Smoking tobacco products - material contribution

Malignant neoplasm of the lung - Smoking tobacco products - material contribution Factor

Smoking cigarettes, cigars or pipe tobacco due to VEA service need only have made a material contribution to the minimum smoking requirements specified in the SOP (refer Kattenberg v Repatriation Commission [2002] FCA 412).  It has not been possible to make changes to the smoking module in CCPS to take account of this, but for many cases this is of no consequence because service-related smoking alone is sufficient to meet the SOP requirements.  However, for smoking cases that do not succeed under the CCPS smoking module, there is a contention:

• Smoking tobacco products - material contribution

This contention covers all types of smoking – cigarettes, pipe and cigars - with rulebase questions to ascertain whether or not VEA service made a material contribution to the SOP requirements.  This may entail addressing issues that have already been covered in the smoking module because it has not been possible to isolate specific facts established within that module.

Last reviewed for CCPS 18 July 2007.

Investigative Documents

Preliminary questions [34289]

30303 the veteran has smoked cigarettes, cigars or pipe tobacco at some time.

34290  the veteran has established the causal connection between smoking tobacco products and VEA service for the clinical onset of malignant neoplasm of the lung.

34291   the veteran has established the causal connection between smoking tobacco products and operational service for the clinical onset of malignant neoplasm of the lung.

or

34292   the veteran has established the causal connection between smoking tobacco products and eligible service for the clinical onset of malignant neoplasm of the lung.

Clinical onset and operational service [34291]

5804     the veteran has a malignant neoplasm of the lung of the first kind.

5816     the veteran has a squamous cell carcinoma of the lung.

or

5817     the veteran has a carcinosarcoma of the lung.

or

5818     the veteran has a small cell or oat cell carcinoma of the lung.

or

5819     the veteran has a malignant neoplasm of the lung of undetermined histology.

or

5821     the veteran has a large cell carcinoma of the lung.

34293 the veteran had smoked at least one half of a pack-year of cigarettes or the equivalent thereof in other tobacco products prior to the clinical onset of the malignant neoplasm of the lung.

34295 the veteran commenced smoking tobacco products at least 5 years before the clinical onset of the condition under consideration.

34297 smoking as a causal result of operational service made a material contribution to the SOP requirements for malignant neoplasm of the lung and smoking tobacco products.

or

5820     the veteran has an adenocarcinoma of the lung.

34294 the veteran had smoked at least three pack-years of cigarettes or the equivalent thereof in other tobacco products prior to the clinical onset of the malignant neoplasm of the lung.

Clinical onset and eligible service [34292]

5804     the veteran has a malignant neoplasm of the lung of the first kind.

5816     the veteran has a squamous cell carcinoma of the lung.

or

5817     the veteran has a carcinosarcoma of the lung.

or

5818     the veteran has a small cell or oat cell carcinoma of the lung.

or

5819     the veteran has a malignant neoplasm of the lung of undetermined histology.

or

5821     the veteran has a large cell carcinoma of the lung.

34293 the veteran had smoked at least one half of a pack-year of cigarettes or the equivalent thereof in other tobacco products prior to the clinical onset of the malignant neoplasm of the lung.

34296 the veteran commenced smoking tobacco products at least 10 years before the clinical onset of the condition under consideration.

34298 smoking as a causal result of eligible service made a material contribution to the SOP requirements for malignant neoplasm of the lung and smoking tobacco products.

or

5820     the veteran has an adenocarcinoma of the lung.

34294 the veteran had smoked at least three pack-years of cigarettes or the equivalent thereof in other tobacco products prior to the clinical onset of the malignant neoplasm of the lung.