Ex-tobacco researcher weighs
in on perils of smoking

By GAIL KOCH - gkoch@thestarpress.com
Sunday, April 4, 2004 - The Star Press, Muncie, Indiana, USA

MUNCIE - Former Philip Morris researcher Victor DeNoble did more than tell Muncie and Delaware County middle school students about the dangers of smoking.

On Friday, he showed them.

DeNoble spoke to students at Delta, Wilson and Daleville middle schools about the dangerous effects of nicotine on the body, using facts from his research as a scientist to get his point across.

"For nicotine to go from the lung to the heart to the brain, it takes less than seven seconds," DeNoble said to the students.

He told the kids about his work in the early 1980s as a researcher for the nation's largest cigarette manufacturer, describing tests he performed on rats and monkeys that proved nicotine was an addictive drug that could alter the brain.

Talking about his test monkey, Sarah, DeNoble said he tested brain cells from deep within her brain following her death to find that nicotine had chemically altered her brain cells.

"Wanna see it?" he asked the crowd as he pulled the monkey's brain from a container.

The move was met by a "whoa" that echoed across the auditorium as students scrambled to get a closer look.

DeNoble said he told executives numerous times about his experiments before he was fired for his controversial research in 1984.

A contract he signed with the company prevented him from testifying about his findings until 1994, when seven of the top tobacco industry executives testified before Congress about the addictive drug that led to a $710 billion lawsuit against Philip Morris.

He finished his talk by telling students they were still young enough and smart enough not to start smoking.

"You have to accept the responsibility of making that choice and of who you want to be," he said.

http://www.thestarpress.com/articles/7/017241-6297-004.html

Copyright 2004 The Star Press