sample="rhetorical" bates="500033745" isource="rjr" decade="1970" class="ui" date="19790700 " Tobacco Industry Research on Smoking and Health For the past two decades, hundreds of scientists have conducted thousands of research projects and written millions of words in dedicated exploration of the question about smoking and health. Result: There are still eminent scientists who question whether any causal relationship has been proved between cigarette smoking and human disease -- including lung cancer, coronary heart disease or emphysema. They believe that much more exhaustive investigation will be required to clear up what the American Medical Association has called "at best a muddied picture". What has been learned is this: Establishing cause-and-effect relationships, which have been claimed to exist by government agencies and other groups, is much more complex than originally thought. No ingredient, as found in cigarette smoke, has been demonstrated as the cause of any human disease. Who sponsored the research There are those who believe that voluntary health associations have provided the money for most of this research. Others think it was strictly a project of the various U.S. government departments. It is true that both have been active to varying extents in this field. But, a major portion of this scientific inquiry has been financed by the people who know the most about cigarettes and have a great desire to learn the truth -- the tobacco industry. The industry has committed itself to this task in the most objective and scientific way possible. A $82 million program In the interest of strict objectivity, the tobacco industry has supported independent research efforts with completely nonrestrictive funding. It established, in 1954, what is known as CTR, the Council for Tobacco Research-USA, Inc., to provide financial support for research by independent scientists into all phases of tobacco use and health. Although funded by the tobacco manufacturers, CTR remains completely autonomous in its programs of grants-in-aid and contracts for research with institutions and laboratories. It operates no research facility but works with the guidance of nine independent scientists and physicians in selecting the research projects it funds. As scientific advisory board members, these scientists retain their affiliations with their respective universities and institutions. Each researcher and institution funded by CTR has complete freedom to publish results, whatever they may be. Total CTR research commitment to date: more than $55 million. In 1964, the tobacco industry made a commitment for additional independent research that amounted, during a 10-year program, to 15 million dollars. This commitment was made to AMA-ERF, the Education and Research Foundation, an arm of the American Medical Association. Under this program the ERF, like the CTR, made grants for scientific research with complete freedom and autonomy. What they did As of June 1979, the Council for Tobacco Research had awarded grants to 387 scientists in 250 medical schools, hospitals, and institutions in this country and 10 foreign countries. During the 10 years of the Education and Research Foundation program 222 grants were awarded to scientists in 87 medical and research institutions. While the projects of these researchers may be considered relatively narrow in individual scope, the industry has not overlooked its research responsibilities in broader areas. In 1971, Washington University in St. Louis announced a tobacco industry grant of $2 million to study possibly immunologic factors in cancer. The grant has since been increased to $4.4 million. In 1972, Harvard Medical School announced a $2.8 million tobacco industry commitment for a five-year study of pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases. The program was extended in March 1977, for a total of $4.8 million. In 1974, the UCLA School of Medicine announced a $1.7 million industry financed research program on lung defense mechanisms. The study also includes early detection and treatment of cancer. An additional $1.05 million renewal grant was announced in June 1979. The total commitment to date is, then, $2.75 million. These projects total $82 million. In many years the tobacco industry's smoking-health research spending has exceeded those of any government department. They surpass the combined tobacco-related grants of major voluntary health organizations. What they found The findings of research studies funded in whole of in part by the industry have resulted in publication of more that 2,000 scientific papers in the professional literature. Through this work much valuable data have been produced about the nature of lung cancer, heart disease, chronic respiratory ailments and other diseases. However, there's still a lot more to be learned. The findings are not secret All of the more than 2,000 papers have been published in medical and scientific journals in the United States and other parts of the world. These doctors interested in the smoking and health issue. The work should go forward There are eminent scientists who believe that the question of smoking and health is an open one and that research in this area must go forward. From the beginning, the tobacco industry has believed that the American people deserve objective, scientific answers. With the credo in mind, the tobacco industry stands ready today to make new commitments for additional valid scientific research that may shed light on the question of smoking and health.