Chapter 15: The Calling of Philip Morris Summary

The FTC anti smoking campaign was severely curtailed under the new Reagan administration, which did not want to be perceived as anti-business in any way. Several FTC activists quit the organization. Dr. C. Everett Koop became the new Surgeon General.

A physicist named James Repace became one of the first scientists to document the levels of second hand smoke and correlate them to incidences of lung cancer. Repace proved that ETS (environmental tobacco smoke) levels were 10-100 times higher in smoking sections compared to locations where smoking did not occur. Repace also correlated the data to conclude that this was equivalent to approximately two ultra-low-tar doses and contributed to the deaths of 5,000 non-smokers annually. Repace's report was ruthlessly attacked by the Tobacco Institute. Repace was also set up by a tobacco-friendly congressman for...