Tobacco Institute
A National Dilemma: Cigarette Smoking or the Health of Americans
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- National Commission on Smoking & Publi
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A NATIONAL DILEMMA:
CIGARETTE SMOKING
OR
THE HEALTH OF AMERICANS
Report of the National Commission
on Smoking and Public Policy
to the
Board of Directors
American Cancer Society, Inc.
January 31,1978
TIMN 431947

NATIONAL COMMISSION ON SMOKING AND PUBLIC POLICY
n
David Baltimore. Ph.D.
Bentamm F Byrd. Jr.. M.D.
Merlin K. DuVal, M.D
Charles 8 Et+ersol
Marshall Evans
Robert W. Holley, Ph.D.
Alice S. Huang, Ph.D.
Mrs. Robert W. Huff
Allan K. Jonas
George Kneeland
Philip Lee. M.D.
ChartesA. LeMaistre, M.D.
Salvador E. Luria. M.D.
Baldwin Maull
J. Quigg Newton
Comelius W. Owens
Mrs. Martin Perkins
H. Marvin Pollard. M.D.
Robert E. Shank. M.D.
Scott K. Simonds. Dr.PH.
William H. Wendel
Kerr White. M.D.
VICTOR WEINGARTEN
Executive Director
Eileen Lanman
Staff Associate
Please Reply To:
801 SECOND AVENUE
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10017
212/8971811
January 31, 1978
The Honorable Joseph H. Young
Chairman
American Cancer Society
777 Third Avenue
New York, New York 10017
Dear Judge Young:
The National Commission on Smoking and Public Policy was-
created in October 1976 by the American Cancer Society to take
testimony from knowledgeable persons regarding the problems
caused by cigarette smoking, to assess the effectiveness of
current anti-smoking activities, and, on the basis of its
findings, to recommend possible new approaches to this majbr
public health problem. The Commission's focus has been on
public policy, particularly the role of the Federal government,
state and local governments, and national voluntary health
agencies.
To perform its task, the Commission appointed Regional
Planning Councils in eight parts of the country, and held
Public Forums from March through June 1977 in each of these
regions, at which time persons concerned with cigarette smoking
were invited to testify. The Commission also invited the
Tobacco Institute, the industry spokesman, to appear at any
or all of its last seven Public Forums, but the invitation
was declined.
Ultimately, the Commission took testimony from 300
individuals from all fifty states. In addition, it examined
data - both published and unpublished - from a variety of
Federal and state agencies, the Library of Congress, and the
10-K reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
by the six major tobacco producing companies. It was also
given access to a substantial amount of cigarette-related data
from industry sources.
TIMN 431948

The Honorable Joseph H. Young 2.
It also drew upon the proceedings of the Third World
Conference on Smoking and Health, and papers on various
aspects of the cigarette smoking problem from a variety
of scientific and medical journals.
The Commission's findings are based upon this total
input, and its recommendations are the result of its analysis
and interpretation of all information and data collected.
The Commission wishes to express its thanks and apprecia-
tion to all who have helped with its task - particularly the
58 Divisions of the American Cancer Society that assisted the
Regional Planning Councils, the witnesses who came to the
Public Forums at their own expense, and the Society's Board
of Directors for financing this activity and for giving the
Commission full and complete freedom to pursue whatever avenues
it wished.
The Commission believes that cigarette smoking is a clear
and present danger to all who smoke, and it hopes that the
American Cancer Society and all other responsible forces in
the Nation concerned with the well-being of its citizens will
help to implement the recommendations contained in this report,
which can help people, particularly youngsters, from starting
to smoke and assist those who now smoke to stop.
Sincerely,
Philip R. Lee, M.D.
Acting Chairman
TIMN 431949

NATIONAL COMMISSION ON SMOKING AND PUBLIC POLICY
David Baltimore, Ph.D.
Professor of Biology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Center for Cancer Research
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Benjamin F. Byrd, Jr., M.D.
Nashville, Tennessee
Merlin K. DuVal, M.D.
Vice President
University of Arizona Health Science
Center
Tucson, Arizona
Charles B. Ebersol
Torrington, Connecticut
Marshall Evans
Former Vice Chairman, Westinghouse
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Robert W. Holley, Ph.D.
Salk Institute
LaJolla, California
Alice S. Huang, Ph.D.
Harvard Medical School
Department of Microbiology
Mrs. Robert W. Huff
Chairman
Interagency Council on Smoking and Health
Rome, Georgia
Allan K. Jonas
Los Angeles, California
George Kneeland
St. Regis Paper Company
New York, New York
Philip R. Lee, M.D.
University of California
School of Medicine
San Francisco, California
Charles LeMaistre, M.D.
Chancellor
University of Texas System
Austin, Texas
Dr. Salvador E. Luria
Director, Center for Cancer Research
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Baldwin Maull
Former Chairman, Marine Midland Bank
New York, New York
J. Quigg Newton
The Commonwealth Fund
New York, New York
Cornelius W. Owens
Former Executive Vice President, AT&T
Atlanta, Georgia
Mrs. Marlin Perkins
St. Louis, Missouri
H. Marvin Pollard, M.D.
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Dr. Robert Shank
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, Missouri
Scott Simonds, Dr.P.H.
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
William H. Wendel
President
The Carborundum Company
Niagara Falls, New York
Kerr White, M.D.
United Hospital Fund of New York
New York, New York
Victor Weingarten
Executive Director
Eileen Lanman
Staff Associate
TIMN 431950

