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Scientist says industry seeks safer tobacco
Associated Press
March 8, 2005
WASHINGTON - The retired head of research and development for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. said yesterday in a civil racketeering lawsuit that the company has been researching how to reduce the health risks of smoking for decades.
Consumer preferences and design issues were among the problems making that goal difficult, said David Townsend, a research scientist who spent 27 years at Reynolds before retiring earlier this year, in written testimony submitted before his court appearance.
The Justice Department, which filed the lawsuit, focused on discrediting Townsend's expert status. Justice Department lawyer Joel Schwartz said Townsend had testified for the industry in 22 cases, and Schwartz questioned whether Reynolds had rewarded Townsend for testifying on its behalf.
The Justice Department filed the suit in 1999 under a statute designed to prosecute mobsters.
The trial, before U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler, is in its fifth month. Cigarette makers began their defense yesterday.
