Re: Humans Raise Risk of Europe Heatwaves:

[farbersa <farbersa@optonline.net>]

Hi Don:



Regarding your scepticism about my remark quoted in your post below, I  

have no doubt you were aware that there was substantial anti-smoking  

knowlege when you wrote your 8th grade paper in 1961. However, before you  

argue too strongly that my comment about physicians and other scientists  

continuing to claim smoking was safe long after much scientific  

information to the contrary was known, you should read the following  

excerpt from the source url cited below and the excerpt from the following  

report.



======================

"Tobacco and Health"

Expert Witness Report Filed on behalf of Plaintiffs in:



"The United States of America, Plaintiff, v. Philip Morris, Inc., et al.,  

Defendants," Civil Action No. 99-CV-02496 (GK) (Federal case)*



By

Robert N. Proctor



http://www.psljournal.com/archives/papers/tobacco.cfm



"It would be wrong to imagine, though, that knowledge of these hazards  

quickly became common knowledge. Few people read the technical medical  

literature, and even when people did read or hear about "the cancer  

scare," they also heard--repeatedly and from various sources--that smoking  

was safe. Cigarettes were widely advertised on billboards and in magazines  

and newspapers, and increasingly in movie theaters, on radio, and on  

television. Popular sports figures, movie stars, and other high-profile  

personalities appeared in thousands of cheery tobacco ads with never a  

mention of a hazard. Ronald Reagan and Joe Dimaggio advertised cigarettes  

in the 1940s, as did Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in the 1950s. Perry Como,  

Jimmy Stewart, Frank Sinatra, and football and golf greats Frank Gifford  

and Arnold Palmer all appeared in tobacco ads--along with many other  

popular athletes, singers, media personalities. Popular pro-smoking books  

reported the testimony of physicians that tobacco was safe or that the  

hazards had been exaggerated.[26] Millions of Americans were led to  

believe that cigarettes were satisfying, sexy, and safe.



Part of this sense of safety came from the fact that the tobacco industry  

spent a lot of time and money to establish the image that smoking was  

safe. Doctors were used to advertise cigarettes, and smoking brand x, y,  

or z was said to help "soothe the throat" or "aid digestion" or "keep you  

alert," etc. These early "white-coat" advertisements claimed many health  

virtues for cigarettes: Belairs let you "breathe easy" (1960); Camels  

"never get on your nerves" (1934) and don't "get your wind" (1935); Kools  

were "soothing to your throat" (1937); L&M Filters were "just what the  

doctor ordered" (1953); Old Gold you smoked "for a treat, instead of a  

treatment"; Larks had filters packed with "the basic material science uses  

to purify air"; women were told to "reach for a Lucky instead of a  

sweet"--and so forth. Philip Morris cigarettes were supposed to provide  

"pleasure without penalties" (1941) and to take "the fear out of smoking"  

(1953); Camels were good for a supposed "T-Zone--Throat and Taste." [27]"



References cited in above excerpt:



[26] Many examples of American physicians taking such a stand are reported  

in Lloyd Mallan, It Is Safe to Smoke (New York: Hawthorn, 1966). Mallan  

also records Senator Bass's response, after hearing conflicting testimony  

in Senate Commerce Committee hearings of March 1965: "What impresses me,  

then--and the conclusion that I reach as a layman--is that there seems to  

be still a great deal of doubt as to the cause of cancer" (p. 140).



[27] A B&W document listing 186 different health slogans used in cigarette  

ads can be found in "A Review of Health References in Cigarette  

Advertising, 1927-1964," Bates #696000889.

=========



As an aside, for those who are unfamiliar with some lesser known aspects  

of the Nazi regime, it did not just have a vigorous anti-smoking campaign  

which you mentioned [using extreme anti-Semitic advertising, blaming Jews  

for pushing cigarettes on the Germans by the way!], but the Nazis had a  

very active public health campaign to educate the German people about the  

hazards of elevated radon and asbestos exposure to workers and members of  

the public. For reference see: The Nazi War Against Cancer by Proctor:



http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0691070512/002-3527910-4356004?v=glance



Stewart Farber



=============

On Thu, 02 Dec 2004 19:57:43 -0500, <dckosloff@firstenergycorp.com> wrote:



> I really hate to disagree with Stewart Farber.  However, this is an  

> absurd

> statement that cannot be supported:   "I have no

> doubt that the tobacco industry back in the late 1950s to early 1960s

> [before the Surgeon General issued his first detailed report in 1964 [?]

> about the hazards of cigaretee smoking], could have gotten 17,000

> physicians and "scientists" to sign a petition that cigarette smoking had

> no adverse effects on health if it had bothered to try."

>

> In 1961, when I was in the 8th grade I gave a report on smoking to all  

> the

> 7th and 8th graders in my school.  There was no doubt at that time that

> there was a strong relationship between cigarete smoking and poor health.

> I had no difficulty gathering substantial anti-smoking information at the

> time.  That is hardly surprising since tobacco use had been known to be  

> bad

> for health for decades..... 

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