Strategic marketing in the UK tobacco industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Susan; Hastings, Gerard; MacFadyen, Lynn

2002-08-01

Tobacco-industry marketing has played a central part in the global spread of tobacco use and addiction. Although the absolute size of the tobacco market has dwindled, the industry is still immensely successful, largely due to sophisticated and manipulative marketing strategies. The UK tobacco industry identifies target groups and builds enduring relationships based on careful brand management. Potential customers are exposed to brands which are likely to appeal to them most. Tobacco companies tailor their products to target markets by altering the content of tar and nicotine, and by adding flavourings to produce a distinctive taste. Marketing strategies ensure that the products are promoted heavily at the point of sale, and directed advertising and sponsorship agreements are used to increase the visibility of the brand and strengthen its image. Tobacco companies also target non-consumer organisations such as retailers and policy makers with the aim of creating the best possible business environment for tobacco sales. We review published evidence, internal-advertising-agency documents, and observational data about tobacco promotion, and discuss the use of targeted marketing strategies in the UK.

How the tobacco industry built its relationship with Hollywood

Science.gov (United States)

Mekemson, C; Glantz, S

2002-01-01

Methods: Review of previously secret tobacco industry documents available on the internet. Results: Both the entertainment and tobacco industries recognised the high value of promotion of tobacco through entertainment media. The 1980s saw undertakings by four tobacco companies, Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds (RJR), American Tobacco Company, and Brown and Williamson to place their products in movies. RJR and Philip Morris also worked to place products on television at the beginning of the decade. Each company hired aggressive product placement firms to represent its interests in Hollywood. These firms placed products and tobacco signage in positive situations that would encourage viewers to use tobacco and kept brands from being used in negative situations. At least one of the companies, RJR, undertook an extensive campaign to hook Hollywood on tobacco by providing free cigarettes to actors on a monthly basis. Efforts were also made to place favourable articles relating to product use by actors in national print media and to encourage professional photographers to take pictures of actors smoking specific brands. The cigar industry started developing connections with the entertainment industry beginning in the 1980s and paid product placements were made in both movies and on television. This effort did not always require money payments from the tobacco industry to the entertainment industry, suggesting that simply looking for cash payoffs may miss other important ties between the tobacco and entertainment industries. Conclusions: The tobacco industry understood the value of placing and encouraging tobacco use in films, and how to do it. While the industry claims to have ended this practice, smoking in motion pictures increased throughout the 1990s and remains a public health problem. PMID:11893818

Tobacco industry influence on the definition of tobacco related disorders by the American Psychiatric Association.

Science.gov (United States)

Neuman, M D; Bitton, A; Glantz, S A

2005-10-01

The Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, third edition (DSM-III), published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in 1980, included the first official definitions by the APA of tobacco dependence and tobacco withdrawal. Tobacco industry efforts to influence the DSM-III were investigated. Searches of previously secret tobacco industry documents, primarily the University of California San Francisco Legacy Tobacco Documents Library and British American Tobacco collections. Additional information was collected through discussions with editors of DSM-III, and library and general internet searches. The tobacco companies regarded the inclusion of tobacco dependence as a diagnosis in DSM-III as an adverse event. It worked to influence the content of the DSM-III and its impact following publication. These efforts included public statements and private lobbying of DSM-III editors and high ranking APA officers by prominent US psychiatrists with undisclosed ties to the tobacco industry. Following publication of DSM-III, tobacco companies contracted with two US professors of psychiatry to organise a conference and publish a monograph detailing controversies surrounding DSM-III. The tobacco industry and its allies lobbied to narrow the definition of tobacco dependence in serial revisions of DSM-III. Following publication of DSM-III, the industry took steps to try to mitigate its impact. These actions mirror industry tactics to influence medical research and policy in various contexts worldwide. Such tactics slow the spread of a professional and public understanding of smoking and health that otherwise would reduce smoking, smoking induced disease, and tobacco company profits.

Smoking in Ghana: a review of tobacco industry activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Owusu-Dabo, E; Lewis, S; McNeill, A; Anderson, S; Gilmore, A; Britton, J

2009-06-01

African countries are a major potential market for the tobacco industry, and the smoking epidemic is at various stages of evolution across the continent. Ghana is an African country with a low prevalence of smoking despite an active tobacco industry presence for over 50 years. This study explores potential reasons for this apparent lack of industry success. To explore the history of tobacco industry activity in Ghana and to identify potential reasons for the current low prevalence of smoking. A search was made of tobacco industry archives and other local sources to obtain data relevant to marketing and consumption of tobacco in Ghana. British American Tobacco, and latterly the International Tobacco Company and its successor the Meridian Tobacco Company, have been manufacturing cigarettes in Ghana since 1954. After an initial sales boom in the two decades after independence in 1957, the sustained further increases in consumption typical of the tobacco epidemic in most countries did not occur. Possible key reasons include the taking of tobacco companies into state ownership and a lack of foreign exchange to fund tobacco leaf importation in the 1970s, both of which may have inhibited growth at a key stage of development, and the introduction of an advertising ban in 1982. BAT ceased manufacturing cigarettes in Ghana in 2006. The tobacco industry has been active in Ghana for over 50 years but with variable success. The combination of an early advertising ban and periods of unfavourable economic conditions, which may have restricted industry growth, are likely to have contributed to the sustained low levels of tobacco consumption in Ghana to date.

Alliance between tobacco and alcohol industries to shape public policy

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Nan

2013-01-01

Aims The tobacco and alcohol industries share common policy goals when facing regulation, opposing policies such as tax increases and advertising restrictions. The collaboration between these two industries in the tobacco policy arena is unknown. This study explored if tobacco and alcohol companies built alliances to influence tobacco legislation, and if so, how those alliances worked. Methods Analysis of previously secret tobacco industry documents. Findings In the early 1980s, tobacco companies started efforts to build coalitions with alcohol and other industries to oppose cigarette excise taxes, clean indoor air policies, and tobacco advertising and promotion constraints. Alcohol companies were often identified as a key partner and source of financial support for the coalitions. These coalitions had variable success interfering with tobacco control policymaking. Conclusions The combined resources of tobacco and alcohol companies may have affected tobacco control legislation. These alliances helped to create the perception that there is a broader base of opposition to tobacco control. Advocates should be aware of the covert alliances between tobacco, alcohol, and other industries and expose them to correct this misperception. PMID:23587076

The "We Card" program: tobacco industry "youth smoking prevention" as industry self-preservation.

Science.gov (United States)

Apollonio, Dorie E; Malone, Ruth E

2010-07-01

The "We Card" program is the most ubiquitous tobacco industry "youth smoking prevention" program in the United States, and its retailer materials have been copied in other countries. The program's effectiveness has been questioned, but no previous studies have examined its development, goals, and uses from the tobacco industry's perspective. On the basis of our analysis of tobacco industry documents released under the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement, we concluded that the We Card program was undertaken for 2 primary purposes: to improve the tobacco industry's image and to reduce regulation and the enforcement of existing laws. Policymakers should be cautious about accepting industry self-regulation at face value, both because it redounds to the industry's benefit and because it is ineffective.

Tobacco point-of-purchase promotion: examining tobacco industry documents.

Science.gov (United States)

Lavack, Anne M; Toth, Graham

2006-10-01

In the face of increasing media restrictions around the world, point-of-purchase promotion (also called point-of-sale merchandising, and frequently abbreviated as POP or POS) is now one of the most important tools that tobacco companies have for promoting tobacco products. Using tobacco industry documents, this paper demonstrates that tobacco companies have used point-of-purchase promotion in response to real or anticipated advertising restrictions. Their goal was to secure dominance in the retail setting, and this was achieved through well-trained sales representatives who offered contracts for promotional incentive programmes to retailers, which included the use of point-of-sale displays and merchandising fixtures. Audit programmes played an important role in ensuring contract enforcement and compliance with a variety of tobacco company incentive programmes. Tobacco companies celebrated their merchandising successes, in recognition of the stiff competition that existed among tobacco companies for valuable retail display space.

