sample="rhetorical" bates="1003044469" isource="ti" decade="1960" class="ue" date="19620307" FOR: THE TOBACCO INSTITUTE, INC. FROM: Hill and Knowlton, Inc., 150 East 42nd St., New York 17, N.Y., (Oxford 7-5600) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (MARCH 7, 1962) George Allen Comments on British Smoking Report (Note to editors: The Tobacco Institute, Inc., has been asked to comment on a report from England by the Royal College of Physicians. If you plan to use a story on this report, the following comment from George V. Allen, president of the Institute, will be relevant.) George V. Allen, president of The Tobacco Institute, Inc., in Washington today issued the following comment on a report from England's Royal College of Physicians, which discussed smoking and health: "This report from England is admittedly a review of old data without any new research findings. I question whether the report will have any bearing on the situation in the United States, since the same data have been under study here for a long time. "I am informed that the British report contains a number of contradictions and inconsistencies. For example, the authors say that tobacco is something that 'most smokers enjoy without injury to health' . "And yet they suggest a general campaign to discourage everyone from smoking. This is like prohibiting a particular food for everyone because a few people are allergic to it. "The authors also ignore a large amount of important research into many other factors that are being studied. These include viruses, environment, diet previous illnesses, and the basic difference between individuals, whether they are smokers or not. "Such contradictions are found elsewhere in the report. "The United States has been making much progress in improving the health of our people. This is reflected in our increasing longevity and declining death rates for most of the diseases discussed in the English report. As research continues, I am sure that we shall find more and better ways to deal with our health problems. In this search I am proud that the tobacco industry supports continued independent research, aimed at getting the full facts about cancer and other diseases. This will be done in the laboratories and not by pronouncements by me or anyone else." - xxx -