by the tobacco_industry.
Anyone can say anything at a con-
ference, but little weight should-be
given to it until it is published in a
major scientific or medical Oournal.
These medical and scientific jour-
nals insist on the very highest stan-
dards of research and accurate repor-
ting. By citing only papers presented
at conferences, the tobacco industry
tacitly acknowledges that it can find
nothing of a caliber to refute the
published articles that indicate that am-
bient tobacco smoke can cause a
variety of health problems, including
lung cancer, for nonsmokers.
Why not try to make use of the ads?
Ask a friend or co-worker if he or she
has seen the Reynolds ads. See what,
they think about them. Explain how the
ads are deceptive,_discuss the massive
amount of evidence condemning am-_
bient tobacco SmQk~- Probably both
you and your friend or co-worker-will
benefit. Try it on both smokers and
nonsmokers. You may be surprised at
the results!
News You Should Know
"We're the tobacco industry, too,"
says the headline on a full-page ad
placed in five national magazines by
the Bakery, Confectionery and Tobac-
co Workers International, the largest
union in the tobacco industry. The gist
of the ad is that nonsmoking is hazard-
ous to some people's jobs. Writes
Chicago Tribune columnist Joan Beck
in response, "You have to admire the
tobacco workers' chutzpah. Even
undertakers and mortuary managers
don't have the audacity-and insensi-
tivity-to suggest that people keep on
taking deadly risks so business will be
good."
Entertainer Pearl Bailey, chair of the
1984 Christmas Seals campaign, quit
smoking cold turkey eight years ago.
"Honey, I huffed and puffed and now
the smell of smoke makes me sick,"
she says. "It's no good!"
Smokers should avoid_lighting up for
24 hours before giving blood, accor-
ding to Omaha researchers_reporting
on the high levels of carbon monoxide
in random units of donated blood. One
of the researchers said that carbon
monoxide levels in certain samples
were high enough to impair heart or
lung function in patients with heart or
lung disease.
Concluded a Los Angeles Times
editorial called "Blowing Smoke"
(September 16, 1984), "If Congress
really wanted to discourage smoking
as a matter of national health policy, it
would impose economic disincentives
on the growing of tobacco and the pur-
chase of cigarettes. Instead it settles
for wimpy warnings, and then pretends
it has accomplished something."
Correction. Our sincere apologies to
Elizabeth Whelan of the American
Council on Science and Health, who
wrote the excellent article published in
the Wall Street Journal and discussed
in the Executive Director's Report of
the November 1984 ASH Review.
Although Ms. Whelan's name was in-
advertently omitted, she deserves a
great deal of credit for exposing the ac-
tivities and conflicting interests of Time,
Newsweek, and the American Medical
Association.
Orc~anizers of the 1986 Winter Oly m
pics, _to be held_in CalgaryL Alberta,
have announced that they_wili not ac-
cept spons_orship ,~from tobacco
companies.
Although the tobacco industry "re-
mains so profitable that a constant pro-
blem is how to reinvest all the excess
cash that tobacco brings in, since few
other endeavors are as profitable,"
business analysts say that the in-
dustry's profits are threatened d by-the
success of discounting, _now being
_done by_three of.the maior companies.
If other companies decide_to_enter the-
discounting arena, price wars may
result in an industry where price_ com-
petition has been conspicuous by its
a nce. ~
San Francisco Superv_isor _ Wendy
Nelder, sponsor of her city's workplace
s~noking !aw,-be!ieves__that_Del Monte
Co_rp_-a wholly owned subsidiary of
R. J. Reynolds-recrs.ti.ted-a spy in her
office to help in the unsuccessful bat-
tle against "Proposition P." A D_ el
Monte executive told Nelder that he
had arrange to u for her secretary's
college education in exchange for in-
formation about Nelder's activities.
0
ASH Review SMOKING AND HEALTH REVIEW, Action on Smoking and Health. 2013 H St. N.W. Washington: DC
20006, Act on on Smoking and Health, a nati-onal nonprofit tax.
