European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 15, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Second hand lung cancer tobacco Industry  Paul Raeburn associated press when the environmental Protection Agency convened a panel of scientific experts to Rule on whether second hand cigarette smoke causes lung cancer in non smokers both. Sides arrived fully armed. A most of the megaton age belonged to the tobacco Industry which employed an army of Public relations people brandishing bulging reports rebutting even thing Ever said about the dangers of passive smoking. Anti smoking scientists and activists unable to match the Industry a firepower relied on carefully timed press releases and other surgical  the gathering last month in Arlington va., was just a the latest most visible Battle in a War that had gone on quietly in Epa offices and lawyers conference rooms for three years. . Correspondence and memorandums obtained by the associated  the Freedom of information act reveal strenuous efforts by the tobacco Industry to influence the Epa deliberations on second hand smoke. The stakes were obvious a and  if second hand smoke is officially listed As a class a Carcinogen Quot a a known cause of human cancer a Quot it is the end of smoking in any Public place Quot said Julia Carol of americans for nonsmokers rights in Berkeley Calif. Quot certainly this was an important Issue to us,�?T.�?T said Brennan Dawson of the tobacco Institute the Industry a Trade group in Washington . Quot what wet ave tried to do is stay in the  the Industry has proven adept at that. It has not Only been with the process but ahead of it. A. In october 1987, Industry lawyers met with Robert Axelrad director of the Epars indoor air division before the. Epars study of passive smoke and cancer had even begun. Quot they were correctly guessing we might get into tobacco smoke Quot said Axelrad. Quot it was a a get acquainted a Quot in a March 18 a 1988, letter to the Epa Samuel Chilcote president of the tobacco Institute Laid out the Industry s position the evidence does t show tobacco smoke. Causes lung cancer in non smokers. Two years earlier both the  surgeon general and the National research Council had concluded that passive v smoking does cause lung cancer. The tobacco Industry  the conclusions of either report. Chilcote went so far As to suggest the phrasing the Epa ought to use. He warned against the terms Quot passive smoking Quot and Quot involuntary smoking Quot. The Industry also argued that ventilation a not restriction of smoking is the Best Way to Clear the air. A _ the Epars position is that All indoor air pollutants a. Including cigarette smoke Are Best removed by elimination of the source not by ventilation. The Epa said so in letters to the tobacco Institute and its lawyers. The Industry repeated its assertions again and again for two years. A. By june 1989, William Rosenberg the Epa s assistant administrator for air and radiation had had enough. In a letter to a tobacco Industry lawyer he criticized the Industry s insistence that the evidence linking passive smoking to cancer is Quot controversial Quot a a a the fact of the matter is we find the surgeon. General and the National research Council reports to to. Highly credible a Rosenberg wrote. A a a a Quot frankly the tobacco Industry s argument. -. Would be More credible if it were not so similar to the tobacco Industry a position  smoking despite the. Estimated 50,000 studies linking stoking with Dis ease in  a. The Tempo of the Exchange Between the Epa and the Industry picked up last june. A draft copy of the Epa. Report was leaked and then officially released to the. Press unflinchingly it concluded that second Han smoke is a known cause of lung cancer. The Industry stepped up its lobbying. When the Epa a appointed the panel of scientific experts that would meet in Arlington the Industry worked hard for the dismissal of or David Burns the senior editor of the surgeon general s. Report on passive  Effort succeeded but not for Long when word of his dismissal got out Burns was reappointed. ,. U s rep Thomas Bliley of Richmond a a wite in Philip Morns is the largest private employer took up the. Industry cause. A a a he wrote to the Epa to say that the reappointment of Burns raises Quot serious questions about the Overall integrity of the selection process Quot a a the charge was that Burns was an activist and therefore could no to be  denied the charge a and Many other scientists said he was one of the nation s leading authorities on the sub act of passive smoking subsequent reports revealed that six of the 16 scientists on the panel had ties to a tobacco Industry research organization. One of the six was also negotiating for a $1.2 million research Grant from Philip Morns while serving on the Epa panel a seventh was recommended by the tobacco Industry. A a a. The loudest outcry Over those revelations did no to come. From anti smoking activists. It came from Bliley the Industry ally. The selection process has become so deeply a enmeshed in political and Media controversy that a objective review by the present panel is no  Quot he wrote on nov. 23, he urged the Epa to select  expert  a move that would have. Delayed completion of the final Epa report. The entire process has drawn criticism from All sides. Quot it s not the first time the Industry has tried to influence science Quot said or. Alan Blum the founder of doctors ought to care an anti smoking group. Dawson complained that the Epa did no to appoint six scientists the tobacco Institute had proposed for the. Expert panel. Quot i think a Strong argument can to made that the deck is stacked against us Quot she said a a. But Richard Daynard an attorney and chairman of the tobacco products liability project in Boston said he did no to understand Why the tobacco Industry had been made a party to the  a a Quot nobody s talking in these proceedings about regulating the tobacco Industry Quot he said. Quot they re talking about regulating individual behaviour. They basically have no business being in there at All and instead they be Boon Given a preferential window into the private deliberations of the Epa Quot Epa officials denied the Industry was Given . Access. And they gamely proceeded with the meeting of the expert panel in  result was a stronger affirmation of the Epa a conclusions than the Agency s staff expected. Quot of x x t save 10% with our top 10 paperbacks for january pretty women is one of ten popular paperback titles we be discounted 10% from cover Price for the month of january. 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