interesting article

[Louise B Andrew]

Here is a well written article about the perils of attempting to BE
an ethical expert witness against a large, well organized industry.

Big Tobacco and the Historians
The Nation.
Attorneys for RJ Reynolds and Philip Morris USA are trying to get him
barred from testifying in a Florida court as an expert witness on
behalf of
a smoker ...
<http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100315/wiener>

Louise B Andrew MD JD

[dpriver]

Louise,
Although I hate the tobacco industry with a passion, I must admit to
having some problems with the idea that a person can blame someone
else for their smoking habit, and so, find testimony to that effect a
bit disturbing. Although the issue was definitively settled by the
1964 Surgeon General's report, I grew up in the 1950s when cigarettes
were referred to as "coffin nails" and "cancer sticks". Everyone knew
they were dangerous even back then. And while one can argue that the
industry was deceitful in disputing the addictive nature of nicotine,
what did we think was creating the well-known phenomenon of the "chain
smoker"? We knew these people were hooked, no matter what the industry
tried to claim. Also, while I don't like the way Dr. Proctor has been
treated by the industry, I would submit that being an expert witness
under any circumstances subjects one to being viciously attacked by
the other side's attorneys on the witness stand. I've had this
experience, and it is no fun. For this reason, expert witness work
will never be everyone's cup of tea.
DP

[lbamdjd]

David,

I grew up in NC and actually successfully debated the surgeon
general's report in 1965...but was a militant antismoker by 1970.

But our feelings about the content of witness testimony or the
justifications for bringing suit really is irrelevant here. What is
interesting is how deep pockets can successfully intimidate and harass
witnesses to the extent that there are practically none left willing
to testify. Also the extraordinary lengths that people of good
standing in the medical community can go to justify being experts for
companies whose major products are now clearly proven to be deadly.

BTW, do you remember that the only expert witness proscriptions ever
passed by the AMA were those on behalf of big tobacco companies? That
was Ron Davis's doing.