Jan. 1985 exempt organization concerned with the problems of smoking and the rights of nonsmokers,
is entirely supported by tax-deductible contributions. Regular contributors
Page 4 receive the Smoking and Health Review. Printed portions of the Review may be reprinted with
credit to ASH.

.
0
Ideas for Activists
Falcon Heights Pharmacy in Min-
nesota kicked the tobacco habit on
Great American Smokeout Day 1984
and will no longer sell any tobacco
products or smoking paraphernalia.
Other pharmacies have told co-owner
Lowell Anderson, an officer in the
American Pharmaceutical Association,
that he is crazy. "We're trying to send
a message to the community that we
don't wish to encourage smoking any-
more," Anderson said.
After a crowd of antismokers_pro-
nounced them guilty, R_ J._Reynolds
and Philip Morris were I,ynched in ef-
figy by two doctors in Midd!etow_n,_Con-
necticut. Said one of the two, "Some
people may think it is unprofessional
and somewhat incongruous to have
doctors arranging a mock lynching.
Well, they may be right. But, unfor-
tunately, we do not have a multi-million-
dollar advertising budget to try to sell
our side of the story."
"Newspapers and the Advertising
Code: Cash or Conscience?" was the
headline on the full-page ad published
by Canada's Non-Smokers' Rights
Association in the Toronto Globe and
Mail last October. The ad-endorsed
by the Canadian Cancer Society and
the Canadian Lung Association-took
the media to task for their continual
violation of the Canadian Code of
Advertising Standards by carrying
advertisements for tobacco products.
"The Healthy Majority," a coalition of
20 health-related organizations in
Marylend has hired a!obbyist to work
f.or nonsmokers'rights leaislation in_ th_ e
state capital.
Call city hall and ask for information
concerning local ordinances ap-
plicable to smoking in public places.
Write to, telephone, amd visit city and
county officials, urging them to support
nonsmokers' rights in their areas.
Where smoking in supermarkets is
a problem: The Kingsdale (Ohio) Big
Bear supermarket has halted smoking
in the store by making periodic no-
smoking announcements on the store's
public address system. Shoppers are
reminded of the no-smoking policy,
store management doesn't have to risk
explosive confrontations with regular
customers-and cigarette ashes don't
fall into the fruits and vegetables.
To make sure that her letter asking
legislators not to weaken a non-
smokers=rights bill was read, an
80-year-old Alaska woman adorned her
envelope with an original oil painting
of a mountain scene. The recipient of
the letter, a state senator, said, "It's the
most effective piece of lobbying I've
ever seen" and added that he planned
to frame the envelope and hang it on
his office wall.
Send a "Somebody
Loves You"
Valentine
What can you do to show concern for
a friend or loved one who smokes but
doesn't want to listen to your "preach-
ing and nagqing" on the subject? Do
what many other ASH supporters have
done: send a"Somebody Loyes You"
va!betlti.n.e! Here's how:
A concerned nonsmoker sends__
ASH a contribution of $20 in the name
of a loved one who s-mQkes_ and asks
ASH to send the smoker a"Some_ body
Loves You" valentine.
In time for Valentine~e Day, ASH will
send the smQkff3-s.pe_cial valentines
telling them that someone who loves
them is ooncern_e_d__about their
smoking.
We will not tell the smokers who
it is that loves them, but only that
someone is concerned that they are
killing themselves by smoking.
In addition the smoker will receive
the rJext six i,ssues of the ASH Review
to serve as a reminder_and additional
incentive to quit. If they request, we will
send them additional information on
how to quit smoking.
This program has already helped
many of our supporters to reach peo-
ple who are still smoking and who may
be reluctant to listen to the advice of
their concerned friends and loved
ones. If you would like us to send a
"Somebody Loves You" valentine,
please do the following:
Be sure to send wth your donation
the name and complete mailing ad-
dress of your friend, and clearly mark
it "SOMEBODY LOVES YOU."
