Editing R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (section)

== Early knowledge of the harms of cigarettes ==
By 1953, R. J. Reynolds held an internal belief that cigarettes caused cancer.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cummings |first=K. Michael |last2=Brown |first2=Anthony |last3=O'Connor |first3=Richard |date=2007-06-04 |title=The Cigarette Controversy |url=https://aacrjournals.org/cebp/article/16/6/1070/260310/The-Cigarette-Controversy |journal=Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention |volume=16 |issue=6 |pages=1070–1076 |doi=10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-06-0912 |issn=1055-9965}}</ref> On February 2 of that year, R. J. Reynolds research chemist and executive Claude Teague released 'Survey of Cancer Research', a confidential internal document for R. J. Reynolds upper management.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Proctor|first=Robert N|date=2012-02-16|title=The history of the discovery of the cigarette–lung cancer link: evidentiary traditions, corporate denial, global toll: Table 1|journal=Tobacco Control|volume=21|issue=2|pages=87–91|doi=10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2011-050338|pmid=22345227|issn=0964-4563|doi-access=free}}</ref> He concluded that clinical data was confirming the fact that tobacco was "an important etiologic factor in the induction of primary cancer of the lung". He also wrote that many findings of animal studies "would seem to indicate the presence of carcinogens".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=ymch0045|title=Industry Documents Library|website=www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu|access-date=2019-06-02}}</ref>