Draft:Lauren A Colby

Lauren A. Colby (1931-2012) was a U.S. attorney. Born in New York State, he lived in Frederick, MD at the time of his death. "In Defense of Smokers" was a tract he published in 1996 in which he postulated that the case against tobacco use due to its correlation with negative health effects -- and specifically the cigarette smoking-lung cancer link was by no means proven but rather resting on a "slim reed" of evidence. Updated: April 30, 2024 When it comes to lung cancer, however, the authors state that during 1955 to 1985, lung cancer death rates are "higher in US White men than in Japanese men which is discrepant with the higher prevalence of cigarette smoking among Japanese males for the same period of time". Exactly! According to the authors' own figures, the lung cancer rate among Japanese males is less than one third the rate among US White males, and as early as 1955, 81.4% of Japanese men were smokers (compared to 52.6% in the U.S.). That is, indeed, a big discrepancy. The "[Dr. Ernst L.] Wynder [Report]" authors must have had to write that word 'discrepant' through gritted teeth, but at least they had the honesty to do it.