Patrick A. Tranmer, M.D.
Plaintiffs’ Expert Witness
Patrick A. Tranmer, M.D., is currently Department Head of Family Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Tranmer graduated from the University of Iowa College of Medicine in 1977. He is Board Certified in family medicine. As a family physician, Dr. Tranmer sees patients on a regular basis and counsels them about smoking and health matters.
Dr. Tranmer testified that, up until a couple of years ago, he recommended low tar or light cigarettes to his patients who could not stop smoking. He testified that, based on how the cigarettes were advertised, he believed that low tar or light cigarettes delivered less tar and nicotine. In his opinion, the phrase “lowered tar and nicotine” and the term “light” meant less tar and nicotine. Because they were advertised as delivering less tar and nicotine, he believed that cigarettes like Marlboro Lights and Cambridge Lights were safer. It was not until around the introduction of Monograph 13 that he discovered that, due to compensation, low tar or light cigarettes were not, in fact, safer. As such, he stopped recommending them to his patients.