Union Women, the Tobacco Industry, and Excise Taxes

Science.gov (United States)

Balbach, Edith D.; Campbell, Richard B.

2009-01-01

Between 1987 and 1997, the tobacco industry used the issue of cigarette excise tax increases to create a political partnership with the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), a group representing female trade unionists in the U.S. This paper documents how the industry created this relationship and the lessons tobacco-control advocates can learn from the industry’s example, in order to mitigate possible unintended consequences of advocating excise tax increases In 1998, under the terms of the Master Settlement Agreement, the tobacco industry began making documents produced in litigation available publicly. Currently, approximately 50 million pages are available online, including substantial documentation of the industry–CLUW relationship. For this study, a comprehensive search of these documents was conducted. The tobacco industry encouraged CLUW’s opposition to excise tax increases by emphasizing the economic regressivity of these taxes, discussing excise taxes generically to deflect attention from cigarettes, and encouraging opposition to earmarking cigarette taxes to pay for specific programs. In addition, CLUW received at least $221,500 in financial support between 1987 and 1997 and in-kind support for its conferences, membership materials, and other services. Excise tax increases, if pursued without considering the impacts they may have on low-SES populations, may have unintended consequences. In this case, such proposals may have helped to create a relationship between CLUW and the tobacco industry. Because excise taxes are endorsed in the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, tobacco-control advocates must understand how to build relationships with low-SES populations and mitigate potential alliances with the tobacco industry. PMID:19591750

"Below the Line": The tobacco industry and youth smoking.

Science.gov (United States)

Coombs, Jaimee; Bond, Laura; Van, Victoria; Daube, Mike

2011-01-01

This paper provides a comprehensive account of how the tobacco industry, over time, has promoted its products to young people. A comprehensive search of tobacco industry documents relating to youth smoking was conducted using documents available on the World Wide Web through the Master Settlement Agreement. The documents provide evidence that the industry invested great time and resources in developing strategies to attract young people through Youth Smoking Prevention strategies (including education strategies) and marketing to youth. The results include information from published literature and direct excerpts from the tobacco industry documents. The tobacco industry documents confirm that the tobacco industry has promoted and supported strategies that are ineffective in reducing smoking by youth, and opposed strategies that have proven to be effective. It is clear from the documents reviewed that the industry values the youth market and through a number of measures continues to promote its products to young people.

Containing diffusion: the tobacco industry's multipronged trade strategy to block tobacco standardised packaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Crosbie, Eric; Eckford, Robert; Bialous, Stella

2018-04-21

To analyse the tobacco industry's strategy of using trade and investment agreements to prevent the global diffusion of standardised packaging (SP) of tobacco products. Review of tobacco industry documents, relevant government documents and media items. The data were triangulated and thematically analysed. Internal tobacco industry documents reveal that during the early 1990s, tobacco companies developed a multipronged trade strategy to prevent the global diffusion of progressive tobacco packaging and labelling proposals, including SP. This strategy consisted of (1) framing the health issue in terms of trade and investment, (2) detailing alleged legal violations concerning trade barriers, intellectual property and investment rights, (3) threatening legal suits and reputational damage, and (4) garnering third-party support. These efforts helped delay SP until 2010 when Australia became the first country to reintroduce SP proposals, followed by governments in the UK and New Zealand in 2012, Ireland in 2013 and France in 2014. Review of government documents and media sources in each of the five countries indicate the industry continues to employ this multipronged strategy throughout the SP policy's progression. Although this strategy is tailored towards each domestic context, the overall tobacco industry's trade strategy remains consistently focused on shifting the attention away from public health and towards the realm of trade and investment with more corporate-friendly allies. Governments seeking to implement SP need to be prepared to resist and counter the industry's multipronged trade strategy by avoiding trade diversions, exposing false industry legal and reputational claims, and monitoring third-party support. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

The tobacco industry's accounts of refining indirect tobacco advertising in Malaysia

OpenAIRE

Assunta, M; Chapman, S

2004-01-01

Objective: To explore tobacco industry accounts of its use of indirect tobacco advertising and trademark diversification (TMD) in Malaysia, a nation with a reputation for having an abundance of such advertising.

Globalisation of tobacco industry influence and new global responses

Science.gov (United States)

Yach, D.; Bettcher, D.

2000-01-01

The globalisation of tobacco marketing, trade, research, and industry influence represents a major threat to public health worldwide. Drawing upon tobacco industry strategy documents prepared over several decades, this paper will demonstrate how the tobacco industry operates as a global force, regarding the world as its operating market by planning, developing, and marketing its products on a global scale. The industry has used a wide range of methods to buy influence and power, and penetrate markets across the world. It has an annual turnover of almost US$400 billion. In contrast, until recently tobacco control lacked global leadership and strategic direction and had been severely underfunded. As part of moving towards a more sustainable form of globalisation, a global enabling environment linked to local actions should focus on the following strategies: global information management; development of nationally and locally grounded action; global regulation, legal instruments, and foreign policy; and establishment of strong partnerships with purpose. As the vector of the tobacco epidemic, the tobacco industry's actions fall far outside of the boundaries of global corporate responsibility. Therefore, global and local actions should not provide the tobacco industry with the two things that it needs to ensure its long term profitability: respectability and predictability.


Keywords: globalisation of tobacco marketing PMID:10841858

Tobacco industry lifestyle magazines targeted to young adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Cortese, Daniel K; Lewis, M Jane; Ling, Pamela M

2009-09-01

This is the first study describing the tobacco industry's objectives developing and publishing lifestyle magazines, linking them to tobacco marketing strategies, and how these magazines may encourage smoking. Analysis of previously secret tobacco industry documents and content analysis of 31 lifestyle magazines to understand the motives behind producing these magazines and the role they played in tobacco marketing strategies. Philip Morris (PM) debuted Unlimited in 1996 to nearly 2 million readers and RJ Reynolds (RJR) debuted CML in 1999, targeting young adults with their interests. Both magazines were developed as the tobacco companies faced increased advertising restrictions. Unlimited contained few images of smoking, but frequently featured elements of the Marlboro brand identity in both advertising and article content. CML featured more smoking imagery and fewer Camel brand identity elements. Lifestyle promotions that lack images of smoking may still promote tobacco use through brand imagery. The tobacco industry still uses the "under-the-radar" strategies used in development of lifestyle magazines in branded Websites. Prohibiting lifestyle advertising including print and electronic media that associate tobacco with recreation, action, pleasures, and risky behaviors or that reinforces tobacco brand identity may be an effective strategy to curb young adult smoking.

US Media Coverage of Tobacco Industry Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives.

Science.gov (United States)

McDaniel, Patricia A; Lown, E Anne; Malone, Ruth E

2018-02-01

Media coverage of tobacco industry corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives represents a competitive field where tobacco control advocates and the tobacco industry vie to shape public and policymaker understandings about tobacco control and the industry. Through a content analysis of 649 US news items, we examined US media coverage of tobacco industry CSR and identified characteristics of media items associated with positive coverage. Most coverage appeared in local newspapers, and CSR initiatives unrelated to tobacco, with non-controversial beneficiaries, were most commonly mentioned. Coverage was largely positive. Tobacco control advocates were infrequently cited as sources and rarely authored opinion pieces; however, when their voices were included, coverage was less likely to have a positive slant. Media items published in the South, home to several tobacco company headquarters, were more likely than those published in the West to have a positive slant. The absence of tobacco control advocates from media coverage represents a missed opportunity to influence opinion regarding the negative public health implications of tobacco industry CSR. Countering the media narrative of virtuous companies doing good deeds could be particularly beneficial in the South, where the burdens of tobacco-caused disease are greatest, and coverage of tobacco companies more positive.

