Broda O Barnes
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Broda Otto Barnes was a researcher at the Webster-Barnes Research Foundation, at the Colorado State University. He was also a recipient secret CTR Special Projects #4 grants, who elected to be funded through this way to keep their funding and retainers hidden. See CTR Special Projects
Documents & Timeline
1961 Jan 16 Newsweek reported on research by Broda Barnes of Denver, Colorado and Max Ratzenhofer of Graz, Austria in the NEJM. They claimed that "scores of patients were surviving TB early in life only to contract lung cancer in later years. Confirmed by Dr Alf Westerngren of Sweden. [2]
1965 Dec 17 General Counsel approved Ad Hoc Committee Special Project #4 grant proposals. These were for:
Epidemiologic study to find pockets of high lung cancer incidence without relation to smoking habits." They were to consider New Orleans, Ten City Survey, El Paso, New York City, Pittsburgh, Mexican women and Dr.Palmer's project in the southern part of Africa.
- SP#123 -- Dr [John] Palmer's project in southern part of Africa -- authorised $600 for feasibility study.
- CTR SP#42 -- Dr Broda O Barnes travelling expenses to investigate the feasibility of a project reviewing bronchiogentic carcinoma in Graz, Austria -- $2,500
- SP#107 and SP#108 -- The SAB of CTR awarded 1 year grant of $23,000 (from July 1 1966) for Dr Barnes to pursue studies at autopsy in Graz, Austria for two years.
1966 Special Account #4 Grant No 41 -- $2500 for his trip to Graz.
- [Note that the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of the CTR handled the legitimate research projects. It would reject anythng that smelled of industry distortion because about half the SAB members were genuine researchers, just looking for a grant themselves. Dubious research was therefore sent to the lawyers and funded via Special Projects Account #4]
1966 Feb He has submitted a carefully/legally worded outline of project to run an exhibition in Graz for the tobacco industry. He planned on taking Mrs Barnes along for the ride, and he wanted all expenses paid, but no payment for his time.
The outline is contained in a letter addressed to J Morrison Brady, the Associate Scientific Director at the CTR (one of the executives who decided whether it should be funded legitimately via the SAB, or via backdoor lawyers through Special Accounts #4)
His plan is to return to Gras for a month, when he and his wife Charlotte W Barnes will collect statistics on tobacco consumption. The immediate cost is for air-fares and entertainment expenses will be $2,500. While in Graz he will talk with a couple of experts about the autopsy program. Later, for another $1,500 he will collect data for a medical conference presentation, and for an annual fee of $5,000 he will arrange to have autopsy details transfered to IBM cards. He was given the $2,500 for expenses, and an introduction to Dr Joseph V Berkson in Paris on the way.
- [Berkson was a statistician who also worked for the tobacco industry, but didn't conceal it via Special Account #4]
- [The Images of the display Barnes created for medical meetings are dated Nov 1967. Very poor quality [5]
1966 Oct 4 A very revealing hand-note by Science Director Robert Hockett of the CTR and Special Project grants: He lists who had received money, who had made reports, etc. Many of these pages are attached to a note from Theodor Sterling one of the worst.
[These are mainly Science Advisory Board (SAB = legitimate) research grants with numbers in the hundreds, but we can identify the SP = Special Projects, with low numbers] Hockett notes:
SP-41 Expenses for trip to Graz, Austria to investigate the feasibility of an autopsy study in that city. Borda O Barnes, $2,500
The SAB subsequentially approved a grant for $23,000 with an anticipated duration of two years. He was to produce two studies
- Epidemiology of lung cancer (inheritance, pollution, personal habits, etc.
- Role of the decrease in TB in the rise of lung-cancer, amphysema and myocardial infarction.
1968 Feb 5 Broda Barnes has given testimony before a Congressional Committee on the Labelling of Cigarettes. He says he is a part-time researcher and was chairman of the Department of Health Education at the University of Denver. He does not smoke and has no financial interest in the tobacco industry.
He also states that lung cancer has more than quadrupled recently - and claims these are the survivers of TB. He uses records from Graz, Austria. [7]
1969 Apr 29 The Tobacco Institute has issued a press release from Washington DC saying:
Washington, April 29--Four physicians; a mathematician and an author on statistics joined today in telling Congress of the lack of evidence on which additional cigarette regulation might be based. Backing up witnesses before the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, the six experts expressed their views in written statements filed with the committee.
