Tobacco Documents Online

2 3 CITY OF BOSTON DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HOSPITALS 818 HARRISON AVENUE BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02118 October 4, 1971 Senator Earle Clements Tobacco Institute, Inc. 1776 K Street N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006 Dear Senator Clements, .1 ..._.~ ..~,., CONfIBEW~~ I wish to express to you my gratitude for your hospitality on my recent visit to the Tobacco Institute. More than that, however, I wish to ex- press my appreciation for your interest in our work and for sharing your thoughts and your ideas on the current needs in tobacco research. I be- lieve that through comnunication such as this, and by working closely together with your people, we can develop a meaningful program here at Harvard to help in a significant way to solve the tobacco problem. You commented that you thought our goals might be a little too extensive. I think we can put together a comprehensive program that can really bring a new, major contribution to tobacco research. We believe that a new look is needed in the tobacco question, and we would not undertake this inless we thought our endeavor will be a highly successful and meaningful contri- bution. For reasons I poorly appreciate, tobacco research has had more "emotion" and less "'science" than it should, and predorrinantly in an ant~- tobacco tone. We would like to change this. By this, I do not mean that we will be trying to prove cigarettes are "good" or that they are "bad," but rather to look at the question objectively. If we find tobacco is truly harmfuT, as so many have implied, then our goal will be to find a way to make it less harmful rather than to condemn it, as so many have done before us. At this point, I would have to say that the question is so muddled with moralizing emotionalism that no one knows the truth. 11II1ftSoT O orDENT~. BACC® LITIGATI OIy TIMN 0112370 T11232z I1D-83 LONG ISLAND COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES MATTAPAN CHRONIC DISEAS€ HOSPITAL ' CHRONIC DIS€AS€'HOSPITAL S13 HARRISOH AVENUE . 249 RIVER STREET BOSTON HARSOR, MASSACHUSETTS 02169 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02118 MATTAPAH, MASSACHUSETTS 02126

I -2- ,-- I have been workin closel with Gil H~bner to develo 9 Y p a program`or~---- you. We have some ideas here, which we are currently organizing in a finite direction. It is my hope that you people will give me the oppor- tunity to meet with those in the tobacco industry who can give us guid- ance in developing such a program. We very much want to hear the ideas and thoughts of the tobacco industry, and to assess, as accurately as possible, the resources available for our mutual needs and the way that we can best work together with the industry. From our standpoint, we feel no urgency in this matter. Tobacco research is new to us. I would rather take the time to meet and understand the needs of the tobacco industry and to plan a successful program than to, rush into something that will not give us both the goals we desire. We have in mind a five-to-seven year program, with three separate phases of research, ending in an epidemiologic re-evaluation on a controlled popula- tion. We are probably one of the few places that can put together such a comprehensive program, extending and applying laboratory investigation to a large population of people. I will be happy to present a detailed plan to you sometime within the next two months, after I have met with more of the tobacco industry. Again,.my appreciation for your hospitality and especially for what I felt was your sincere interest. GLH/ah With my respect, ~ ~. ~-~~.,..... Gary L. Huber, M.D. Chief, Division of Respiratory Diseases Harvard Medical Unit :r_ F CONFLDENTIAL: NIINNESOTA TOBACCO LITIGATION TIMN 0112371 T112323 I P