This material is copyrighted and may not be republished without permission of the originating newspaper or wire service. PioneerPlanet is a service of the Pioneer Press . For more information, click here . A former top National Cancer Institute scientist once asked tobacco industry officials to lobby Congress for his appointment to a higher government post, according to a secret 1973 memo disclosed Wednesday.
Etiology is the science of the cause of disease.
The memo, introduced as evidence in the Minnesota tobacco trial, doesn't say whether the industry tried to help Gori, who left the government in 1980 and now works as an industry consultant. Gori, who lives in Bethesda, Md., said he didn't recall asking for lobbying help. Gori said in a telephone interview. The trial is in its 10th week of testimony in a St. Paul courtroom. As testimony continued Wednesday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas extended the deadline for disclosure of 39,000 secret tobacco industry documents by 24 hours so he or the high court can consider the industry's petition to review the matter.