American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 154, No. 3 : 285
Copyright © 2001 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
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From the Editor
Most, if not all, epidemiologists would credit the field for playing a major role in elucidating the adverse health effects of tobacco smoke. The many studies of the relation of tobacco to health have provided the basis for public health action. Furthermore, many have been classic examples of epidemiologic methodology, namely, the cohort study by Richard Doll and A. Bradford Hill (1
) of lung cancer in British physicians. However, epidemiologists have generally played a peripheral role in societal efforts to control and prevent the harmful effects of tobacco use. In the United States, this role has been dominated by the American Cancer Society and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
In his new book, A Question of Intent: A Great American Battle with a Deadly Industry (2), David Kessler, former commissioner of the FDA, tells the inside story of the agency's battles with the tobacco industry, first over labeling and subsequently over addiction and carcinogenicity. Kessler deserves great credit for persevering in this important public health crusade in the face of a powerful and unscrupulous segment of American enterprise. The book has been comprehensively and enthusiastically reviewed by T. P. Houston (3).
REFERENCES
- Doll R, Hill AB. Lung cancer and other causes of death in relation to smoking: a second report on the mortality of British doctors. Br Med J 1956;2:1701–81.
- Kessler D. A question of intent: a great American battle with a deadly industry. New York, NY: Public Affairs Books, 2001.
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Houston TP. Tobacco and the FDA. JAMA 2001;285:1770–1.
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