Remember tobacco? A product once "scientifically" proven to be harmless [View all]

[pnwmom]

Last edited Sun Mar 15, 2015, 04:32 PM - Edit history (3)

and even beneficial. According to tobacco marketers, that is.

As recently as 1953 Fairfax Cigarettes, for example, were marketed for the relief of respiratory symptoms.

And Trim Reducing Aid Cigarettes were marketed as a "safe" "non-habit forming" weight loss supplement in the 50's.

The first study that connected tobacco to lung cancer was done in Germany in 1930, but it wasn't till the 60's that the Surgeon General decided to require labeling. In the meantime, millions of people developed lung cancer and other tobacco related diseases. And even those who wanted to quit discovered that fighting nicotine addiction was an uphill battle.

So those of us who may seem overly skeptical when marketers push "science" may simply have longer memories than others.

http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/11/suppl_1/i110.full

Evidence now indicates that senior scientists and executives within the cigarette industry knew about the cancer risks of smoking as early as the 1940 and were aware that smoking could cause lung cancer by the mid 1950s. By 1961, cigarette companies had access to dozens of published scientific studies warning that cigarette smoking and chemical agents found in tobacco smoke might cause cancer. Despite growing knowledge of the serious health risks associated with cigarette smoking, cigarette companies continued to reassure smokers that their products were safe. In January 1954, Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds, Brown & Williamson, Lorillard, and American Tobacco jointly placed an advertisement entitled “A Frank Statement to Cigarette Smokers” which appeared in 448 newspapers in 258 cities, reaching an estimated 43 245 000 people.7, The “Frank Statement” advertisement questioned research findings implicating smoking as a cause of cancer, promised consumers that their cigarettes were safe, and pledged to support impartial research to investigate allegations that smoking was harmful to human health. This paper examines the extent to which cigarette companies fulfilled the promises made to consumers in the 1954 “Frank Statement” advertisement and the effect of these promises on consumer knowledge, beliefs, and smoking practices.


From the lawsuit that resulted when the government seized a shipment of Trim Cigarettes:

http://www.leagle.com/decision/19591025178FSupp847_1855.xml/UNITED%20STATES%20v.%20354%20BULK%20CARTONS,%20ETC.

The subject of these condemnation proceedings is a quantity of cigarettes intended to be smoked by human beings for the purpose of achieving and represented by claimant to be effective for a reduction in weight of the body of the users. These cigarettes are offered for sale in packages of twenty. The exterior of each package bears a legend that the contents are "trim reducing-aid cigarettes"; that the active ingredients of each of these cigarettes are "combustible tartaric acid, combined with tobacco and flavoring". Upon the back of each package are directions for the use of the contents, viz.: "Smoke one cigarette shortly before meals * * * and whenever you are tempted to reach for a late evening snack. Trim reducing-aid cigarettes contain a patented appetite satient that takes the edge off your appetite. Clinically tested . . . The notice further suggests that the user smoke three or four reducing aid cigarettes a day, that the article has been clinically tested, that satisfaction is guaranteed, and that the cigarettes consist of a scientific blend of finest quality tobacco. A window display streamer, to be employed for purposes of retail marketing of Trim cigarettes, which was also seized in this proceeding, is designed to attract the attention of a prospective purchaser by the following exhortative language. "Overweight? Lose weight without pills or diet. Smoke Trim reducing-aid cigarettes. Absolutely harmless. Five years of successful clinical tests. A full week's supply in one package. Smoke three a day. Patented by United States Government. Enjoy along with your favorite cigarettes—as advertised on T.V.!" Salesmen's catalogue sheet, also seized with the articles here proceeded against, addresses the retailer as follows: "Mr. Retailer out to get your share of a * * $500,000,000 market," and then presents, over the name Cornell Drug Corp., 5 Davis St., Cambridge, Mass., printed and graphically illustrated information that Trim reducing aid cigarettes are a scientifically proven reducing aid backed by a national advertising campaign with radio, T.V., magazine and newspaper saturation, point-of-sale merchandising, and window displays, and a statement that there is a full $6.66 per carton profit for the retailer. The same circular reiterates the admonition to users "Puff your pounds away, Smoke 3-4 a day," gives assurance that by so doing pills and drugs are eliminated, represents that the product has been clinically tested, and announces that one package contains a week's supply, that the product is patented by United States Government, is scientifically blended and is backed by five years of successful clinical tests. Following the further admonition "Watch your weight go up in smoke," the retailer is assured that the product sells everywhere, on drug counters, in tobacco departments and in cosmetic departments.
The claimant admits all of the foregoing representations, exhortations, suggestions and directions. In addition to the employment of the foregoing media and methods of advertising and sales inducements claimant admits that the following is typical of the text of its radio and television "commercials": "It's here * * * a great scientific discovery * * Trim, reducing aid cigarettes that curb your appetite. Imagine * * * now you can lose up to twenty pounds or more, simply by smoking this delightful tasted cigarette * * * without giving up your favorite brand. Just light up a Trim reducing-aid cigarette before each
[178 F.Supp. 850]

meal. Watch your weight go up in smoke. Trim cigarettes contain a patented ingredient that stops that urge to eat fattening foods with your first puff. It's `will-power' in tobacco form. Trim cigarettes have been clinically tested and medically approved. * * * The results are excellent. Patients have lost up to twenty pounds or more in eight weeks * * * the safe, simple way. Puff your pounds away with Trim cigarettes. Watch your weight go down, down, down! Harmless, non-habit forming. Light a Trim cigarette at night, when you're tempted to raid the ice box * * * they work instantly. Appease your appetite. Even non-smokers can reduce with Trims. You smoke only three a day. Trim reducing aid cigarettes make reducing fun. Get your first pack of Trim cigarettes today at drug counters. Safely lose up to twenty pounds or double your money back."