338 



Hill and Knowlton documents: How the Tobacco Industry Launched 

 its Disinformation Campaign", which I understand was taken from 

 files in some depository. 



Could I ask the question, if these papers include all of the matter 

 that was in those files? Or have they been selected for a specific 

 purpose and other documents concealed? 



With that query, I yield back the balance of my time. 



Mr. Waxman. I think the gentleman has asked a number of ques- 

 tions and made some comments and I ordinarily wouldn't seek to 

 respond, but I feel I must. 



I can't think of anything more important for this subcommittee, 

 which is the Health Subcommittee, to do than to inquire about to- 

 bacco, which kills over 400,000 Americans each year. For 40 years, 

 we have had a veil of secrecy by the tobacco industry on what they 

 have known, what they have done, and how they have tried to 

 package and convince the American people to disregard the over- 

 whelming scientific information about the dangers from tobacco. 



We have been fair in this subcommittee to the chief executive of- 

 ficer of Brown & Williamson when his lawyers called and asked, 

 we gave them a postponement. One would think they would want 

 to come forward and answer all the news articles that have 

 charged them with serious, serious dereliction of responsibility to 

 the public. In fact, actions that would make one believe that they 

 have been engaged in a conspiracy to hide from the American peo- 

 ple information that they knew early on about addiction of ciga- 

 rettes and the dangers from cigarettes which even to this day they 

 did know. 



We think that the tobacco industry should be forthcoming and go 

 on the record and inform not just the oversight responsibilities of 

 this committee but for the purposes of developing a record for legis- 

 lation. We have the bill on environmental tobacco smoke, which 

 this subcommittee has reported. But we have Mr. Synar's bill 

 which would give the FDA jurisdiction over cigarettes, the first 

 time any government agency would have regulatory jurisdiction 

 over tobacco. I have sponsored legislation as well dealing with the 

 advertising of tobacco products. 



So I think what we are doing is quite appropriate and the way 

 we intend to proceed and have proceeded is eminently fair and I 

 intend to continue to call the hearings when it is appropriate for 

 the subcommittee and when it will give an opportunity for the to- 

 bacco industry to speak on the record and to answer inquiries 

 which they even refuse to this day to answer when asked by re- 

 sponsible press. 



I thank the gentleman. 



Mr. McMillan. Will the gentleman yield? 



Mr. Waxman. I certainly will. 



Mr. McMillan One of the themes of this hearing today will 

 probably be the fact that we had a group of attorneys in this insti- 

 tute who were making judgments about scientific research and I 

 would submit that the activities of this committee are precisely the 

 same thing. We have a group of lawyers who are trying to make 

 judgments about scientific research. 



What I would like to do is to examine the fact with respect to 

 the two pieces of legislation that you mentioned and try to really 



