Tobacco.org

Austria’s Dungeon Man: ‘I Must Have Been Crazy’ 

But as Elisabeth grew into a teenager, Mr. Fritzl said, he became alarmed when she began smoking, drinking and staying out all night. "I tried to get her out of that swamp," he said, by arranging work for her as a waitress. He also began digging the underground bunker that became her prison in 1984, when Mr. Fritzl drugged her and dragged her downstairs.

"I had to create a place in which I could keep Elisabeth away from the outside world, by force if I had to,"

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ARCH, et. al. v. AMERICAN TOBACCO CO., et. al.: Deposition of John H. Hager 

Q. Is it still your testimony, sir, that you have no recollection of any specific instances of dealing with Compound W?

A. That's correct. Back in 1969 obviously it became a slang term, if you will, for some work we had done in the research department. This memorandum is dated almost three years later obviously in response to a direct question by Mr. Heimann. At least it appears to be that way.

Q. What was your job on April 25th, 1972?

A. I was the director of research and development.

Q. You called Compound W a slang term at this point in time? What do you mean by that?

A. A descriptive term.

Q. Was it a reference to nicotine?

A. I would assume so. Yes, sir. The memo certainly suggests that, but it is a theoretical --It's an answer to a theoretical question. How do you get higher nicotine? Well, you can add it. You can buy tobacco differently. You can do it lots of other ways. Through shuffling reconstituted, shuffling stems in the blend. It seemed to me like it was a very direct answer to a very direct question, a theoretical type of question.

Q. Why was the president of American Tobacco interested in this question in 1972?

A. He was trying to perform his function - He had dual function. He was involved very heavily with marketing, and he wanted to know why certain brands were performing better or worse than other competitive brands, and was it related to marketing and advertising or related to product? Product content.

Q. Was it his view that nicotine content affected the popularity of brands?

A. I doubt it. I don't know. I can't -- You have to ask him that. . . .

Q. But you cannot, as you sit here today, testify that Compound W was not used in any American Tobacco commercial products, can you?

A. I said to my knowledge it was never used.

Q. But you admit that you don't have full knowledge. Do you?

A. I wouldn't think I would have full knowledge about anything in this world.

Q. And you're disclaiming knowledge specifically about Compound W, aren't you?

A. No. I didn't -- I told you on the record what Iknew about Compound W. Others knew other things. Fine.

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John H. Hager  

Hager contracted polio when his son was vaccinated for the disease with live virus vaccine in 1973.[3] As a result, he uses a nonmotorized wheelchair for daily ambulation - and competes in wheelchair races.[6]

Career

After his active duty military service, Hager began work for the Duke family at the American Tobacco Company in Richmond, Virginia. The company retired him after his bout with polio, but he returned - beginning at the bottom again. At American Tobacco, he served as a government affairs representative. Hager was forcibly retired from the American Tobacco Company after the company's sale in 1994.[2] . . .

* Man of the Year, Tobacco International Magazine, 1990

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The lowdown on the Bush bash  

•Groom: Henry Hager, 29, of Richmond, Va., son of John Hager, chairman of the Virginia Republican Party and a former lieutenant governor and tobacco executive.

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WhyQuit's Famous Young Smoking and Tobacco Victims 

Shouldn't Peter Jennings still be doing the ABC evening news? What will you give up early, smoked nicotine or life? Click Peter's picture to see his killer.

Most Recent Passing

"Punch" Andrews - age 43 - March 30, 2008

Fame Struck Down by Nicotine Dependency

Bill Hicks, 32, comedian * pancreatic cancer

Lorraine Hansberry, 34, playwright (Raisin in the Sun) lung cancer

Luiz Jose Costa, 36, Brazilian music star * lung cancer

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• Young dying smokers share nightmares online 

Prior to the Internet, the death of a young smoker in their thirties or forties was likely a local obituary page news event, if covered at all. But increasingly, young and middle-aged terminally ill smokers, and their surviving families, are realizing the value of their ordeals to worldwide youth smoking prevention efforts and in helping motivate smokers to quit smoking. Boldly, they are going online to share how the richness of life can be snuffed horribly short by not arresting chemical dependency upon smoking nicotine while still time.

A tour guide with a passion for history, a Camel smoker since age 14, Noni Glykos was married at 30 and gave birth to her only child, a son, at 32. Two months later she was told she had lung cancer, that it had already spread to her brain, and that she only had a few months to live. One month later Noni bravely stood before friends and loved ones at her final birthday party to say goodbye.

Today visitors to WhyQuit watch a video clip of Noni's farewell speech . . .

A two-pack-a-day Marlboro smoker, Bryan Lee Curtis starting smoking cigarettes at age 13. Those reading his story view a haunting image of what small cell lung cancer can do to a human body in just 63 days. Having just turned 34, a photograph shows his grieving wife Bobbie clinging to their two-year-old son, as Brian lies on his death bed. . . .

Visitors are also introduced to notable smoking victims such as playwright Lorraine Hansberry, who wrote "Raisin in the Sun" and died of lung cancer at age 34, and actress Carrie Hamilton, daughter of Carol Burnett, lost to lung cancer at 38.

The most recent notable recognized at WhyQuit is popular Toronto radio DJ Chris "Punch" Andrews who died of lung cancer on March 30, 2008 at age 43.