Be sure that it reaches ASH by
January 30, 1985, so that the valentine
will arrive on time. Requests sent after
that date will be filled as they arrive
throughout the year.
Find out what the smoking policy is
at your local high school. Talk with
students, faculty and administrators.
Try to get stricter policies for tobacco
use on school grounds. Don't forget to
discuss the health hazards of the
smokeless tobacco that is growing in
popularity among young people,
especially young men!
N
CA
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SMOKING AND HEALTH REVIEW. Action on Smoking and Health. 2013 H St , N.W. Washington. DC 20006.
Action on Smoking and Health, a national nonprofit tax ASH Review
exempt organization concerned with the problems of smoking and the rights of nonsmokers, is entirely
supported by tax-deductible contributions. Regular contributors Jan. 1985
receive the Smokmg and Health Review, Printed portions of the Review may be reprinted with credit to
ASH. Page 5

~assengers Again
Demand Smoke-
Free Flights
Smoking on airplanes is the third most
fre~u_egtly voiced complaint among
flyers 66 ercent1after_delayed flights
and lack of leg room, and almost two
thirds of frequent flyers-63 percent
-think that smoking should be totally
banned on all commercial planes.
Travelers consider smoking a more
serious problem than lost baggage (61
percent), overbooked flights (59 per-
cent), or food and beverage service (57
percent).
These conclusions were reached by
USA Today and published on its
November 7, 1984, edition. They ey sub-
stantiate three ear ier surveys taken by_
two different airlines and by Newsweek
magazine. In all four surveys, the ma-
jority of passengers favored a complete
ban on smoking, at least on short
flights.
Earlier this year, the Civil Aero-
nautics Board (CAB) adopted by a 3-2
vote an ASH proposal that smoking be
banned on all flights and flight
segments of up to two hours. Such a
rule would have made over 90 percent
of all flights smokeless. However, the
decision was reversed only hours after
the vote when CAB Chairman Dan
McKinnon changed his vote after
receiving phone calls from influential
members of Congress.
The authority to regulate smoking
once the CAB goes out of o eration at
~__~__ _.
the end of the year has now been
transferred, with ASH's support, to the
Department of Trans~ortation (DOT). In
addition, the existing rules will remain
in effect: DOT can only change them
after going through an elaborate rule-
making proceeding.
In the meantime, public kressu_re for
smoke-free flights seems to be
building. You can help by voicing your
cQncerns every time You make reser-
_s__~_.~_v ,-. -- --
vations or inquiries, when you_ board,
a0d while vou are_flyinge Your voice
can make an important difference.
Please speak out.
For a free brochure called "Your
Smoke Is Their Smoke: A Guide for
Parents Who Smoke," call toll-free
(800) 952-7444.
Now Available
Appel Farm Arts & Music Center is
both a working farm and a summer
camp specializing in music and the
fine and performing arts for children
from six to eighteen. For the last fifteen
years, the camp has hired only
nonsmokers. To learn more, write to
Appel Farm Arts & Music Center, RD
3, Box 532, Elmer, NJ 08318, or
telephone (609) 358-2472.
A solid brass "Thank You for Not
Smoking" plaque has been devel-
oped by the World Organization for
Science and Health. It's ideal for front
door, dashboard, and office and can be
ordered for $3.75 plus $1.25 shipping
from the World Organization for
Science and Health, RO. Box 1111,
Southport, CT 06490.
"Smoking Deserves a Smart
Answer" is an innovative, inexpensive
program designed to teach nine- to
thirteen-year-olds how to resist peer
pressure to smoke. It includes a
teacher's resource guide, sample role-
playing situations to be used in class
or group,and seven humorous posters
depicting smart answers to pro-
smoking persuasion. It's available for
$9.00 a kit from the American Lung
Association of Maryland, 11 East Mt.
Royal Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21202.