Association between tobacco industry denormalization beliefs, tobacco control community discontent and smokers' level of nicotine dependence.

Science.gov (United States)

Kushnir, Vladyslav; Selby, Peter; Cunningham, John A

2013-07-01

Tobacco industry denormalization (TID) informs the public about the tobacco industry's role in the tobacco epidemic and is an important component of a comprehensive tobacco control strategy. Although TID beliefs have been noted in adult smokers and associated with intent to quit, research has not evaluated whether they are affected by smokers' level of nicotine dependence. The present article sought to concurrently examine how attitudes towards the tobacco industry and tobacco control groups may differ among smokers of varying levels of nicotine dependence. In addition, it evaluated how these attitudes and beliefs may be associated with smokers' intentions to reduce or quit smoking. A random digit dialing telephone survey was conducted of 889 Canadian current daily smokers, 18 years and older. Attitudes towards the tobacco industry were mixed among the entire cohort and differences in beliefs towards the tobacco industry were not found among smokers of varying levels of nicotine dependence. However, smokers that held strong TID beliefs were 5 times more intent to quit smoking than those without such beliefs. Compared to smokers with low level of nicotine dependence, heavy smokers were more likely to report strong overall displeasure with the tobacco control community (OR=1.98, 95% CI=1.23-3.19, p=0.005), however there were no differences with regards to future intent to quit. The absence of strong negative sentiment toward the tobacco industry among smokers as a whole suggests that more targeted anti-industry messages are needed, raising greater awareness of tobacco industry practices within smokers and non-smokers alike. As heavier smokers' discontent with the tobacco control community highlights increasing social disapproval and pressure to quit smoking, future educational and media strategies used for smoking cessation purposes may benefit from emphasizing more of the positive attributes associated with quitting smoking, as opposed to the negative features of

"Stay away from them until you're old enough to make a decision": tobacco company testimony about youth smoking initiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wakefield, Melanie; McLeod, Kim; Perry, Cheryl L

2006-12-01

To determine common themes used by US tobacco industry witnesses pertaining to youth smoking initiation during litigation in the United States. Qualitative thematic analysis of transcripts from 29 tobacco litigation cases dating from 1992 to 2002. Youth smoking is portrayed by the tobacco industry as a source of great concern to them. Youth smoking prevention programmes developed by US tobacco companies are supposedly intended to delay decision-making about smoking until age 18, when individuals are then seen to be of an age where they are able to "choose to smoke". Tobacco industry media campaigns, youth access, community and school-based programmes are predicated on peer influence, parental factors, and commercial access being the primary influences on youth smoking uptake, rather than tobacco marketing, inaccurate risk appraisal, price and other factors known to influence youth smoking. Despite substantial financial investment in tobacco industry programmes, their witnesses were able to describe only weak evaluation methods, being preoccupied with measures of message comprehension, programme reach and uptake, and the associated costs of their efforts, rather than any evaluation designed to assess effects on youth smoking behaviour. Stated concerns about youth smoking and youth smoking prevention programmes are put forward in litigation as evidence that the tobacco industry is "serious" about tackling youth smoking, and serve as a primary strategy to improve the tobacco industry's public image. The tobacco industry's evaluation of the effectiveness of their youth smoking prevention programmes is demonstrably insufficient under current public health evaluation standards. Public health and welfare agencies should avoid engagement with tobacco industry-sponsored programmes.

Chinese tobacco industry promotional activity on the microblog Weibo.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Fan; Zheng, Pinpin; Yang, Dongyun; Freeman, Becky; Fu, Hua; Chapman, Simon

2014-01-01

Although China ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control [FCTC] in 2005, the partial ban on tobacco advertising does not cover the internet. Weibo is one of the most important social media channels in China, using a format similar to its global counterpart, Twitter. The Weibo homepage is a platform to present products, brands and corporate culture. There is great potential for the tobacco industry to exploit Weibo to promote products. Seven tobacco industry Weibo accounts that each had more than 5000 fans were selected to examine the content of Weibos established by tobacco companies or their advertising agents. Of the 12073 posts found on the seven accounts, 92.3% (11143) could be classified into six main themes: traditional culture, popular culture, social and business affairs, advertisement, public relations and tobacco culture. Posts under the theme of popular culture accounted for about half of total posts (49%), followed by 'advertisement' and 'tobacco culture' (both at 12%), 'traditional culture' and 'public relations' (both at 11%), and finally 'social and business affairs' (5%). 33% of posts included the words 'cigarette' or 'smoking' and 53% of posts included the tobacco brand name, indicating that tobacco companies carefully construct the topic and content of posts. Weibo is an important new online marketing tool for the Chinese tobacco industry. Tobacco industry use of Weibo to promote brands and normalize smoking subverts China's ratification of the WHO FCTC. Policy to control tobacco promotion needs reforming to address this widespread circumvention of China's tobacco advertising ban.

Chinese tobacco industry promotional activity on the microblog Weibo.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fan Wang

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Although China ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control [FCTC] in 2005, the partial ban on tobacco advertising does not cover the internet. Weibo is one of the most important social media channels in China, using a format similar to its global counterpart, Twitter. The Weibo homepage is a platform to present products, brands and corporate culture. There is great potential for the tobacco industry to exploit Weibo to promote products. METHODS: Seven tobacco industry Weibo accounts that each had more than 5000 fans were selected to examine the content of Weibos established by tobacco companies or their advertising agents. RESULTS: Of the 12073 posts found on the seven accounts, 92.3% (11143 could be classified into six main themes: traditional culture, popular culture, social and business affairs, advertisement, public relations and tobacco culture. Posts under the theme of popular culture accounted for about half of total posts (49%, followed by 'advertisement' and 'tobacco culture' (both at 12%, 'traditional culture' and 'public relations' (both at 11%, and finally 'social and business affairs' (5%. 33% of posts included the words 'cigarette' or 'smoking' and 53% of posts included the tobacco brand name, indicating that tobacco companies carefully construct the topic and content of posts. CONCLUSIONS: Weibo is an important new online marketing tool for the Chinese tobacco industry. Tobacco industry use of Weibo to promote brands and normalize smoking subverts China's ratification of the WHO FCTC. Policy to control tobacco promotion needs reforming to address this widespread circumvention of China's tobacco advertising ban.

Endgame: engaging the tobacco industry in its own elimination.

Science.gov (United States)

Ioannidis, John P A; Henriksen, Lisa; Prochaska, Judith J

2013-12-01

A billion deaths from tobacco are expected by 2100. Many policy interventions such as increased taxation, restrictions on advertisement, smoking bans, as well as behavioral interventions, such as pharmacological and psychological treatments for smoking cessation, decrease tobacco use, but they reach their limits. Endgame scenarios focusing on tobacco supply rather than demand are increasingly discussed, but meet with resistance by the industry and even by many tobacco control experts. A main stumbling block that requires more attention is what to do with the tobacco industry in endgame scenarios. This industry has employed notoriously talented experts in law, business, organization, marketing, advertising, strategy, policy, and statistics and has tremendous lobbying power. Performance-based regulatory approaches can pose a legal obligation on manufacturers to decrease - and eventually - eliminate tobacco products according to specified schedules. Penalties and rewards can make such plans both beneficial for public health and attractive to the companies that do the job well. We discuss caveats and reality checks of engaging the tobacco industry to eliminate its current market and change focus. Brainstorming is warranted to entice the industry to abandon tobacco for other profit goals. To get the dialogue started, we propose the wild possibility of hiring former tobacco companies to reduce the costs of healthcare, thereby addressing concurrently two major challenges to public health. © 2013 Stichting European Society for Clinical Investigation Journal Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

African media coverage of tobacco industry corporate social responsibility initiatives.

