M. D. Anderson Responds to Supreme Court Ruling

Officials at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center expressed disappointment in the Supreme Court decision against the Federal Drug Administration regulating tobacco as a drug.

"Our mission as an institution is to eradicate cancer as a threat to humanity, and we support all efforts to control or eliminate tobacco use," said Dr. Bernard Levin, vice president for cancer prevention at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. "Lung cancer is the single most preventable disease."

Nicotine has been compared with cocaine and heroin in its capacity to addict, said Dr. Paul M. Cinciripini, director of M. D. Anderson's Tobacco Research and Treatment Program.

"We are disappointed in the decision against the FDA regulating tobacco," Dr. Cinciripini said. "This was a historic opportunity to regulate an industry in the interest of public health and to permanently change tobacco use and marketing in this country. That chance has been missed. The addictive properties of nicotine are well known in the scientific community. A chance to regulate nicotine content in cigarettes, other tobacco products and new nicotine delivery devices could have impacted adolescent smoking initiation and adult smoking cessation. Tobacco is a psychoactive, highly addictive drug - just as addictive as cocaine or heroin on first use. If we eliminated tobacco use today, we would see 35 percent of all cancers disappear."

Dr. Cinciripini added that tobacco use is not a habit, but an addiction.

"Treatment of nicotine dependence may require the same type of behavioral, societal and pharmacologic strategies used in breaking addiction to other abused substances, such as alcohol or illegal drugs," he said.

The psychological aspect of nicotine addiction lingers long after physical addiction has faded, according to Dr. Cinciripini.

Additionally, research has shown that people who begin smoking as adolescents suffer more DNA damage than those who begin smoking as adults.

This is particularly important because studies have shown 3,000 youths begin smoking each day.

"This DNA damage leaves early-age smokers at even greater risk for developing lung cancer," said Dr. Margaret R. Spitz, chair of the department of epidemiology. "This information tells us in clearer terms than ever about the importance of preventing smoking initiation in teens, and of helping teen smokers quit."

Facts About Tobacco Use In Texas, an estimated 10,600 people died of lung cancer in 1999, and an estimated 11,500 Texans were diagnosed with lung cancer in 1999. In the United States, an estimated 158,900 people died of lung cancer in 1999, and an estimated 171,600 people were diagnosed with the disease in 1999. - From the American Cancer Society The average age of smoking or smokeless tobacco initiation is younger than 15 years old in many countries, including the United States. Every day, more than 3,000 children and adolescents become addicted to tobacco. - From findings of a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Dec. 17, 1997 Tobacco use costs the nation nearly $100 billion every year. The estimated annual cost for smoking-related medical care is $50 billion, with the cost of lost productivity and forfeited earnings due to smoking-related disability estimated at another $50 billion per year. - From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Roughly one-third of M. D. Anderson patients receive treatment for tobacco-related cancers. - From The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

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