TOBACCO

Memo Urged Removal of Cigarette Chemical: Newly uncovered documents show a top Philip Morris scientist argued 38 years ago to remove a suspected carcinogen from or at least reduce it in Marlboros. The memos by J.E. Lincoln, who later became Philip Morris’ vice president for research, are careful not to say tobacco scientists believe the chemical benzopyrene had actually hurt smokers. But, in an April 1958 memo obtained by the Associated Press, Lincoln argued: “This compound must be removed from Marlboro and Parliament or sharply reduced. We do this not because we think it is harmful but simply because those who are in a better position to know than ourselves suspect it may be harmful.” The documents were filed as part of Mississippi’s lawsuit seeking to force the tobacco industry to reimburse the state for the Medicaid costs of caring for sick smokers. Michael York, a lawyer for Philip Morris, said benzopyrene in cigarettes has been reduced as a result of reducing tar levels. Related story A1