ENNANCED WARNlQG,5 09 UGAQETZE QACKS W01J'T DO
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The Tobacco Institute and the National
iiIOTNlNG {CWED
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Association of State Boards of Educa-
tion have co-produced "Helpin~Youth
Decide_," a slick, 20-page booklet in-
tended to help young people make an
informed decision about whether to
smoke or not. The institute maintains
that it is actively trying to discourage
young people from smoking. Outgoing
Federal Trade Commissioner Michael
Pertschuk disagrees, saying that
"every [cigarette] company is trying to
reach that market." For a free copy of
"Helping Youth Decide," write to the
National Association of State Boards of
Education, P.O. Box 1176, Alexandria,
VA 22313.
Q uality Inns International is now set-
ting aside 10 percent of the rooms in
all its many facilities for the use of
nonsmokers. What's_more, during the
year beginning October 1, 1984, the
chain will donate $1 to the American
Lung Association for every booking
made through its special no-smoking
reservations number. Call toll-free
(800) 228-LUNG.
The 1985 cruise schedule is now
available from Cebu Cruises, 1017
168th Avenue, S.E., Bellevue, WA
98008. Cebu specializes in informal,
totally nonsmoking cruises between
Seattle and British Columbia.
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ASH Review SMOKING AND HEALTH REVIEWAct:on on Smoking and Health. 2013 H St.,N W.. Washington. D-C
20006, Action on Smoking and Health. a nauonal nonprofit tax
Jan. 1985 exempt organization concerned with the problems of smoking and the ngnts of nonsmokers. is
ent:rely supported by tax-deducUble comribuGUns. Regular contriboto_ rs-
Page 6 receive the Smoking and Health Review, Printed portions ot the Review may be reprinted with
credrt to ASH.

ctirb Tobacco Addiction, U.S. Official Says
The federal government's top drug-
addiction official has urged increased
limitations on the freedom to "push"
tobacco because new evidence su~
gests that tobacco has far more addic-
tive potential than either alcohol or
heroin.
Dr. William Pollin heads the National
Institute on Drug Abu_se, a federal
acLency ordinarily concerned_with illicit
drugs. He spoke out about tobacco
because it may be as much as eight
times_Oeadlier than the excessive use
of alcohol and far more resistant to suc-
cessful treatment than heroin addic-
tion. Heroin addiction is also less likely
to be fatal than the continued use of
tobacco.
Calling tobacco "a powerfully addic-
tive drug," Pollin noted than cigarettes
cause seven times more deaths each
year (350,000) than motor vehicle
crashes and 100 times more than
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syn-
drome (AIDS), which is regarded as a
national epidemic.
Recognition of tobacco as a fatally
addictive drug, said Pollin, "raises
questions about what is the proper
responsibility of those who are pushing
it ... sel ling it ... encouraging new
groups in our society to purchase and
use this material." Although he does
not support a prohibition-type effort, he
said, "It does appear that our society
should seek some appropriate way to
inhibit the present degree of freedom
to 'push' its most prevalent drug of
abuse-nicotine"
Pollin says the extent of smo_kinq ad-
diction far outstrips heroin abuse. "We
estimate there are roughl~ 400,000
heroin addicts in the country, w_hereas
th.ar-e-aig 30 million to4_0_ million
nicotine addicts," he said.
Unfortunately, Dr. Pollin's message
will probably not reach our decision
makers unless voters indicate that it is
a matter of concern to them. Now,
while legislators are getting ready for
a new session and wondering what is
on voters' minds, might be a good time
to write about your concerns.
Tobacco growers face
future clouded by politics
By Carolyn Pesce
USA TODAY
RALEIGH, N.C. - To Rich-
ard Jenks, who still harvests
his tobacco plants by hand, the
politics intertwined with the
USA's oldest cash crop are as
uncertain as his next harvest.
"I'm frustrated, but I just
handle it. ... I've had to fall
back on some things I'd put up
for my retirement, and I
shouldn't have to do that," said
Jenks, who for 22 years has
lived on a 113-acre farm about
30 miles south of Raleigh.
