Document vVvDa9Gdaa1ebxB8wRp5grmo9

FILE NAME Newspaper & Magazine Articles NMA DATE 1954 Mar 15 DOC NMA109 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION NYT - Cigarettes Tied To Cancer Again CIGARETTES TIED TO CANCER AGAIN New Yorkto Current file Special THE NEW YORK TIMES Historical Times Times Mar 15 1954 ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times 1851 - Pg 26 CIGARETTES AGAIN TO CANCER AGAIN State Report Asserts Weight of Evidence Indicates They Are Cause of Disease Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES ALBANY March 14 report issued by the New York State Department of Health here today said that the weight of existing evidence indicated that cigarette smoking was one of the causes of lung cancer _ The risk rises in direct propor- tion to the of number cigarettes , smoked it added Dr. Morton L. Levin the As- sistant Commissioner for Medical Services publishtehde report in the current issue of the Journal of the State Medical Society out tomorrow . In the report Dr. Levin reviewed all the medical studies of the relationship between cigarette smoking and lung cancer made to date and compared these with new studies now in progress at Roswell Park Memorial Insti- tute the state's cancer hospital . in Buffalo Factor Equalized In the latter study factors of age occupation and place of residence were equalized by statis- tical means It was determined that the relative incidence of lung cancer for smokers of twenty or more cigarettes a day was ten times that of nonsmokers The study emphasized that the evidence did not show smoking is the sole causitive factor or even that it is operative in the absence of other factors such as susceptibility to atmospheric pollution by industrial wastes engine exhaust fumes dust from tarred roads and occupational exposure to causing dusts or fumes or radiation The air of some industrial cities is known to contain benzpyrene and arsenic two very toxic materials Dr. Levin said and mortality rates from lung cancer are higher in cities than in rural areas both in this coun- try and England and Denmark However he added these factors fail to explain the marked excess incidence of lung cancer among males in both cities and rural ' areas rn Le that industries and Levin occupations with evidence of abnormally high lung cancer risks are chromate production production of illuminating _ gas mining of uranium ores in Eu- rope nickel refining in South Wales asbestos manufacturing and metal grinding in England |: A Small Percentage recent Some evidence suggests that there may be an increased rate of lung cancer among weld- ers and other workers exposed to metal dusts or fumes in this . country . . . known The amount lung cancer known in these occupations or in- dustries is enough to make up only a relatively small percentage of the total number of cases he : said been This conclusion has further tested by a study of the occupational histories smok- ing histories male lung cancer at patients the Roswell Park . Memorial Institute Dr. Levin went on 7S In this study 137 male lung cancer cases and 396 control cases were matched for age and place of residence and adjusted for occupation The excess of cigarette smokers among the lung cancer cases remained after the factors of age residence and occupation were equalized range Dr. Levin said that studies now under way were expected to fully confirm the fact of a substantially increased lung cigarette of cancer among cigarette smokers Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner Further reproduction prohibited without permission