Science.gov (United States)

McDaniel, Patricia A; Cadman, Brie; Malone, Ruth E

2018-02-01

Guidelines for implementing the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) recommend prohibiting tobacco industry corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, but few African countries have done so. We examined African media coverage of tobacco industry CSR initiatives to understand whether and how such initiatives were presented to the public and policymakers. We searched two online media databases (Lexis Nexis and Access World News) for all news items published from 1998 to 2013, coding retrieved items through a collaborative, iterative process. We analysed the volume, type, provenance, slant and content of coverage, including the presence of tobacco control or tobacco interest themes. We found 288 news items; most were news stories published in print newspapers. The majority of news stories relied solely on tobacco industry representatives as news sources, and portrayed tobacco industry CSR positively. When public health voices and tobacco control themes were included, news items were less likely to have a positive slant. This suggests that there is a foundation on which to build media advocacy efforts. Drawing links between implementing the FCTC and prohibiting or curtailing tobacco industry CSR programmes may result in more public dialogue in the media about the negative impacts of tobacco company CSR initiatives.

Tobacco Industry Political Activity and Tobacco Control Policy Making in Washington: 1996-2000

OpenAIRE

Nixon, Meredith L. BA; Glantz, Stanton A. Ph.D.

2001-01-01

• After making substantial progress on tobacco control in the mid-1990s, the tobacco industry has stifled tobacco control activities in Washington through a mixture of campaign contributions and legal challenges. • Political campaign contributions have remained steadily high throughout the 1990s. Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds, the Tobacco Institute, Lorillard, Brown & Williamson, and the Smokeless Tobacco Council contributed $362,298 to campaigns in 1996 through 2000 election cycles: $1...

The vector of the tobacco epidemic: tobacco industry practices in low and middle-income countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Sungkyu; Ling, Pamela M; Glantz, Stanton A

2012-03-01

To understand transnational tobacco companies' (TTCs) practices in low and middle-income countries which serve to block tobacco-control policies and promote tobacco use. Systematic review of published research on tobacco industry activities to promote tobacco use and oppose tobacco-control policies in low and middle-income countries. TTCs' strategies used in low and middle-income countries followed four main themes-economic activity; marketing/promotion; political activity; and deceptive/manipulative activity. Economic activity, including foreign investment and smuggling, was used to enter new markets. Political activities included lobbying, offering voluntary self-regulatory codes, and mounting corporate social responsibility campaigns. Deceptive activities included manipulation of science and use of third-party allies to oppose smoke-free policies, delay other tobacco-control policies, and maintain support of policymakers and the public for a pro-tobacco industry policy environment. TTCs used tactics for marketing, advertising, and promoting their brands that were tailored to specific market environments. These activities included direct and indirect tactis, targeting particular populations, and introducing new tobacco products designed to limit marketing restrictions and taxes, maintain the social acceptability of tobacco use, and counter tobacco-control efforts. TTCs have used similar strategies in high-income countries as these being described in low and middle-income countries. As required by FCTC Article 5.3, to counter tobacco industry pressures and to implement effective tobacco-control policies, governments and health professionals in low and middle-income countries should fully understand TTCs practices and counter them.

Targeting of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders by the tobacco industry: results from the Minnesota Tobacco Document Depository

Science.gov (United States)

Muggli, M; Pollay, R; Lew, R; Joseph, A

2002-01-01

Objective: The study objective was to review internal tobacco industry documents written between 1985 and 1995 regarding the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) population in the USA. These documents detail opportunities and barriers to promotion of tobacco products, as viewed by the tobacco industry and its market research firms. Data sources/methods: Researchers reviewed tobacco industry documents from the document depository in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the tobacco industry's website, The Tobacco Archive, in a systematic fashion. A combined technique was employed using title keywords, dates, and names to search the 4(b) index. Findings: A review of internal tobacco company documents reveal that during the late 1980s, the industry and its market research firms recognised the importance of the AAPI community as a potential business market. Documents describe the population growth in this community, the high prevalence of smoking in countries of origin, high purchasing power of AAPI immigrants, cultural predisposition to smoking, opportunities afforded by the high proportion of retail businesses under AAPI ownership, barriers to developing the AAPI market, comprehensive campaigns, and political and lobbying efforts. Comprehensive campaigns were designed to integrate promotion efforts in AAPI consumer, retail, and business communities. Conclusions: The documents show that the tobacco industry developed specific promotion strategies to target the AAPI population. Tobacco control initiatives in the AAPI group have been slower to develop than in other targeted ethnic groups, and may benefit by increased awareness of industry methods to promote tobacco use. PMID:12198269

The tobacco industry's thwarting of marketing restrictions and health warnings in Lebanon.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakkash, R; Lee, K

2009-08-01

This article outlines how the tobacco industry has undermined tobacco control efforts in Lebanon since the early 1970s. An analysis of online and on-site tobacco industry documents, reviews of newspapers, policy and other documents, and interviews with key policy makers were conducted. Findings reveal how the weakness of tobacco control legislation in Lebanon has been the product of an effective tobacco industry strategy to weaken the content and scope of regulation, and delay adoption and implementation. The tobacco industry has built and maintained strong alliances that were and are regularly mobilised to effectively oppose regulation. Despite ratification of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2005, Lebanon's tobacco control track remains weak. Public health professionals and the government should work hard to oppose such tobacco industry tactics.

Tobacco industry consumer research on socially acceptable cigarettes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ling, P M; Glantz, S A

2005-10-01

To describe tobacco industry consumer research to inform the development of more "socially acceptable" cigarette products since the 1970s. Analysis of previously secret tobacco industry documents. 28 projects to develop more socially acceptable cigarettes were identified from Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds, British American Tobacco, and Lorillard tobacco companies. Consumer research and concept testing consistently demonstrated that many smokers feel strong social pressure not to smoke, and this pressure increased with exposure to smoking restrictions. Tobacco companies attempted to develop more socially acceptable cigarettes with less visible sidestream smoke or less odour. When presented in theory, these product concepts were very attractive to important segments of the smoking population. However, almost every product developed was unacceptable in actual product tests or test markets. Smokers reported the complete elimination of secondhand smoke was necessary to satisfy non-smokers. Smokers have also been generally unwilling to sacrifice their own smoking satisfaction for the benefit of others. Many smokers prefer smoke-free environments to cigarettes that produce less secondhand smoke. Concerns about secondhand smoke and clean indoor air policies have a powerful effect on the social acceptability of smoking. Historically, the tobacco industry has been unable to counter these effects by developing more socially acceptable cigarettes. These data suggest that educating smokers about the health dangers of secondhand smoke and promoting clean indoor air policies has been difficult for the tobacco industry to counter with new products, and that every effort should be made to pursue these strategies.

Mind your "smoking manners": the tobacco industry tactics to normalize smoking in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Kashiwabara, Mina; Armada, Francisco

2013-11-09

The tobacco industry has adapted its promotional strategies as tobacco-control measures have increased. This paper describes the tobacco industry's strategies on smoking manners and illustrates how these interfere with tobacco-control policy in Japan where tobacco control remains weak. Information on the tobacco industry's promotional strategies in Japan was collected through direct observation, a review of tobacco industry documents and a literature review. The limitation of the study would be a lack of industry documents from Japan as we relied on a database of a U.S. institution to collect internal documents from the tobacco industry. Japan Tobacco began using the manners strategies in the early 1960s. Collaborating with wide range of actors -including local governments and companies- the tobacco industry has promoted smoking manners to wider audiences through its advertising and corporate social responsibility activities. The tobacco industry in Japan has taken advantage of the cultural value placed on manners in Japan to increase the social acceptability of smoking, eventually aiming to diminish public support for smoke-free policies that threatens the industry's business. A stronger enforcement of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is critical to counteracting such strategies.

