Science

Science

One of the first things persons should recognize when discussing the science behind tobacco and secondhand smoke is that the tobacco industry has a documented history of organized deceit and misdirection. On January 4th in 1954, a dozen of the largest tobacco producers bought a full page spread in 448 of the country’s largest newspapers, reacting to the growing epidemiological evidence against tobacco. A Frank Statement to Cigarette Smokers announced the creation of the Tobacco Institute Research Committee (TIRC) “pledging aid and assistance to the research effort into all phases of tobacco use and health.” Newsflash! It was a lie.

Historians have cited the "Frank Statement" as the beginning of the largest campaign of deliberate distortion, distraction, and deception the world has ever known. In 1955, 57% of Americans smoked. Health research around the globe was quickly condemning tobacco as deadly. The 1951 British Doctors Study directly linked morbidity with smoking. Cancer rates were beginning to spike and autopsies of Korean War dead were finding unexpected biomarkers for cardiovascular disease among young American soldiers. The industry responded with ad campaigns claiming “Just what the doctor ordered.” The TIRC became the American Tobacco Institute and perpetuated an organized effort to discredit research and provide shill science reacting to every discovered link between tobacco and disease.

Confronting the smoke free air movement, the tobacco industry early on began covert funding of smoker’s rights groups. Literally creating hospitality associations opposing clean indoor air, the tobacco cartel made claims of business privilege and bogus economic hardship. Exposed as a front for big tobacco, and not a research facility, a New York State Court revoked the American Tobacco Institute’s tax exempt status in 1998.

We know, as well, that this was not the last of the tobacco cartel's sophisticated public relations efforts to discredit legitimate peer reviewed research. Even today, multi-national news networks allow pundits on the tobacco industry's payroll to mouth accusations of junk science. Industry front groups lobby policy makers under the guise of independence.

Advocates are invited to seriously evaluate all sources/funding of any claims about the safety and science behind tobacco. Regrettably, and almost unbelievably, there will be those who do not think the Surgeon General or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to be legitimate arbiters of questions involving the public health. Make sure these individuals clarify their position on the tooth fairy, too.

TFMC is honored with UAMS Emeritus Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Dr. K. H. Ginzel's, permission to post his 2005 SHS fact sheet. Dr. Ginzel's perspective involves over 50 years as a scientist, physician, and advocate for the public health. Please see the facts about SHS.

Please use these links to broaden your knowledge base and make up your own mind.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

United States Surgeon General

World Health Organization

The Cigarette Papers