Tobacco Documents Online

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. JOURNAL 0. 71 ,700 - S. 94,600 GIElNSa0t~W1`I1~M~ A~REAIGM IOINT spY 29 1964 _ , : Carter Center=. ; Scientists Recommend A/ays • To Hasten Demise of Smoking ~Py Floyd Rogers • I . sW e..ww ATLANTA. (3e. - In the first move of what is. 'expected to be 4 major national campaign against cigarettes, a gr up of emineat scientists told !or- mer President 4immy Carter here yesterday that ,', his Carter Cent r at Emory University should do iI everything in i power to make smoking socially i' unatceptable. ; ~• ; The group's qecommendations came at the end - ,of a three-day ' ference aimed at reducing uo-! 'necessary deatt~disease and associated medicalt costs. Aftcr mont4s of research, participating sci-~ entisu estimated that haJf of all deaths and disease In this country could be prevented if people took' 'propsr care of their bedi aod if current medical and technical knowledge~vere applied. ' ~ By far, the leading cause of death, they said, is cigarette smoking. ~ President Carter told reporters after the cunfer-~ ~ ence that the CarteT Center, which he founded here,~ ; will pursue every reasonable means to help reduce the death and disease caused by smoking. • Previous estimates by the U.S: surgeon generali •were that about 350,000 Americans die each year, from smoking cigarettes. S. Carter said yesterday, however, that the prob-: lem is much more serious than previously thought. "The threat of smoking has been grossly underesti- mated in the past:"he said at a press conference.. He was referring to a brief report by Dr. William H. Foege, an assistant U.S: surgeon general and director of the conference here, who said that a study to be published next mooth indicates that• about 475,000 Ameri.esns die annually because of cigarette smoking. , I - Carter said that the cigarette industry "is head-t ed inevitably tor a major reduction in the sale of:r ctgarettes.'° He added that he hopes recommenda-:. tions from the confereqce "might hasten the de- mise mise of cigarettes." Dr. Jesse L Steinleld, a former surgeon general who headed the subgroup that developed the tobac- cu• recomtnendatjonst noted that a federal court in ' New Jersey recently ruled that cancer victims and. 'others hurt by smoking may sue tobacco compa, nies despite the companies' contention that pack- age labeling is sutficiuai•warning tu relieve them of liability. ; With that in mina: the conference participants'. urged the Carter Center to "develop a repository of 're3ource material and legal data for use in litiga-' tion by victims of tobacco-related disease and death," - Carter said in a;} jfitesview earlier that he thinks • such lawsuitj• elm have a significant etfect on smoking an on tobacco companies' eagerness to continue business as usual. ~ He declined to say during the press conference, however, wbetherthe Carter Center will develop a litigation repository as recommended. Carter said that he and other officials of the center have not had time to fully evaluate all of the recummrnda- He added, though. that he found• none of the-• •recommendations uoacceptable: The other major. recommendntions of the confe•ence, with regard I to tobacco. wqre that President Carter and the. Carter Center work,wtth other national leaders in' business, government, law, education, science and . the media to pursue these goals: - Restricting the promotion of tobacco prod-" ucts, either througha ban on advertising and relat-i ed measures or by restricting the kind of advertis ; Scientists Discuss ' Smoking's Hazards Continued From Page 1 ing that could' be done and requiring compensatory ads spelling out why people should not smoke. - Supporting "efforts to maintain or increase the tederale excise tax on c'J,gasacree and to eliminate the price • support and allotment programs for . tobacco." - Restricting the sale of ciga- rettes to only licensed outlets and, prohibiting sales from vending ma- chines in hospitals and other health- care institutions. - Supporting efforts to promote .tbe rights of non-smokers. - Prohibiting 'tobacco use in schools and restricting smoking to designated areas in the workplace. - Improving communication among health professionals, the me- dia and the public to increase peo- ple's undetstanding of the hazards of smoking. The conference participants also:: recommended measures to reduce disease and' deaths from, alcohol abuse, unintended pregnancy, inlu- ries, mental illhess and inadequate prevention services. ^ - r..J~ ~'[7r••V