| Georgina's mother died from complications of emphysema . Her lungs were so damaged from exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke they never recovered. Emphysema is slow death over many years by suffocation. Kathleen removed her nasal oxygen canula for this photo and you can't see she has emphysema. Kathleen had a drawer full of medals she won in track and field. Tobacco smoke turned her into a bedridden invalid. During a Walter Cronkite t.v. interview In 1999, Nick Brooks, Chairman of Brown & Williamson Tobacco, said "There is no statistically significant risk association with environmental tobacco smoke." Kathleen's family disagree that she is "statistically insignificant". click here for other quotes from this programme |
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| Kathleen (on the right), 18 |
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| Kathleen, 21 |
| About Emphysema Damage is irreversible and results in permanent "holes" in the tissues of the lower lungs. As air sacs are destroyed, the lungs transfer less and less oxygen to the bloodstream, causing shortness of breath. There is no cure and the disease is progressive. Kathleen lived with a smoker for just under 50 years who did not know what tobacco companies kept secret about secondhand smoke. One 21-year old formerly secret tobacco document states: "no difference between main and sidestream smoke can be found." Kathleen was never exposed to coal dust or asbestos and does not have the very rare genetic disorder affecting one in ten thousand known as Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, all of which tobacco apologists claim are the "real" causes of emphysema. 90% of emphysema patients have either smoked or been exposed to tobacco smoke pollution. |
| Kathleen, raising a young family |
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| Kathleen and her youngest granddaughter, 21 |
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| Nannybun is pictured here with her third great grandchild . Two weeks after these photos were taken she was hospitalized because she was unable to breathe. Because of the deterioration of her lungs her medical status became "disabled" and she remained unable to leave her bed for three and a half years before she died. The tobacco industry knew decades ago tobacco smoke harms you even if you're not the one who smokes. They didn't tell anyone what they knew and when asked, they lied. Some people still believe their lies. |
| truth & consequences |
| living & dying with emphysema |
| about the author |
| Notes from a 1987 Phillip Morris conference say: "If smokers get the message that their smoke kills others, is this not something major?" click here to read this document (scroll down to page 8, last point of "Business Trends") |
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