The atlas network: a “strategic ally” of the tobacco industry

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Sheryl; Lee, Kelley

2016-01-01

Summary Amid growing academic and policy interest in the influence of think tanks in public policy processes, this article demonstrates the extent of tobacco industry partnerships with think tanks in the USA, and analyzes how collaborating with a network of think tanks facilitated tobacco industry influence in public health policy. Through analysis of documents from tobacco companies and think tanks, we demonstrate that the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, a network of 449 free market think tanks, acted as a strategic ally to the tobacco industry throughout the 1990s. Atlas headquarters, while receiving donations from the industry, also channeled funding from tobacco corporations to think tank actors to produce publications supportive of industry positions. Thirty‐seven per cent of Atlas partner think tanks in the USA received funding from the tobacco industry; the majority of which were also listed as collaborators on public relations strategies or as allies in countering tobacco control efforts. By funding multiple think tanks, within a shared network, the industry was able to generate a conversation among independent policy experts, which reflected its position in tobacco control debates. This demonstrates a coherent strategy by the tobacco industry to work with Atlas to influence public health policies from multiple directions. There is a need for critical analysis of the influence of think tanks in tobacco control and other health policy sectors, as well as greater transparency of their funding and other links to vested interests. © 2016 The Authors The International Journal of Health Planning and Management Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd PMID:27125556

SEATCA Tobacco Industry Interference Index: a tool for measuring implementation of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Article 5.3

Science.gov (United States)

Assunta, Mary; Dorotheo, E Ulysses

2016-01-01

Objective To measure the implementation of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Article 5.3 at country level using a new Tobacco Industry Interference Index and to report initial results using this index in seven Southeast Asian countries. Methods Score sheet based on WHO FCTC Article 5.3 Guidelines sent to correspondents in seven Southeast Asian countries, using a scoring system designed with the help of tobacco control experts and validated through focused group discussions. Results The seven countries ranked from the lowest level of interference to the highest are Brunei, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. Countries that face high levels of unnecessary interaction with the tobacco industry also face high levels of tobacco industry influence in policy development. Most governments do not allow any tobacco industry representatives on their delegation to sessions of the Conference of the Parties or its subsidiary bodies nor accept their sponsorship for delegates, but most governments still accept or endorse offers of assistance from the tobacco industry in implementing tobacco control policies. Most governments also receive tobacco industry contributions (monetary or in kind) or endorse industry corporate social responsibility activities. Governments do not have a procedure for disclosing interactions with the tobacco industry, but Lao PDR, Philippines and Thailand have instituted measures to prevent or reduce industry interference. Conclusions This Tobacco Industry Interference Index, based on the WHO FCTC Article 5.3 Guidelines, is a useful advocacy tool for identifying both progress and gaps in national efforts at implementing WHO FCTC Article 5.3. PMID:25908597

Do Tobacco Bans Harm the Advertising Industry?

OpenAIRE

Tom Coupe; Olena Gnezdilova

2008-01-01

We use panel data on advertising expenditures to check the influence of tobacco advertising bans on the advertising industry. We find no clear evidence of a negative effect of tobacco bans on total per capita advertising expenditures.

Tobacco industry use of flavourings to promote smokeless tobacco products.

Science.gov (United States)

Kostygina, Ganna; Ling, Pamela M

2016-11-01

While fruit, candy and alcohol characterising flavours are not allowed in cigarettes in the USA, other flavoured tobacco products such as smokeless tobacco (ST) continue to be sold. We investigated tobacco manufacturers' use of flavoured additives in ST products, the target audience(s) for flavoured products, and marketing strategies promoting products by emphasising their flavour. Qualitative analysis of internal tobacco industry documents triangulated with data from national newspaper articles, trade press and internet. Internally, flavoured products have been consistently associated with young and inexperienced tobacco users. Internal studies confirmed that candy-like sweeter milder flavours (eg, mint, fruit) could increase appeal to starters by evoking a perception of mildness, blinding the strong tobacco taste and unpleasant mouth feel; or by modifying nicotine delivery by affecting product pH. Similar to cigarettes, flavoured ST is likely to encourage novices to start using tobacco, and regulations limiting or eliminating flavours in cigarettes should be extended to include flavoured ST products. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

SEATCA Tobacco Industry Interference Index: a tool for measuring implementation of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Article 5.3.

Science.gov (United States)

Assunta, Mary; Dorotheo, E Ulysses

2016-05-01

To measure the implementation of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Article 5.3 at country level using a new Tobacco Industry Interference Index and to report initial results using this index in seven Southeast Asian countries. Score sheet based on WHO FCTC Article 5.3 Guidelines sent to correspondents in seven Southeast Asian countries, using a scoring system designed with the help of tobacco control experts and validated through focused group discussions. The seven countries ranked from the lowest level of interference to the highest are Brunei, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. Countries that face high levels of unnecessary interaction with the tobacco industry also face high levels of tobacco industry influence in policy development. Most governments do not allow any tobacco industry representatives on their delegation to sessions of the Conference of the Parties or its subsidiary bodies nor accept their sponsorship for delegates, but most governments still accept or endorse offers of assistance from the tobacco industry in implementing tobacco control policies. Most governments also receive tobacco industry contributions (monetary or in kind) or endorse industry corporate social responsibility activities. Governments do not have a procedure for disclosing interactions with the tobacco industry, but Lao PDR, Philippines and Thailand have instituted measures to prevent or reduce industry interference. This Tobacco Industry Interference Index, based on the WHO FCTC Article 5.3 Guidelines, is a useful advocacy tool for identifying both progress and gaps in national efforts at implementing WHO FCTC Article 5.3. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Public health foundations and the tobacco industry: lessons from Minnesota

Science.gov (United States)

Ibrahim, J; Tsoukalas, T; Glantz, S

2004-01-01

Objective: To investigate whether private foundations can be created in a way that will insulate them from attacks by the tobacco industry, using the Minnesota Partnership for Action Against Tobacco (MPAAT) as a case study. Design: Information was collected from internal tobacco industry documents, court documents, newspapers, and interviews with health advocates and elected officials. Results: The creation of MPAAT as an independent foundation did not insulate it from attacks by tobacco industry allies. During 2001–2002, MPAAT was repeatedly attacked by Attorney General Mike Hatch and major media, using standard tobacco industry rhetoric. This strategy of attack and demands for information were reminiscent of previous attacks on Minnesota's Plan for Nonsmoking and Health and the American Stop Smoking Intervention Study (ASSIST). MPAAT was ultimately forced to restructure its programme to abandon effective community norm change interventions around smoke-free policies and replace them with less effective individual cessation interventions. Neither MPAAT nor other health advocates mounted an effective public response to these attacks, instead relying on the insider strategy of responding in court. Conclusion: It is not possible to avoid attacks by the tobacco industry or its political allies. Like programmes administered by government agencies, tobacco control foundations must be prepared for these attacks, including a proactive plan to educate the public about the principles of community based tobacco control. Public health advocates also need to be willing to take prompt action to defend these programmes and hold public officials who attack tobacco control programmes accountable for their actions. PMID:15333877

Tobacco Industry Lifestyle Magazines Targeted to Young Adults

Science.gov (United States)

Cortese, Daniel K.; Lewis, M. Jane; Ling, Pamela M.

