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Contesting the role of arsenic in lung cancer: The roles of the tobacco and smelting industries
Purpose: The purpose of this presentation is to explore the debate that arose over arsenic as a lung carcinogen by the middle of the twentieth century, which involved both smokers and workers. Today, both inorganic arsenic and tobacco smoke are known lung carcinogens. Arsenic is also present in tobacco smoke. By the 1950s some thought that arsenic in tobacco smoke might be to blame for rising lung cancer rates in the U.S. Concurrently, some occupational health researchers were pointing to arsenic as the cause of lung cancer in certain occupational groups.
Methods: This research relies on an analysis of documents from the Legacy Tobacco Document Library (LTDL) and the evolving scientific literature on arsenic as a lung carcinogen. The LTDL was searched for documents that included the word arsenic. Documents were organized into a timeline so that developments in thinking and knowledge regarding arsenic and lung cancer could be analyzed.
Findings: The contention that arsenic might cause lung cancer posed a problem for both the tobacco and smelting industries. The two industries do not appear to have worked together to contest the arsenic-lung cancer hypothesis, however they both did so separately. Additionally, the smelting industry sought to blame smoking for higher than expected rates of lung cancer observed in arsenic-exposed workers. This presentation will examine the development of knowledge regarding arsenic as a lung carcinogen and explore how these two industries responded to growing concerns about arsenic’s carcinogenicity from the 1950s through the late 1970s.
Learning Areas:
Occupational health and safetyLearning Objectives:
Evaluate the roles of the tobacco and smelting industries in arguing against a role for arsenic in cancer of the lung
Keyword(s): Cancer, Occupational Health and Safety
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been studying heavy metal exposures and disease associated with environmental and occupational exposure related to smelters for 8 years and have published two papers and a book on this topic.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.