Proctor Robert N
History Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Tob Control. 2006 Dec;15 Suppl 4(Suppl 4):iv117-25. doi: 10.1136/tc.2004.009928.
Historians have played an important role in recent tobacco litigation, helping the industry with its defence of "common knowledge" and "open controversy". Historians re-narrate the past, creating an account for judges and juries that makes it appear that "everyone has always known" that cigarettes are harmful, meaning that smokers have only themselves to blame for their illnesses. Medical historians are also employed to argue that "honest doubts" persisted in the medical community long past the 1950s, justifying as responsible the industry's longstanding claim of "no proof" of hazards. The industry's experts emphasise the "good science" supported by the industry, and ignore the industry's role in spreading doubts about the reality of tobacco hazards.
历史学家在近期的烟草诉讼中发挥了重要作用，帮助烟草行业为“常识”和“公开争议”进行辩护。历史学家重新讲述过去，为法官和陪审团编造一种说法，让人觉得“每个人一直都知道”香烟有害，这意味着吸烟者患病只能怪自己。医学历史学家还被雇用来争辩说，20世纪50年代之后很长时间里医学界一直存在“合理怀疑”，以此为烟草行业长期声称“没有证据”证明危害的说法开脱责任。烟草行业的专家强调行业所支持的“可靠科学”，而忽略了该行业在传播对烟草危害真实性的怀疑方面所起的作用。
