News Release
August 1999
"It's
a cover-up that is unbelievable...it's unfathomable what has been held
back from the American public." Victor DeNoble
Victor J. DeNoble, Ph.D., former research scientist for
Philip Morris (maker of Marlboro cigarettes) will discuss the addictive
nature of nicotine and the tobacco industry's attempt to hide important
health information from the public. Dr. DeNoble will present, "Inside
the Darkside: an insider's look at the truth about tobacco addiction
and what the tobacco companies don't want you to know," on Wednesday,
September 8, at 4:30 p.m., in Moravian College's Prosser Auditorium.
DeNoble's presentation is sponsored by the Coalition for a Smoke-Free
Valley and Moravian College.
Dr. DeNoble, an experimental psychologist, has been a
key witnesses in government hearings examining the practices of the
tobacco industry. His testimony was an important part of the mounting
evidence that damaged the tobacco industry's creditability and ultimately
led to the multi-billion dollar "tobacco settlement." He testified
before Congress in 1994, the Food and Drug Administration in 1995 and
1996, and Vice President Gore's Tobacco Settlement Committee in 1997.
DeNoble has appeared on each of the major network television news programs
and has been featured on 60 Minutes, Dateline, and Good Morning America.
DeNoble headed a secret lab in Virginia for Philip Morris
from 1980 to 1984, where he led experiments on rats to explore the effects
of nicotine on the brain and central nervous system. DeNoble has revealed
how the lab developed a synthetic chemical that had the same desired
effects as nicotine on the brain without the health risks. His work
focused on developing a "safer cigarette" which also included
special filters that reduced the cancerous affects of secondhand smoke
by 80 percent. The scientist said the company never made the research
public and repeatedly blocked him from disclosing any information about
his research with the threat of a lawsuit.
In 1984 Philip Morris shut down the lab, hid the findings
and fired the scientists, for fear that if a healthier cigarette was
produced, the tobacco industry, which had long denied the negative effects
of nicotine, would be subject to lawsuits.
Congressional hearings on the tobacco industry in 1994
made it possible for DeNoble to speak publicly about his work. More
recent developments in the lawsuits waged by several states against
the industry have also encouraged the scientist to speak out.
Recently, DeNoble has been critical of the landmark tobacco
settlement which grants the tobacco industry immunity against future
lawsuits in exchange for paying an estimated $300 billion in health
care costs related to smoking.
Dr. DeNoble received his Doctorate degree in 1976 in the
field of Experimental Psychology from Adelphi University, Garden City
NY. He has postdoctoral fellowships from both the National Institute
of Alcohol Abuse at Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York and
the National Institute of Drug Abuse. Dr. DeNoble also worked in drug
discovery forthe DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Company and Ayerst Research
Laboratories specializing in central nervous system diseases. Currently,
Dr. DeNoble is the Vice-President of Hissho, Inc. a scientific and medical
communications company.
"Inside the Darkside" is free and open to the
public. Reserve a seat by calling the Coalition for a Smoke-Free Valley
at (610) 402-4855. The Coalition consists of 150 community organizations
and individuals dedicated to improving the health status of the Lehigh
Valley by reducing the prevalence of tobacco use through prevention,
education, and advocacy. Prosser Auditorium in located in the Haupert
Union Building at Monocacy and West Locust streets in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
