asked the Minister for Health whether he has noted a report that the jury in a case heard in a Federal Court in the United States in a claim for damages against an American tobacco manufacturer found that cigarettes are reasonably safe and wholesome for human consumption; and whether he proposes to take cognisance of it.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Cigarette Smoking: American Court Verdict.
28.
I have seen a report in the newspapers of the verdict in question.
While I have naturally taken cognisance of the verdict of a jury as reported, it does not dispose me to alter my opinion that on present evidence smoking to excess appears to be highly dangerous to health. In this connection, it is pertinent to point out that the newspaper report to which the Deputy refers also contains the information that the deceased person, whose estate was involved in the case, died of lung cancer and was "a three-packets-a-day smoker". Therefore, notwithstanding the finding of the American jury, I shall continue the campaign which I have initiated to discourage smoking, and to impress on children and adolescents, and on their parents and others who may be in a position to influence them, that, on the basis of statistical evidence, gathered in a number of scientific investigations in different countries, the highest medical authorities are convinced that smoking is dangerous to health in that it may give rise to lung cancer, heart disease and other morbid conditions and should be discouraged.