257 



13 - 



28 . Th1$ c«p*1gn w«s described In the Oecenber 1983 New York state 

 Journal of Medicine ; 



"Lonnard ... launched nationally televised 'scientific 

 demonstrations to show the efficacy and implicit medical benefits of 

 Its Hicronlte filter. This campaign was backed up by a heavy dose 

 of advertising in medical publications. Although the advertisements 

 ntvtr disclosed the composition of 'Micronlte', ... Lorlllard touted 

 (Micronlte) as 'so safe, so effective It has been seleted to help 

 filter the air 1n hospital operating rooeis' ( May 15, 1954) and 'to 

 purify the air in atonic energy plants of microscopic Impurities' 

 (Feb 15, 1954).- 27 



Unfortunately for the health con8Clo«i5 smoke r wSj svl^r^:-' *c '-ent "tr- 

 afford themselves this great protection, the company Incrrn-^^o the 

 nicotine level by 400 percent and the tar level by 600 percerit between 

 1952 and 1955. This dramatic Increase In tar and nicotine — the 

 substance from which sensitive smokers were claimed to need 'real health 

 protection' -- was never announced to the public through advertising or 

 warning labels. Furthermore, it Is now known that In its early years the 

 Kent micronlte filter contained asbestos, a fact never disclosed to the 

 smoking public." ^' 



Memos prepared by Hill and Knowlton for the Tobacco Institute showed that 

 following Enwst L. Hynder's cancer finding In 1953 (that mice developed 

 skin cancar when painted with cigarette smoke tars), the firm recommended 

 ways for cigarette companies to deal with this "serious problem of public 

 relations ... one of extreme delicacy." The firm suggested the formation 

 of the Tobacco Industry Research Conmilttee (TIRC), which was announced on 

 January 4, 1954 In newspaper ads entitled "A Frank Statement To Cigarette 

 Smokers." 