For Jenks and 250,000 other
growers in the USA, the future
of tobacco is as questionable as
whether Sen. Jesse Helms, R-
N.C., will keep his campaign
promise today and remain on
the Agriculture Committee.
Helms' position as chairman
of the committee for the past
four years has given farmers
the support they have needed
for their tobacco program.
"We have a lot of anti-tobac-
co people in Washington. We
need all the support we can
get," said Jerome Vick, who
grows 75 acres of tobacco.
"It's a very ticklish situa-
tion," said Atlas Wooten of the
state's Farm Bureau. Most of
the farmers out there are say-
ing we want control of the Sen-
ate Agriculture Committee."
But conservatives, including
the Conservative Caucus, are
urging Helms to head the more
powerful Foreign Relations
Committee. To back up its posi-
tion, the caucus Tuesday re-
leased a survey saying North
Carolinians, by 2-1, want Helms
on Foreign Relations.
Some farmers think it's too
late for even Helms to save the
industry. Production has
dropped from about 2.5 billion
pounds 10 years ago to 1.7 bil-
lion pounds this year.
"I think tobacco's gone - I
think it's on its last leg," said
Earl Logan, 76, who farms 19
acres - 43,000 pounds - of to-
bacco with his son, Steve, 34.
Among the problems:
Thegovernment's price-
support system, which at-
tempts to balance supply and
control production, is not work-
ing. More than 900 million
pounds of tobacco taken over
by the program since 1976 still
sit unsold in warehouses.
Exports for growers are
plunging because of a glut on
the world market.
Imports are increasing.
Cigarette manufacturers and
some farmers say the average
domestic price set by the gov-
ernment at $1.70 per pound is
too high compared with the es-
timated $1 to $1.20 per pound
price overseas.
The increase in the feder-
al excise tax on cigarettes from
8 cents to 16 cents in 1983 has
helped lower tobacco use.
Farmers have delayed plans
for their 1985 crop because of
possible changes to the pro-
gram, including reducing the
quota they are allowed to grow
due to a glut on the market.
"Normally by this time
farmers can start making
plans," Wooten said. "They're
saying, 'It's time for us to know
something.' "
At the Local Level
Massachusetts towns and cities
are on a roll for nonsmokers' rights:
Swampscott, Randolph, Framing-
ham, and Lynnfield have enacted
laws to guarantee no-smoking sec-
tions in restaurants, bringing to 15
the number of communities in the
state with such ordinances. In line
to be number 16 is Northampton,
where overwhelming support was
recently voiced at a public hearing
on regulations that would restrict
smoking in public places.
The board of education in Prince
George's County, Maryland, has
prohibited students from smoking or
chewing tobacco products on
school grounds.
Gainesville, Florida, now has an
ordinance that "ranks right up there
at the top" with some of the most
restrictive in the country. The new
law will ban smoking in the public
areas of both public and private
buildings, and will also guarantee
the right of nonsmokers to breathe
smoke-free air in the workplace.
In Kansas, the city of Overland
Park implemented a clean indoor air
act on October 12, 1984, and the
Wichita-Sedgwick County Board
of Health broadened and approved
a request, made by Wichita GASP,
to restrict smoking in certain county-
owned public areas. The board has
recommended that smoking be
banned in all county-owned public
areas.
The Regional Transportation Dis-
trict in the Denver, Colorado, area
resisted tobacco industry pressure
and reaffirmed its ban on tobacco
and liquor ads on public buses.
And finally, in San Jose, Califor-
nia, a tough anti-smoking law
similar to those enacted in San
Francisco and Palo Alto has been
proposed in the city council.
Suggesting that the high cost of
medical care is due at least in part to
the high cost of smoking, ASH Trustee
Dr. Charles Tate gave fellow doctors
an economic reason to persuade
smoking patients to quit. Since "the
rising cost of health care has eroded
our stature," in the public eye, he said
in the October 1, 1984, issue of Medical
Economics, "smoking has cost us all."
