Fraternity-Testvériség, 1954 (32. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1954-01-01 / 1. szám

IN PLAIN AMERICAN

A monthly page conducted by Edmund Vas vary

The heartless and revolting campaign which the giant cigarette companies have been waging against the pocketbooks and health of the American people at last starts to backfire. The medical world which has been conducting a thorough scientific research to determine the effects of heavy cigarette smoking, some months ago startled the world with the announcement that there is a strong suspicion that the tobacco-tar inhaled with cigarette smoke might be a factor in producing lung cancer.

This announcement according to the newest reports has had a very desirable effect: cigarette sales have already dropped and the companies are really scared. The many millions squandered on TV and other advertising seem to be of no avail: the people at last are aroused a- gainst the peddling of this deadly poison which in millions of homes is corrupting the habits of even the young children.

And now, thank God, comes a new blow to the cigarette industry: four scientific medical reports were presented the other day, which definitely link cigarette smoking and disease, particularly lung cancer.

Read the following very carefully. (It was published in the New York Times.):

(1.) Leading medical specialists insist very firmly that cigarette smoking, and not some other environmental factor has caused the great increase in lung cancer during the last 20 years.

(2.) The research of 13 independent studies reached the conclusion that prolonged and heavy smoking of cigarettes increases up to 20 t imes the risk of developing cancer of the lung.

(3.) All research agrees that the causing factor in lung cancer was cigarette smoking and not polluted air or some other condition of environment.

(4.) Cigarettes, and not cigars or pipes, were the cause of cancer because cigarette smoke is usually inhaled, while pipe or cigar smoke is not. On the other hand, there is a relationship between cancer of the lip, tongue and mouth, and the smoking of pipes, cigars as well as cigarettes.

(5.) There is a connection between smoking and the start of diseases of the heart and blood vessels. Extensive tests indicate that it is nicotine and not other factors in smoke that causes increases in blood pressure and pulse. Any person with a tendency toward heart or blood vessel disease should stop smoking at once.

(6.) Smoking may have one doubtful virtue: by smoking heavily, a person might have heart

attacks. Thus he or she would not live long enough to develop lung cancer.

(7.) Here are some other conclusions: In another fifty years the population of the United States will be decimated by cancer of the lung if cigarette smoking increases as it has in the past. The use of tobacco may mean the difference between life and death for persons with disease of the blood circulation.

More than 5,000 persons with lung cancer have been studied in England, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Czechoslovakia and the United States, so it would be foolish to take the warning lightly.

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The steelworkers Union (CIO) is already on the alert for its demands in 1954. The emphasis will be on pensions, insurance and a guaranteed wage.

Some of the details of these will be:

The insurance program should be more liberal, with no additional payments from the workers. Pensions should be higher, giving certain vested rights to the workers in the companies’ contributions. Wages should be increased to be on the level with those of the auto workers. The wage guarantee, however, would be considerably less than pay for the entire year. The spokesmen for the steel workers will consider the first three demands as ’’musts” while the wage guarantee plan could be deferred for the time being.

The steel workers insist that the entire cost of insurance should be paid by the companies, and insurance must include dental and hospitalization covering, with increased surgical benefits. So far workers and companies pay an equal amount of 5 cents per hour into the insurance fund.

With the two recent raises in Social Security contributions, disadvantages developed for the workers, who get a minimum pension of $100.00 a month. On the average, of this amount $65.00 is paid by Social Security and $35.00 by the company. With the raises of the contributions, the companies’ share is now closer to $25.00 and in some cases even $15.00.

The new demand probably will be a minimum $150.00 monthly pension, maybe less — Social Security included.

Everybody hopes that a satisfactory agreement can be worked out in 1954, without a strike, which could be disastrous to workers and companies as well.