CONTENTS
page
Letter of Transmittal
National Commission on Smoking and Public Policy
INTRODUCTION
1
THE REPORT IN BRIEF ... 3
FINDINGS 3
The Health Hazards 3
The Economic and Social Costs 4
How Many Cigarettes? How Many Smokers? 6
The Government Has Determined That Smoking
Is Dangerous to Your Health, But ...
7
Cigarette Advertising Versus Health Education 9
How Many Smokers Have Quit? 10
Non-Smokers' Rights 10
Smoking and the Schools 11
Smoking and the Health Care Community 11
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 12
RECOMMENDATZONS 14
SMOKING AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: ISSUES AND ACTIONS 25
CONGRESS 25
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION AND WELFARE 34
Food and Drug Administration 40
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 46
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 51
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 54
SMOKING AND STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: ISSUES AND ACTIONS 55
SMOKING AND THE SCHOOLS: ISSUES AND ACTIONS 58
TIMN 431951

page
SMOKING AND THE HEALTH CARE COMMUNITY: ISSUES
AND ACTIONS 61
SMOKING AND THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY:
ISSUES AND ACTIONS 63
LEGISLATION 63
EDUCATION AND INFORMATION 67
SMOKING CESSATION 68
RESEARCH IN SMOKING 69
OTHER ACS INITIATIVES 70
SMOKING AND OTHER VOLUNTARY HEALTH AGENCIES:
ISSUES AND CTI NS 71
SUMMARY 73
APPENDIX 77
Names of Witnesses at Regional Public Forums 77
Who Smokes? 94
Cancer Epidemiology, A Summary of Current
Information on the 17 Most Common Malignancies
99
Morbidity and Mortality Statistics: National
Center for Health Statistics
108
Report of Advisory Committee on Intergovernmental
Relations: Cigarette Bootlegging - A State
AND Federal Responsibility (May 1977)
124
Federal Trade Commission Report of Tar and
Nicotine Content of the Smoke of 166
Varieties of Cigarettes (June 1977)
134
TIMN 431952

A NATTONAL DILEMMA: CIGARETTE SMOKING OR THE HEALTH OF AMERICANS
- Report of the National Commission on Smoking and Public Policy
rrIMN 431953

1.
INTRODUCTION
This Report addresses the issues and actions surrounding a single
problem -- cigarette smoking -- that represents the most unnecessary
and most preventable cause of illness, disability, and death in
America. Illness related to cigarette smoking accounts for nearly
10% of the Nation's total health expenditures. In November 1977,
Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare Joseph A. Califano, Jr.
estimated the current cost of cigarette-related illness to society
at a minimum of $18 million. This figure did not include any amounts
lost as a result of premature permanent disability or death due to
cigarette-related illness or any of the human and economic costs of
cigarette-related fires. The Secretary's arithmetic was incomplete
because the Federal government has never undertaken an analysis of
the real cost of cigarette smoking to society.
This Commission was created to take testimony from knowledgeable
persons regarding the problems caused by cigarette smoking, to
assess the effectiveness of current anti-smoking activities, and,
on the basis of its findings, to-recommend new approaches to this
major social problem. The Commission's focus has been on public
policy, particularly the role of the Federal government, state and
local governments, and national voluntary health agencies.
The Report is divided into two major sections. The first section
is a brief summary of the Commission's Findings, Goals and Objectives,
and Recommendations. The second section features a more comprehensive
TIMN 431954

2.
discussion of current issues and actions in the area of cigarette
smoking at the level of the Federal government, state and local
governments, schools, and voluntary health agencies. The Commission
has also included its recommendations for future action by these
governmental and private agencies.
The pursuit of health is both a public and a private enterprise.
Solutions to the many problems posed by cigarette smoking will require
action by individual Americans as well as a continuum of effort by
government, business and industry, the health care community, and
the major voluntary health organizations. However, the rights of
informed adults to smoke if they choose must be recognized. To suggest
otherwise would be to imply a prohibition that is neither enforceable
nor desirable in a democratic society.
TIMN 431955

THE REPORT IN BRIEF ...
FINDINGS
SMOKING -- THE HEALTii HAZARDS
The Commission reaffirms the 1975 finding of the U.S. Public
Health Service report, The Health Consequences of Smoking:
"Cigarette smoking remains the largest single unnecessary and
preventable cause of illness and early death."
1. Cigarette smoking was related in 1977 to:
# more than 320,000 deaths;
~ 145,894,000 days of excess bed disability (almost
three days more per-smoker than per non-smoker);
# 81,360,000 lost workdays.
2. Thirty deaths per hour -- one death every two minutes --
are attributable to cigarette smoking.
3. Cigarette smoking is estimated to be related to 20% of
all cancer deaths.
~
4. Cigarette smoking is estimated to-be related to:
# 80% of lung cancer;
~ 80% of emphysema;
~ 75% of chronic*bronchitis;
~ 30% of coronary heart disease.
5. Cigarette smoking is a major factor in most cases of
oral cancer and cancers of the larynx, pharynx, and
bladder.
6. Cigarette smoking among pregnant women is a major cause
TIMN 431956