- Dr Israel Rappaport, New York chest physician
- Dr Lyman A Brewer III, thoracic surgeon, and professor at Loma linda University medical school in Los Anglese.
- Dr Charles Hine, pharmacology and preventive medicine lecturer, University of California, Medical School, San Francisco
- Dr Broda O Barnes, Colorado physician, Fort Collins,
- Barnes claimed to devotes ubstantial time to research, and said that his studies of Austrian autopsy record show "most, if not all, of the reported increases in lung cancer, heart attacks and emphysema have not resulted from smoking cigarettes, diet or other environmental factors" (His thesis relates to the lower death-rate from TB)
- Dr John Wesley Sawyer, Wake Forest University professsor of mathematics
- Darrell Huff, Carmel California, author of "How to Lie with Statistics"
This was an attack on the 1967 PHS Morbidity Report on S&H. [8]
1970 Feb 28 He has received another $ 2500 Special Account #4 payment under the heading Consultants Fees and Expenses. By comparison with the other Special Project recipients he is small-fry. [9]
1980 Feb JT Dobbins Jr of RJ Reynolds is promoting the book "Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected Illness. This contains "...some ideas set forth in Dr Broda O.Barnes popular/medical treatise: "Hypothyroidism and Smoking/Health."
The ideas Barnes promotes (arising from his Graz autopsies) is that perhaps 40% of the population has less-than-optimal thyroid activity. This leads to less resistance to infections diseases and increased susceptibility to lung cancer, atherosclerosis and emotional problems. These differences explain why smokers get a lift from their fags, and also why they get lung cancer and heart disease.
- [His wife Charlotte W Barnes was a joint author in one of his books, Lawrence Galton was coauthor in another.] [10]
1984, Barnes established a not-for-profit foundation, the Broda O. Barnes Research Foundation, to continue to advocate his arguments about hypothyroidism. See Broda Otto Barnes - Wikipedia, [His theories are discredited] [11]
1992 Dec 31 The Council for Tobacco Research: Log - Special Projects [12]
1998 Nov 11 Facts witnesses in Texas Case [13] He was an industry consultant, CTR grentee and a CTR special projects recipient.
Court-declared list of scientists
Note: this is just a partial list of the scientists, academics and 'consultants' who were being paid via Special Project accounts. It deals only with the scientists known to the courts at the time it was compiled. Many other academics and professionals were paid via these accounts as revealed at later dates.
These are CTR Special Project grantees now known not to have been included in the above list: [17]
- SP#1 Kurt Enslein, Computers, Uni of Rochester NY
- SP#33 S H Friedall, Cancer Research Inst, New England Deaconness Hospital, Boston.
- SP#42 Doris L Herman, pathologist, Uni of Southern California, Los Angeles(worked with Lyman Brewer.
- SP#44 William H Alban, pathologist, Houston Dept of Public Heath/Baylor Uni (worked with Eleanor MacDonald
- SP#45/63 Douglas M Sprunt, pathologist, Golightly Found. + Uni of Tennessee, College of Medicine, Memphis
- SP#46, SP#24, SP#25, Marcus M Mason, research lab owner, Mason Research Institute, Worcester, Mass
- SP#48 William J Bair, animal inhalation exp., Battelle Memorial Inst, Richland, Washington
- SP#49 David M Kissen psychologist/psychosmatic, Uni of Glasgow, Scotland
- SP#52 Frederick J Stare, Nutrition Dept, Harvard Un (laundering payment for Carl C Seltzer
- SP#53 Travis W Winsor, Memorial Heart Res. Foundation, LA CA
- SP#54 A Clifford Barger, Prof.Emeritus, Harvard Medical School, Boston
- SP#55 Lars T Friberg Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden (Partner with Rune Cederlof)
- SP#57 Hans Selye, Institute of Exp. Med. and Surgery, Uni of Montreal, Canada
- SP#64 William L Dunn, Philip Morris executive.
- SP#66 Jerome Kleinerman, pathologist, St Lukes Hospital, Cleverland OH/Western Reserve Uni.
- SP#68 ]]H Hugh Fudenberg]], University of California, San Franciso. (Working with John V Wells
- SP#69 Claus B Bahnson, East PA Psychiatric Institute, Philadelphia