2010-01-01

Purpose This is the first study describing the tobacco industry’s objectives developing and publishing lifestyle magazines, linking them to tobacco marketing strategies, and how these magazines may encourage smoking. Methods Analysis of previously secret tobacco industry documents and content analysis of 31 lifestyle magazines to understand the motives behind producing these magazines and the role they played in tobacco marketing strategies. Results Philip Morris (PM) debuted Unlimited in 1996 to nearly 2 million readers and RJ Reynolds (RJR) debuted CML in 1999 targeting young adults with their interests. Both magazines were developed as the tobacco companies faced increased advertising restrictions Unlimited contained few images of smoking, but frequently featured elements of the Marlboro brand identity in both advertising and article content. CML featured more smoking imagery and fewer Camel brand identity elements. Conclusions Lifestyle promotions that lack images of smoking may still promote tobacco use through brand imagery. The tobacco industry still uses the “under the radar” strategies used in development of lifestyle magazines in branded websites. Prohibiting lifestyle advertising including print and electronic media that associate tobacco with recreation, action, pleasures, and risky behaviors or that reinforces tobacco brand identity may be an effective strategy to curb young adult smoking. PMID:19699423

A mire of highly subjective and ineffective voluntary guidelines: tobacco industry efforts to thwart tobacco control in Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Assunta, M; Chapman, S

2004-12-01

To describe tobacco industry efforts in Malaysia to thwart government efforts to regulate tobacco promotion and health warnings. Systematic keyword and opportunistic website searches of formerly private tobacco industry internal documents made available through the Master Settlement Agreement and secondary websites; relevant information from news articles and financial reports. Commencing in the 1970s, the industry began to systematically thwart government tobacco control. Guidelines were successfully promoted in the place of legislation for over two decades. Even when the government succeeded in implementing regulations such as health warnings and advertising bans they were compromised and acted effectively to retard further progress for years to come. Counter-measures to delay or thwart government efforts to regulate tobacco were initiated by the industry. Though not unique to Malaysia, the main difference lies in the degree to which strategies were used to successfully counter stringent tobacco control measures between 1970 and 1995.

Tobacco industry's ITGA fights FCTC implementation in the Uruguay negotiations.

Science.gov (United States)

Assunta, Mary

2012-11-01

To illustrate how the tobacco industry' front group, the International Tobacco Growers Association (ITGA), mobilised tobacco farmers to influence the fourth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP4) negotiations and defeat the adoption of Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Articles 9 and 10 Guidelines and Articles 17 and 18 progress report. A review of COP4 documents on Articles 9, 10, 17 and 18 was triangulated with relevant information from tobacco industry reports, websites of British American Tobacco, Philip Morris International and ITGA, presentations by tobacco industry executives and internal industry documents from the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library website. Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco rejected Articles 9 and 10 draft Guidelines claiming that banning ingredients in cigarettes will render burley leaf less commercially viable making tobacco growers in many countries suffer economic consequences. They claimed the terms 'attractiveness' and 'palatability' are not appropriate regulatory standards. The ITGA launched a global campaign to mobilise farmers to reject the draft Guidelines at COP4 in Uruguay. Tobacco producers, Brazil, Philippines, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe, sent large delegations to COP4 and participated actively in the negotiation on the draft Guidelines. Partial Guidelines on Articles 9 and 10 on product regulation and disclosure were adopted. COP4's work on Article 17 provides guidance on viable alternatives, but the ITGA is opposed to this and continues fight crop substitution. Despite ITGA's international campaign to thwart the Guidelines on Articles 9 and 10 and a strong representation from tobacco-growing countries at COP4, the outcome after intense negotiations was the adoption of Partial Guidelines and work on Articles 17 and 18 to proceed.

Reassessing policy paradigms: A comparison of the global tobacco and alcohol industries.

Science.gov (United States)

Hawkins, Benjamin; Holden, Chris; Eckhardt, Jappe; Lee, Kelley

2018-01-01

Tobacco is widely considered to be a uniquely harmful product for human health. Since the mid-1990s, the strategies of transnational tobacco corporations to undermine effective tobacco control policy has been extensively documented through internal industry documents. Consequently, the sale, use and marketing of tobacco products are subject to extensive regulation and formal measures to exclude the industry from policy-making have been adopted in the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. In contrast to tobacco, alcohol is subject to less stringent forms of regulation, and the alcohol industry continues to play a central role in policy-making in many countries and at the global level. This article examines whether there is a sufficient rationale for such different regulatory approaches, through a comparative analysis of the political economy of the tobacco and alcohol industries including the structure of the industries, and the market and political strategies they pursue. Despite some important differences, the extensive similarities which exist between the tobacco and alcohol industries in terms of market structure and strategy, and political strategy, call into question the rationale for both the relatively weak regulatory approach taken towards alcohol, and the continued participation of alcohol corporations in policy-making processes.

Tobacco industry influence on the definition of tobacco related disorders by the American Psychiatric Association

OpenAIRE

Neuman, M; Bitton, A; Glantz, S

2005-01-01

Objective: The Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, third edition (DSM-III), published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in 1980, included the first official definitions by the APA of tobacco dependence and tobacco withdrawal. Tobacco industry efforts to influence the DSM-III were investigated.

"Fighting a hurricane": tobacco industry efforts to counter the perceived threat of Islam.

Science.gov (United States)

Petticrew, Mark; Lee, Kelley; Ali, Haider; Nakkash, Rima

2015-06-01

Islamic countries are of key importance to transnational tobacco companies as growing markets with increasing smoking rates. We analyzed internal tobacco industry documents to assess the industry's response to rising concerns about tobacco use within Islamic countries. The tobacco industry perceived Islam as a significant threat to its expansion into these emerging markets. To counter these concerns, the industry framed antismoking views in Islamic countries as fundamentalist and fanatical and attempted to recruit Islamic consultants to portray smoking as acceptable. Tobacco industry lawyers also helped develop theological arguments in favor of smoking. These findings are valuable to researchers and policymakers seeking to implement culturally appropriate measures in Islamic countries under the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Under the radar--how the tobacco industry targets youth in Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Harper, Todd A; Martin, Jane E

2002-12-01

Tobacco consumption has been declining in Australia since the 1970s when controls on advertising were first introduced. Since this time, legislation has been progressively introduced, severely restricting tobacco advertising and promotion in the mainstream media. This has resulted in limited opportunities for the tobacco industry to reach new smokers, particularly young people. This paper outlines marketing strategies used by tobacco companies and their advertising agencies to reach this group; it examines how the industry exploits loopholes in current legislation and identifies new promotional opportunities. Increasingly, the industry has targeted young people through film, dance parties, nightclubs, fashion shows, e-mail and the internet. The industry is also capitalizing on promoting pack design elements and enhancing them through event promotion. Unless restrictions on tobacco marketing and promotion are comprehensive they undermine the effectiveness of those already in place and will continue to be exploited by the tobacco industry. The recent announcement by the Federal government to reassess the current legislative restrictions in light of these new marketing trends is welcome. The removal of all incentives to promote tobacco products, including imagery associated with the pack and its design, is essential in removing one of the key factors influencing the uptake and prevalence of smoking in youth.

Why and how the tobacco industry sells cigarettes to young adults: evidence from industry documents.

Science.gov (United States)

Ling, Pamela M; Glantz, Stanton A

2002-06-01

To improve tobacco control campaigns, we analyzed tobacco industry strategies that encourage young adults (aged 18 to 24) to smoke. Initial searches of tobacco industry documents with keywords (e.g., "young adult") were extended by using names, locations, and dates. Approximately 200 relevant documents were found. Transitions from experimentation to addiction, with adult levels of cigarette consumption, may take years. Tobacco marketing solidifies addiction among young adults. Cigarette advertisements encourage regular smoking and increased consumption by integrating smoking into activities and places where young adults' lives change (e.g., leaving home, college, jobs, the military, bars). Tobacco control efforts should include both adults and youths. Life changes are also opportunities to stop occasional smokers' progress to addiction. Clean air policies in workplaces, the military, bars, colleges, and homes can combat tobacco marketing.