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Graydon Carter doesn't light up in front of Mayor Bloomberg 

Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter taunted Hizzoner Michael Bloomberg with a cigarette at his annual dinner for the Tribeca Film Festival Tuesday. But while the noted smoking advocate brandished the cancer stick and stuck it in his mouth, he stopped short of violating the law and lighting up in the rotunda of the State Supreme Courthouse on Centre St.

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Kate Hudson tops People Magazine's 100 Most Beautiful list 

And People's Most Beautiful person is ... Kate Hudson. She's glammed up in this photo, but she's gracing People's cover (below) make-up free.

Kate Hudson graces the cover of People magazine's 19th annual "100 Most Beautiful" stars issue -- and she is doing it without makeup. . . .

Cover girl Hudson tells the mag that it was thanks to good genes that she dropped the 70lbs she gained after being pregnant with son Ryder, 4, but says she started to pack on the pounds again when she quit smoking earlier this year, just as the tabloids began to speculate she was pregnant.

"I quit smoking and I gained weight the first month, about the time people started thinking I was pregnant! I quit New Years, cold turkey. I'm so happy."

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A Georgia Community With an African Feel Fights a Wave of Change 

During slavery, Sapelo was part of the plantation economy, but after the Civil War blacks began to buy land and formed settlements. Those were consolidated by the island’s last white owner, the tobacco heir R. J. Reynolds Jr., who forced black residents to relocate to Hog Hammock in the ’50s and ’60s, an act still remembered with bitterness.

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• New York Times Obituary is Wrong on Dr. Stewart's Role Regarding Cigarette Health Warnings 

Contrary to the obituary in today's New York Times, former Surgeon General Dr. William H. Stewart did not "put the first health warnings on cigarette packs," notes the public interest law professor who caused the first decline in US smoking by getting free time for antismoking messages on radio and TV.

"Although Dr. Stewart urged health warnings, he had no authority to order them," notes law professor John Banzhaf of George Washington University. In fact, the story is somewhat more complicated, he explains. . . .

Unfortunately, something that Stewart could not have anticipated -- but which Congress should have foreseen -- occurred. Years later the major tobacco companies were successful in defending themselves from law suits claiming that they failed to adequately disclose the dangers of smoking by arguing that they put on their packs exactly the warning Congress had required.

None of this should detract from Stewart's legacy, however, says Banzhaf.

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Now, smoking Buddha on Ramadoss radar 

After filmstars Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, it is now West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's turn to face Health Minister A Ramadoss' ire (Watch) for smoking in public.

Reacting to Bhattacharjee's admission on Tuesday that he would continue to smoke in his office, despite a blanket ban on smoking at state secretariat, Ramadoss said, "As a leader, he should set an example for others."

Ramadoss added that about 70.2% of men in West Bengal smoke, with eastern India being one of the worst-hit regions as far as tobacco consumption was concerned.

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Briefs 3-Final touchline cigarette beckons for coach La Volpe  

Soccer - Former Mexico coach Ricardo La Volpe, one of the few coaches who still smokes on the touchline, will have to curb his habit next season.

The Mexican Football Federation has announced a smoking ban on and around the pitch and "technical areas" in stadiums which will take effect from the 2008/09 season. Argentine La Volpe has inspired a revival at Monterrey since taking charge in January.

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Smoking in Burbank: Ignorance of the Law IS an Excuse 

Burbank's ban on smoking on downtown sidewalks has caused quite a stir. But never fear, it turns out ignorance of the law is an excuse, at least if you are an up-and-coming celebrity. Shia LaBeouf's misdemeanor charge of unlawful smoking was dismissed Thursday on the basis of the "That's illegal? Really?" defense.

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Shia LaBeouf transforms himself for Indiana Jones role | Herald Sun 

HERE in LA, there's an air of excitement surrounding the highly anticipated Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. And it's not just because this is Steven Spielberg's first Indy film in 20 years.

No, this buzz is all about hot new Hollywood in the shape of a 21-year-old actor whose name confuses the most intelligent reader, Shia LaBeouf. . . .

So when he eventually bounds into the hotel where we've arranged to meet, it's something of an anticlimax to find that he's, well, just a 21-year-old guy, who's desperate for a smoke. He immediately asks that we move all conversation to the patio, so he can puff.

"Yes, I smoke," he admits shamefacedly. "It's probably the worst thing I do. I leave wet towels on the floor, too. I don't think I'm the quintessential guy to look up to right now because I'm still building myself."

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• William H. Stewart Is Dead at 86; Put First Warnings on Cigarette Packs  

eneral in the Johnson administration who put the first health warnings on cigarette packs and integrated the United States Public Health Service and many Southern hospitals, died on April 23 in New Orleans. He was 86.

His death was announced by the L.S.U. Health Sciences Center, including the Louisiana State University School of Medicine, which he directed from 1969 to 1974. . . .

Dr. Stewart also prepared an influential three-part report, "Health Consequences of Smoking," released from 1967 to 1969, as the second salvo in a series of surgeon generals' reports that helped change smoking from social norm to social stigma.

Dr. Luther L. Terry, Dr. Stewart's predecessor, began the campaign with the 1964 report that the death rate from lung cancer for men who smoked cigarettes was almost 1,000 percent higher than it was for nonsmokers.

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