European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 12, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday july 12, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 3 passive smoking Issue fuels debate studies disagree on lung cancer link Washington a two new studies reach opposite conclusions on whether other people s cigarette smoke can damage the health of non smokers and this probably will touch off a dispute Akin to the Early debate Over smoking and health. A British study bund that the risk of harm from smoke in the air is at most quite Small if it exists at  the work appeared just As one Independent Ameri can researcher concluded that passive smoking could be killing 31,000 Ameri cans a year and possibly 46,000. The British study by a team led by p. N. Lee of the Institute for cancer re search said it is hard to determine whether tobacco smoke causes lung can cer among non smokers. Valid statistical studies Are difficult to make it said be cause relatively few non smokers get lung cancer. In Sharp disagreement was the re search by retired Dupont research executive Judson Wells who Analysed eight existing studies calculated the relative risk faced by non smokers compared that risk to death rates from various Dis eases suffered by non smokers and concluded that up to 46,000 deaths a year arc caused by other people s cigarette smoke. He said if deaths from heart Dis eases suffered by men Are disregarded the total would be 31,000. Karen Monaco of the american lung association said the clash recalled the Early Days of arguments about the effects of Active smoking in the 1960s. This is going to be fun she said. The British researchers whose Indus try financed work appears in the july Issue of the British journal of cancer screened 12,000 Hospital patients for smoking related diseases. Among other things they tried to find if the incidence of lung cancer differed Between non smoking spouses of smokers and non smoking spouses of non smokers. Of 792 lung cancer patients answering questionnaire Only 44 had never smoked an example cited by the authors of the difficulty of obtaining an adequate Sample  the Small number Means that though our findings Are consistent with passive smoking having no effect on lung cancer risk at All they do not exclude the possibility of a Small increase in  As for other disorders our Analyse showed no significant effect of passive smoking on lifelong non smokers As re Gards risk of chronic bronchitis is humic blood restriction heart disease or stroke the British said. The marked increases in risk note Din some studies arc More Likely to be a result of Bias in the study design than of a True effect of passive smoking they said. Some of those other studies were used by Wells a chemist who has worked two Days a week As a Volunteer for the Ameri can lung association. Lung cancer accounted for Only 1.800 of the 46,000 deaths that Wells decided were caused by passive smoke. The author of a previous controversial estimate of lung cancer deaths from Pas Sive smoking physicist James Mcpace of the environmental Protection Agency said Wells work was As sound As it can be made Given the present data. I be not found any reason to disagree with  but Scott slap assistant to the presi Dent of the tobacco Institute which lob Bies in Congress for the Industry said Wells work is nothing More than cock Tail Napkin  the most telling fact is that the american lung association has not endorsed these figures Stapf said. I there was anything to them they would be Rushing to Wells  Monaco said the association was very supportive of Wells but it had not endorsed his work. Thai s not to say it won t happen she said but association physicians feel it s just not yet fair to give that kind of an estimate without More evidence. Wells himself stressed that his figures arc preliminary and subject to wide uncertainty. If people arc looking at this As a proven number that is not the Case he said. Asked about the opposite conclusions of the two studies Bio statistician John Bailar. Who has been a consultant for a National research Council committee studying passive smoking said. My feeling is that the state of our knowledge would not allow for very precise Esti  Bailar after hearing descriptions of both Wells and the British work said Wells had certainly used the Good stud ies in the Field but i could have a lot of trouble with the Way he s combining sep Arate  As for the British work it is a Small number of cases and there could be Al kinds of biases in who goes to what hos  Down to Earth discussion a photo French astronaut Jean Loup Chretien left meet with three of his soviet counterparts at Moscow s Star City during French president Francois Mitter Rand s official visit to the Kremlin. The cosmonauts Are Alexel Leonov holding jacket who was the Firstman to walk in space Vladimir Dzhans Berkov Cap Tain of Chretien s 1982 Mission and Valentina the Ryshkova the first woman in space. Crew blamed in ah-64 crash Ozark Ala. A an army report found that Crew error and use of unqualified crewmen were to blame in the first crash of the army s new ah-64 Apache attack helicopter a newspaper reported thursday. The $8.8 million helicopter was destroyed when it crashed near Ozark on feb. 20. The two civilian Crew men suffered fractures and cuts. Army investigators nearly 2-Inch-thick report on the Accident was obtained by the Dothan Eagle through the Freedom of information act which pub Lish Edthe findings in thursday s editions. The report said the crash was a direct result of Crew error and occurred when an untrained flight me chanic inadvertently engaged the engine chop circuitry which caused both engines to reduce to Idle rpm. Altitude was insufficient to allow time for a  the chop switch is used for rapid twin engine Power reduction in the event of a Tail Rotor failure according to the report which also cited activation of the switch As the Roost Likely cause of the aircraft s Power loss. The report said the Pilot was nol qualified to per form duties As a maintenance test Pilot and the flight Mechanic also was not authorized nor qualified to perform the duties of flight  the crash occurred As the crewmen were flying Back to Hanchey army heliport in Southeast Alabama. Minnesota Law curbing smoke draws Praise Minneapolis a minnes9tans have had the Legal right to breathe smoke free indoor air for 11years, and an architect of the Tough anti smoking Law said thursday it has worked incredibly  people often come up to me and say it s the great est thing that government has Ever done for me said state rep. Phyllis Kahn who has never smoked. She said the 1975 Minnesota clean indoor act be came a Model for Laws passed by other states and re Mains As Strong As any in the country. It allows smoking Only in designated sections of restaurants stores schools buses offices and other pub Lic areas and work places. The Only exceptions arc bars serving meals to fewer than so people which can Des Ignate the entire premises a smoking area and Facto Ries and warehouses which Are regulated by the department of labor and Industry. It was smoke filled committee rooms that got the anti smoking push started in Minnesota. Former stale sen. De Brandt found it hard to breathe during meet Ings while he was in the legislature from 1969 to 1971. I tried desperately to find a place where i d be free from it but it did t work Brandt said in a 1980 interview. So he and a Small group of fellow non smok ers formed the association for non smokers rights which was instrumental in pushing for passage of the Law. I think it s just been working incredibly Well. All the complaints that people have Are sort of swept away when you go to another state that does t have a Law said Kahn 49. Her comments came with the release of two new studies one conducted in Britain  in the United states that reached opposite conclusions on whether other people s cigarette smoke can damage the health of non smokers. Kahn said the Minnesota Law was aided by simple regulations and Lack of Strong enforcement which Al Lowed smokers to become accustomed to it. Non smokers got gradually More assertive so we never had any kind of a backlash Kahn said. Many legislators told me in later years that they were amazed at How Well it s worked that they were wrong for having voted against it she said. In fact lawmakers have decided to make regulations for the Capitol building in St. Paul even stronger than the state Law. Leaders of the House banned smoking in All committee rooms in january 1985, and Senate Lead ers followed suit a year later