Tobacco industry memo reveals passive smoking strategy

The tobacco industry's worldwide ETS consultants project: European and Asian components

BACKGROUND

The tobacco industry has formed regional environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) consultants programs in order to generate controversy on the issue of secondhand smoke (SHS) in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Only those countries in which the industry foresaw SHS restrictions were included. This paper describes the European and Asian components of the tobacco industry's worldwide ETS consultants program.

METHODS

A systematic search was carried out of tobacco industry documents available on the Internet between October 2002 and February 2004.

RESULTS

Beginning in 1987, Philip Morris assembled an international ETS consultants program in collaboration with other tobacco companies based on their market shares in different regions of the world. The law firm Covington & Burling contacted and hired consultants with a wide range of expertise, usually affiliated with an academic institution, in order to avoid direct contact with the industry. The objective of the program was to influence policy makers, media and the public by providing, through their consultants, 'accurate' (pro-industry) information concerning smoking regulations in public places and workplaces, indoor air quality and ventilation standards, and scientific claims regarding SHS. Consultants also conducted research related to SHS and organized and attended regional and international symposiums related to SHS without acknowledging industry funding.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite evidence that the issue of smoke-free environments was close to emerging within the general public throughout the world in the late 1980s, the tobacco industry used its well-organized network of consultants to avoid SHS regulations in most of the world.

Implications of the tobacco industry documents for public health and policy

The release of previously secret internal tobacco industry documents has given the public health community unprecedented insight into the industry's motives, strategies, tactics, and data. The documents provide information that is not available from any other source and describe the history of industry activities over the past 50 years. The documents show that the tobacco industry has been engaged in deceiving policy makers and the public for decades. This paper begins with a brief history of the tobacco industry documents and describes the methodological challenges related to locating and analyzing an enormous number of poorly indexed documents. It provides an overview of selected important findings of document research conducted to date, including analyses of industry documents on nicotine and addiction, product design, marketing and promotion, passive smoke, and internal activities. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of tobacco document research for public health and the application of such research to fields other than tobacco control.

Tobacco industry efforts to defeat the occupational safety and health administration indoor air quality rule

OBJECTIVES

We describe tobacco industry strategies to defeat the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Indoor Air Quality rule and the implementation of those strategies.

METHODS

We analyzed tobacco industry documents, public commentary on, and media coverage of the OSHA rule.

RESULTS

The tobacco industry had 5 strategies: (1) maintain scientific debate about the basis of the rule, (2) delay deliberation on the rule, (3) redefine the scope of the rule, (4) recruit and assist labor and business organizations in opposing the rule, and (5) increase media coverage of the tobacco industry position. The tobacco industry successfully implemented all 5 strategies.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that regulatory authorities must take into account the source, motivation, and validity of arguments used in the regulatory process in order to make accurately informed decisions.

Lessons learned from the tobacco industry's efforts to prevent the passage of a workplace smoking regulation

OBJECTIVES

This study assessed the implementation of tobacco industry strategies to prevent a workplace smoking regulation.

METHODS

Tobacco industry internal documents were identified; hearing transcripts for the affiliations, arguments, and positions regarding the regulation of testifiers were coded; and media coverage was analyzed.

RESULTS

Tobacco industry strategies sought to increase business participation and economic discussions at public hearings and to promote unfavorable media coverage of the regulation. The percentage of business representatives opposing the regulation grew from 18% (5 to 28) to 57% (13 of 23) between the hearings. Economic arguments opposing the regulation rose from 25% (7 of 28) to 70% (16 of 23). Press coverage was neutral and did not increase during the period of the regulatory hearings.

CONCLUSIONS

The tobacco industry was successful in implementing 2 of its 3 strategies but was not able to prevent passage of the comprehensive workplace regulation.

Measures of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. Validity, precision, and relevance

It is often not clear what the best measures of exposure are for a risk assessment, or even how one should answer this question. Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) provides a good example for an exploration of uncertainty. There are a variety of methods for estimating exposure and each has short-comings. In this paper we summarize the physical characteristics of ETS and the principal methods for assessing exposure. We review the accuracy and applicability of these methods, and explore major sources of uncertainty in the assessment of ETS.

The impact of smoke-free workplaces on declining cigarette consumption in Australia and the United States

OBJECTIVES

This study estimates the contribution of smoke-free workplaces to the recent national declines in cigarette consumption in Australia and the United States.

METHODS

Nineteen studies of the impact of smoke-free workplaces on workday cigarette consumption were reviewed. The number and cost of cigarettes forgone were calculated and extrapolated to a scenario in which all indoor work areas were smoke-free.

RESULTS

Of the 19 studies, 18 reported declines in daily smoking rates, and 17 reported declines in smoking prevalence. Smoke-free workplaces are currently responsible for an annual reduction of some 602 million cigarettes, or 1.8% of all cigarettes that might otherwise be consumed, in Australia, and an annual reduction of 9.7 billion cigarettes (2%) in the United States. Approximately 22.3% of the 2.7 billion decrease in cigarette consumption in Australia between 1988 and 1995 can be attributed to smoke-free workplaces, as can 12.7% of the 76.5 billion decrease in the United States between 1988 and 1994.

CONCLUSIONS

If workplaces were universally smoke-free, the number of cigarettes forgone annually would increase to 1.14 billion (3.4%) in Australia and 20.9 billion (4.1%) in the United States.

How the NHMRC got its fingers burnt

On 20 December 1996, Justice J Finn of the Federal Court of Australia handed down his judgment in the case of the Tobacco Institute of Australia (TIA) Ltd and others v the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and others. Justice Finn concluded that, in developing its recommendations for control of environmental tobacco smoke, the NHMRC's Working Party on Passive Smoking erred significantly in regard to the consultative procedures that it employed. As the following discussion shows, the legal decision has profound implications for the NHMRC and the provision of expert advice to Australian governments on matters of health and health policy. The discussion has been prepared by three members of the NHMRC Working Party, but reflects their personal views and not necessarily those of the Working Party as a whole or those of the NHMRC.