Kent Conrad: “one of the key issues before this Chamber is the credibility of the industry. The industry has a long history here of…”

“one of the key issues before this Chamber is the credibility of the industry. The industry has a long history here of telling us things that just aren't so. I think we can all remember when the industry executives came before Congress, and, under oath, told the U.S. Congress a series of things. One of the things they told us is: ``Tobacco has no ill health effects.'' This is from the industry's own documents, which is a reflection on that claim. This is a 1950s Hill & Knowlton memo quoting an unnamed tobacco company research director who said: Boy, won't it be wonderful if our company was the first to produce a cancer-free cigarette. What we could do to the competition. The second claim by the industry has been that nicotine is not addictive. Again, looking at their own documents, this is a 1992 memo from Barbara Heuter, director of Portfolio Management for Philip Morris' domestic tobacco business. Different people smoke cigarettes for different reasons. But, the primary reason is to deliver nicotine into their bodies. . . . Similar organic chemicals include nicotine, quinine, cocaine, atropine, and morphine. These are not my words. These are not the words of the public health community. These are the industry's words. And it doesn't stop there. Tall tale No 3: ``Tobacco companies don't market to children.'' This is from a 1978 memo from a Lorillard tobacco executive.…”