A Question Of Intent A Great American Battle With A Deadly Industry

by Kessler, David

• ISBN13: 9781586481216
• ISBN10: 1586481215
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-03-21
• Publisher: PublicAffairs

Summary

Tobacco companies had been protecting their turf for decades. They had congressmen in their pocket. They had corrupt scientists who made excuses about nicotine, cancer and addiction. They had hordes of lawyers to threaten anyoneinside the industry or outwho posed a problem. They had a whole lot of money to spend. And they were good at getting people to do what they wanted them to do. After all, they had already convinced millions of Americans to take up an addictive, unhealthy, and potentially deadly habit. David Kessler didn't care about all that. In this book he tells for the first time the thrilling detective story of how the underdog FDAwhile safeguarding the nation's food, drugs, and blood supplyfinally decided to take on one of the world's most powerful opponents, and how it won. LikeA Civil ActionorAnd the Band Played On, A Question of Intentweaves together science, law, and fascinating characters to tell an important and often unexpectedly moving story. We follow Kessler's team of investigators as they race to find the clues that will allow the FDA to assert jurisdiction over cigarettes, while the tobacco companies and their lawyers fight backhard. Full of insider information and drama, told with wit, and animated by its author's moral passion,A Question of Intentreads like a Grisham thriller, with one exceptioneverything in it is true.

Author Biography

David Kessler is Dean of the Yale University School of Medicine. He served as Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration under Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton, from 1990 to 1997. Kessler is a graduate of Amherst College, Harvard Medical School, and the University of Chicago Law School. He lives in Connecticut with his family.

Table of Contents

Veritas	xi
Opening Battles	1	(94)
The Investigation Begins	95	(70)
The Evidence Mounts	165	(96)
Turning Deceit Aside	261	(134)
Principal Characters	395	(2)
Notes	397	(56)
List of Author Interviews	453	(8)
Readings	461	(4)
Acknowledgments	465	(4)
Index	469