Assessing consumer responses to potential reduced-exposure tobacco products: a review of tobacco industry and independent research methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Rees, Vaughan W; Kreslake, Jennifer M; Cummings, K Michael; O'Connor, Richard J; Hatsukami, Dorothy K; Parascandola, Mark; Shields, Peter G; Connolly, Gregory N

2009-12-01

Internal tobacco industry documents and the mainstream literature are reviewed to identify methods and measures for evaluating tobacco consumer response. The review aims to outline areas in which established methods exist, identify gaps in current methods for assessing consumer response, and consider how these methods might be applied to evaluate potentially reduced exposure tobacco products and new products. Internal industry research reviewed included published articles, manuscript drafts, presentations, protocols, and instruments relating to consumer response measures were identified and analyzed. Peer-reviewed research was identified using PubMed and Scopus. Industry research on consumer response focuses on product development and marketing. To develop and refine new products, the tobacco industry has developed notable strategies for assessing consumers' sensory and subjective responses to product design characteristics. Independent research is often conducted to gauge the likelihood of future product adoption by measuring consumers' risk perceptions, responses to product, and product acceptability. A model that conceptualizes consumer response as comprising the separate, but interacting, domains of product perceptions and response to product is outlined. Industry and independent research supports the dual domain model and provides a wide range of methods for assessment of the construct components of consumer response. Further research is needed to validate consumer response constructs, determine the relationship between consumer response and tobacco user behavior, and improve reliability of consumer response measures. Scientifically rigorous consumer response assessment methods will provide a needed empirical basis for future regulation of potentially reduced-exposure tobacco products and new products, to counteract tobacco industry influence on consumers, and enhance the public health.

Tobacco industry sociological programs to influence public beliefs about smoking.

Science.gov (United States)

Landman, Anne; Cortese, Daniel K; Glantz, Stanton

2008-02-01

The multinational tobacco companies responded to arguments about the social costs of smoking and hazards of secondhand smoke by quietly implementing the Social Costs/Social Values project (1979-1989), which relied upon the knowledge and authoritative power of social scientists to construct an alternate cultural repertoire of smoking. Social scientists created and disseminated non-health based, pro-tobacco arguments without fully acknowledging their relationship with the industry. After the US Surgeon General concluded that nicotine was addictive in 1988, the industry responded by forming "Associates for Research in the Science of Enjoyment" (c.1988-1999), whose members toured the world promoting the health benefits of the use of legal substances, including tobacco, for stress relief and relaxation, without acknowledging the industry's role. In this paper we draw on previously secret tobacco industry documents, now available on the Internet to show how both of these programs utilized academic sociologists, political scientists, anthropologists, psychologists, philosophers and economists, and allowed the industry to develop and widely disseminate friendly research through credible channels. Strategies included creating favorable surveys and opinions, infusing them into the lay press and media through press releases, articles and conferences, publishing, promoting and disseminating books, commissioning and placing favorable book reviews, providing media training for book authors and organizing media tours. These programs allowed the tobacco industry to affect public and academic discourse on the social acceptability of smoking.

Change in tobacco excise policy in Bulgaria: the role of tobacco industry lobbying and smuggling.

Science.gov (United States)

Skafida, Valeria; Silver, Karin E; Rechel, Boika P D; Gilmore, Anna B

2014-05-01

To examine how transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) tried to penetrate the Bulgarian cigarette market and influence tobacco excise tax policy after the fall of communism and during Bulgaria's accession to the European Union (EU). Analysis of internal tobacco industry documents supplemented by analysis of press coverage, tobacco industry journals, market reports and key informant interviews. TTCs have been involved in cigarette smuggling to and through Bulgaria since at least 1975 and used smuggling as a market-entry strategy. National tobacco company Bulgartabac appears to have been involved in smuggling its own cigarettes from and reimporting them to Bulgaria. Since Bulgaria's accession to the EU opened the market to the TTCs, TTCs have exaggerated the scale of the illicit trade to successfully convince politicians and public health experts that tax increases lead to cigarette smuggling. Yet, sources point to TTCs' continued complicity in cigarette smuggling to and through Bulgaria between 2000 and 2010. TTCs aimed to influence the Bulgarian tobacco excise tax regime, import duties and pricing mechanism, but appear to have been less successful than in other former communist countries in part due to the co-existence of a state-owned tobacco company. Undisclosed meetings between the tobacco industry and government ministers and officials are ongoing despite Bulgaria being a party to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The TTCs continued involvement in smuggling suggests that deals in 2004, 2007 and 2010 which the European Commission has reached with TTCs to address cigarette smuggling are inadequate. The TTCs' continued access to policymakers suggests that the FCTC is not being properly implemented. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

From legitimate consumers to public relations pawns: the tobacco industry and young Australians.

Science.gov (United States)

Carter, S M

2003-12-01

To document the Australian tobacco industry's activities regarding youth smoking to support tobacco control. 492 industry documents from primary and secondary websites were abstracted and analysed. Australian legislation and rhetoric on youth and tobacco has changed dramatically over the last 50 years, from an unproblematic association of teenagers and smoking in the 1960s, through the industry's aggressive attacks and denials in the 1980s, to the 1990s, when industry became newly compliant with "societal expectations" and youth became a dominant bargaining issue in the industry's public relations strategy. The industry's current policy is to simultaneously blame others for underage smoking, frame the industry as socially responsible via voluntary marketing codes, youth access programmes, and school education, and market actively to young adults. The arbitrary distinction between 17 and 18 year olds is, particularly in Australia's dark market, a liability for tobacco control and an opportunity for the industry, which is attempting to claim the high moral ground traditionally occupied by tobacco control on the youth issue. The current review of Australia's Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act of 1992 should prohibit all forms of industry communication targeting young people, including retail access and schools programmes and below-the-line marketing. Tobacco control advocacy should highlight the industry's attempts to use the youth issue in its own favour while laying the blame elsewhere.

Tobacco Industry and Sustainability: A Case of Indonesia Cigaretes Company

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marveys Wilfred Ayomi

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The following report is conducted to analyse global tobacco industry and evaluate the initiatives taken by the industry to promote sustainable business development. The purpose of the overall assessment of tobacco industry and sustainability is to determine the level of commitment that the industry gives to undertake issues addressed in sustainability. The elements discussed in this report outlined several key issues including the general outlook of the current industry operation as well as in the long run, damages caused by the industry activity affecting social, health and environmental conditions and Industry’s actions prior to sustainability. The discussion of tobacco industry actions in particular further examines sustainable initiatives implemented in economic, social, health and environment sectors. Close evaluation is carried out prior to each sector analyzing the commitmentof the industry to justify how devoted it is to bring about sustainable business practices. The second part of the discussion draws a practical analysis by comparing the nine principles of Epstein’ssustainability performance and the success of HM Sampoerna Tbk PT (One of Indonesia’s largest tobacco companies sustainability performance. This report however bears a set of limitations and drawbacks such as a lack of deeper evaluation on the industry's initiatives in all sectors but particularly the environment aspect as well as its in sufficiency of data collection

How the health belief model helps the tobacco industry: individuals, choice, and "information".

Science.gov (United States)

Balbach, Edith D; Smith, Elizabeth A; Malone, Ruth E

2006-12-01

To analyse trial and deposition testimony of tobacco industry executives to determine how they use the concepts of "information" and "choice" and consider how these concepts are related to theoretical models of health behaviour change. We coded and analysed transcripts of trial and deposition testimony of 14 high-level executives representing six companies plus the Tobacco Institute. We conducted an interpretive analysis of industry executives' characterisation of the industry's role as information provider and the agency of tobacco consumers in making "choices". Tobacco industry executives deployed the concept of "information" as a mechanism that shifted to consumers full moral responsibility for the harms caused by tobacco products. The industry's role was characterised as that of impartial supplier of value-free "information", without regard to its quality, accuracy and truthfulness. Tobacco industry legal defences rely on assumptions congruent with and supported by individual rational choice theories, particularly those that emphasise individual, autonomous decision-makers. Tobacco control advocates and health educators must challenge the industry's preferred framing, pointing out that "information" is not value-free. Multi-level, multi-sectoral interventions are critical to tobacco use prevention. Over-reliance on individual and interpersonal rational choice models may have the effect of validating the industry's model of smoking and cessation behaviour, absolving it of responsibility and rendering invisible the "choices" the industry has made and continues to make in promoting the most deadly consumer product ever made.

