ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Saturday, October 19, 1996             TAG: 9610210069
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL   PAGE: A-4  EDITION: METRO 

IN THE NATION

'Smoking gun' challenged by tobacco giant

WASHINGTON - A chemical compound linked in a new study to the genetic changes of lung cancer can come from many sources other than cigarette smoke, a tobacco company said Friday.

The study, published in the journal Science, is the first to describe the specific parts of a cancer gene that are damaged by benzo(a)pyrene, or BAP, a chemical common in cigarette smoke.

Anti-smoking groups described the finding as a ``smoking gun'' link between cigarettes and lung cancer that gives plaintiffs a powerful new weapon in lawsuits against tobacco companies.

But Brown & Williamson, makers of Viceroy and Barclay cigarettes, said that BAP is very common in the environment and can originate from many sources.

``Benzo(a)pyrene is everywhere,'' said the statement. ``It is in air, soil and produced by the combustion of any kind of organic matter. For example, it is produced by backyard barbecues and the exhaust of automobiles and trucks.''

The tobacco company issued a statement saying that the Science study published Friday ``will require careful study'' and that the firm was issuing only ``a few observations.''

Brown & Williamson said the levels of BAP in tobacco smoke are not at a concentration that would cause cancer in laboratory animals.

Dr. Bert Vogelstein, a Johns Hopkins University researcher who first linked the P53 gene with cancer, said the new evidence on smoking and cancer ``is really quite compelling scientifically.''

- Associated Press

Chlamydia most common infection

Although last year was the first year it was nationally tracked, chlamydia, a sexually transmitted disease, was the most commonly reported infectious disease in 1995, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There were 477,638 reported cases of chlamydia, an infection that often causes virtually no symptoms in women, reported to the CDC under a national surveillance system that tracks 52 infectious diseases each year. Most cases are not reported. Experts have estimated that there are about 4 million new cases of chlamydia each year.

Gonorrhea was the second-most and AIDS the third-most commonly reported diseases.

There were 71,547 new AIDS cases reported in 1995, a decrease from the year before, when 78,279 cases were reported.

- Newsday

LENGTH: Medium:   54 lines