MUSC, along with other community partners, is bringing the film, "Addiction Incorporated," to Charleston for two free screenings to be held at MUSC and the College of Charleston Nov. 14 and 15. The events are being held in conjunction with the American Cancer Society's Great American SmokeOut which is Nov. 15 – a day when cigarette smokers are encouraged to try and quit for a day and hopefully a lifetime.
The film tells the story of former Phillip Morris employee, Victor DeNoble, Ph.D., who blew the whistle on how the company engineered their cigarettes to be highly addictive when he testified before Congress in 1994. His testimony revealed how certain additives in cigarettes dramatically increased the addictiveness to cigarettes. DeNoble's revelations about how cigarettes were engineered to keep people hooked contributed to the groundbreaking litigation that has hounded the tobacco industry ever since.
In addition to the screening, a display titled "Century of Cigarettes" will be in the Drug Discovery Building lobby. The display depicts the factors that have led to the rise and fall of lung cancer rates in the United States during the 20th century. The Hollings Cancer Center and Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Services are sponsoring the film screening and display.
The MUSC event will be held the Drug Discovery Building auditorium. A brief reception with refreshments will be held at 5 p.m. followed by the film screening at 5:30 p.m. including a question and answer session with the film's producer, director and attorney Jodi Flowers. Flowers is with the Charleston-based law firm, Motley Rice, which led the litigation against the tobacco industry in the late 1990s that eventually resulted in the Master Settle Agreement and the release of 60 million pages of previously secret internal company documents.
For information on this event and to register, go to http://hcc.musc.edu/addictioninc or email Pam Knox at knoxp@musc.edu.
Friday, Nov. 9, 2012
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