SMOKING AND HEALTH REVIEW Action on Smok ng and Heaith. 2013 H St . N.W.. Washington. DC 20006.
Action on Smoking and Health, a national norrprofit tax- ASH Review
exempt organization concerned with the problems of smoWng and the nghts of nonsmokers. is entLrely
supported by tax-deductible contributions. Regular contributors - Jan. 1985
receive the Smoking and Health Review Printed portions of the Review may be reprinted with credit to
ASH _ Page 7

;E~ECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT
and millions of dollars. We all have a
great deal to be proud of.
AND THAT'S NOT ALL: 1984 saw the pas-
sage of very tough legislation pro-
tecting nonsmoking workers in several
major municipalities. On the federal
level three major bills were passed
requiring stronger health warnings, a
study of fire-safe cigarettes, and keep-
ing intact the power of the federal
government to regulate smoking on air-
planes. The CAB adopted new rules pro-
tecting nonsmoking airline passengers,
and for one shining moment voted to ban
smoking on short flights! People began
to pay more attention to the economic
costs of smoking -- a development which
may be as important to the war on smok-
ing in the 1980's as the nonsmokers'
rights movement was in the 1970's. And
most importantly, the movement is con-
tinuing to grow, and the momentum is
clearly with us, to carry into the new
year and look forward to even greater
victories.
AND SO, with this brief report of how
a~ r we have come and how much has been
accomplished, I would like to wish you
all, on behalf of our staff and Trus-
tees, a very happy Festive Season and a
healthy and prosperous 1985. Your sup-
port makes our life-saving work possi-
ble, and without your kind support we
could not continue.
PZease know at this holiday season that
your contributions have made a tremen-
dous difference, and that millions will
Live to celebrate, because of your
generosity. This is the true spirit of
brotherhood and Love, and WE AT ASH
SALUTE YOU!
a
SMOKING AND HEALTH REVIEW
2013 H STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON, DC 20006
ACTION ON SMOKING AND HEALTH, a national nonprofit
tax-exempt organization concerned with the problems of
smoking and the rights of nonsmokers, is entirely supported
by tax-deductible contributions. Regular contributors
receive the ASH Smoking and Health Review. Printed portions
of the Review may be reprinted with credit to ASH.
A COMPARISON?: In India some 2,000
peop e die suddenly from inhaling toxic
fumes which escape accidentally, and it
is front-page news for many days, a U.S.
plant closes down, and the company faces
bankruptcy. Yet, when a study at the
EPA indicates that in the U.S. each and
every year more than twice that number
may die a slow and terribly painful
death from lung cancer caused by in-
haling other people's tobacco smoke, the
story isn't even mentioned in most pa-
pers, many people never hear of it,
tobacco companies keep raking in money,
and smokers continue deliberately to
subject nonsmokers to the toxic fumes.
Why then does the tobacco industry lead
such a charmed and protected life, when
it kills more than all of these put
together; when it causes the most dan-
gerous, but also the most easily con-
trolled, form of air pollution affecting
virtually all of us indoors; and yet has
also managed to escape any legal lia-
bility for all of the death and disa-
bility it regularly causes?
BUT WE'RE WINNING: But there is no
onger any question about the light at
the end of the tunnel; a tunnel's end we
will surely reach within the lifetime of
many of us. As THE NEW YORK TIMES re-
cently noted: the percentage of adult
smokers has dropped from 37% in 1980 to
29% in 1983; the percentage of high
school smokers has dropped from 29% in
1977 to 21% in 1983; and last year there
was a full 7% decline in per-capita
consumption of cigarettes by Americans.
These percentages are very large con-
sidering the difficulty of changing
behavior, and each represents the sav-
ings of hundreds of thousands of lives
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Washington, D.C.
Permit No. 43850
6733
MRS. WILLIAM MEBANE
36 HAJJJNFIELJRJ
SHORT HILLS, NJ 07078
fv L
r
I