Tobacco industry direct marketing after the Master Settlement Agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, M Jane; Yulis, Spiro G; Delnevo, Cristine; Hrywna, Mary

2004-07-01

Although Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) provisions have led to significant changes in tobacco marketing, expenditures and emphasis on marketing strategies and populations not bound by the MSA have increased significantly. This article discusses tobacco industry direct marketing practices, including direct mail, coupons, sweepstakes, brand loyalty programs, event sponsorship, and tobacco industry magazines, and the implications of such strategies. An analysis of a survey of New Jersey adult smokers provides context and documents notable rates of participation. In addition to bypassing marketing restrictions, many of these strategies operate out of sight of the public health community and most of the public and so go unchecked by either tobacco control advocates or public opinion. This article suggests that a first step in countering these practices is to increase awareness and understanding of them, followed by development of strategies to address them and to limit or eliminate their use in tobacco marketing.

Endgame: engaging the tobacco industry in its own elimination

OpenAIRE

Ioannidis, John P. A.; Henriksen, Lisa; Prochaska, Judith J.

2013-01-01

A billion deaths from tobacco are expected by 2100. Many policy interventions such as increased taxation, restrictions on advertisement, smoking bans, as well as behavioral interventions, such as pharmacological and psychological treatments for smoking cessation, decrease tobacco use, but they reach their limits. Endgame scenarios focusing on tobacco supply rather than demand are increasingly discussed, but meet with resistance by the industry and even by many tobacco control experts. A main ...

Marketing to the marginalised: tobacco industry targeting of the homeless and mentally ill.

Science.gov (United States)

Apollonio, D E; Malone, R E

2005-12-01

To describe the tobacco industry's relationships with and influence on homeless and mentally ill smokers and organisations providing services to them. Analysis of internal tobacco industry documents and journal articles. The tobacco industry has marketed cigarettes to the homeless and seriously mentally ill, part of its "downscale" market, and has developed relationships with homeless shelters and advocacy groups, gaining positive media coverage and political support. Tobacco control advocates and public health organisations should consider how to target programmes to homeless and seriously mentally ill individuals. Education of service providers about tobacco industry efforts to cultivate this market may help in reducing smoking in these populations.

FCTC guidelines on tobacco industry foreign investment would strengthen controls on tobacco supply and close loopholes in the tobacco treaty.

Science.gov (United States)

Lo, Chang-fa

2010-08-01

The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) contains no provisions covering tobacco industry investments. This creates the potential for tobacco companies to benefit from investment liberalisation by using foreign investments to avoid tobacco tariffs, increase tobacco consumption and otherwise impair the implementation of FCTC-style measures. Reducing and ultimately eliminating foreign investment activities by tobacco companies can be justified on health grounds, even though it runs counter to current investment liberalisation trends. Through the FCTC process, non-binding guidelines can be elaborated to assist parties in recognising and responding to foreign investment strategies of tobacco companies, to support efforts to exclude the tobacco sector from investment liberalisation and otherwise would improve all countries' awareness of the threat from foreign investment strategies of tobacco companies and provide them with approaches to handle the problems.

Menthol's potential effects on nicotine dependence: a tobacco industry perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Yerger, Valerie B

2011-05-01

To examine what the tobacco industry knows about the potential effects menthol may have on nicotine dependence. A snowball strategy was used to systematically search the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/) between 22 February and 29 April, 2010. Of the approximately 11 million documents available in the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library, the iterative searches returned tens of thousands of results. We qualitatively analysed a final collection of 309 documents relevant the effects of menthol on nicotine dependence. The tobacco industry knows that menthol overrides the harsh taste of tobacco and alleviates nicotine's irritating effects, synergistically interacts with nicotine, stimulates the trigeminal nerve to elicit a 'liking' response for a tobacco product, and makes low tar, low nicotine tobacco products more acceptable to smokers than non-mentholated low delivery products. Menthol is not only used in cigarettes as a flavour additive; tobacco companies know that menthol also has sensory effects and interacts with nicotine to produce tobacco products that are easier to smoke, thereby making it easier to expose smokers, especially those who are new and uninitiated, to the addictive power of nicotine.

Reaching consumers: How the tobacco industry uses email marketing.

Science.gov (United States)

Brock, Betsy; Carlson, Samantha C; Moilanen, Molly; Schillo, Barbara A

2016-12-01

Tobacco companies are restricted from engaging in many traditional forms of marketing. Direct marketing is one way tobacco companies can reach consumers while complying with regulation and avoiding negative public perception. There is little research on this type of opt-in marketing, which includes mail marketing, email marketing, web marketing, and mobile marketing, and its impact is not well understood. This study examined 6990 tobacco company emails received by individuals living in the state of Minnesota, US between January 2010 and May 2015 to determine email frequency by brand. These emails were gathered as part of ongoing surveillance of tobacco industry direct marketing. A subset of these emails received between October 2014 and May 2015 (n = 1646) were content analyzed to identify the purpose of the email communication along with type of product promoted. Tobacco companies use email to communicate with consumers on a regular basis. This communication was observed to be as frequent as nine times per month. Emails are most commonly used to promote contests (54.1%), content on tobacco company websites (39.1%), and tobacco coupons (15.7%). Email promotion of menthol-flavored tobacco products was common and was associated with promotion of coupons. Emails promoting menthol had a 1.9 times higher prevalence of also promoting coupons (95% CI: 1.52-2.37). Little is known about tobacco company email marketing and this study fills an identified research gap. A deeper understanding of this type of marketing is needed in order to counter tobacco industry messaging and advance tobacco control.

Reaching consumers: How the tobacco industry uses email marketing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Betsy Brock

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Tobacco companies are restricted from engaging in many traditional forms of marketing. Direct marketing is one way tobacco companies can reach consumers while complying with regulation and avoiding negative public perception. There is little research on this type of opt-in marketing, which includes mail marketing, email marketing, web marketing, and mobile marketing, and its impact is not well understood. This study examined 6990 tobacco company emails received by individuals living in the state of Minnesota, US between January 2010 and May 2015 to determine email frequency by brand. These emails were gathered as part of ongoing surveillance of tobacco industry direct marketing. A subset of these emails received between October 2014 and May 2015 (n = 1646 were content analyzed to identify the purpose of the email communication along with type of product promoted. Tobacco companies use email to communicate with consumers on a regular basis. This communication was observed to be as frequent as nine times per month. Emails are most commonly used to promote contests (54.1%, content on tobacco company websites (39.1%, and tobacco coupons (15.7%. Email promotion of menthol-flavored tobacco products was common and was associated with promotion of coupons. Emails promoting menthol had a 1.9 times higher prevalence of also promoting coupons (95% CI: 1.52–2.37. Little is known about tobacco company email marketing and this study fills an identified research gap. A deeper understanding of this type of marketing is needed in order to counter tobacco industry messaging and advance tobacco control.

Outcomes of a statewide anti-tobacco industry youth organizing movement.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunn, Caroline L; Pirie, Phyllis L; Oakes, J Michael

2004-01-01

To outline the design and present select findings from an evaluation of a statewide anti-tobacco industry youth organizing movement. A telephone survey was administered to teenagers to assess associations between exposure to anti-industry youth organizing activities and tobacco-related attitudes and behaviors. A group-level comparison between areas high and low in youth organizing activities was planned. Methodological obstacles necessitated a subject-level analytic approach, with comparisons being made between youth at higher and lower levels of exposure. Six rural areas (comprising 13 counties) and two urban regions of Minnesota were selected for survey. The study comprised 852 youth, aged 15 to 17 years old, randomly selected from county-specific sampling frames constructed from a marketing research database. Exposure index scores were developed for two types of activities designed to involve youth in the anti-industry program: branding (creating awareness of the movement in general) and messaging (informing about the movement's main messages). Attitudinal outcomes measured attitudes about the tobacco industry and the effectiveness of youth action. Behavioral outcomes included taking action to get involved in the organization, spreading an anti-industry message, and smoking susceptibility. Branding index scores were significantly correlated with taking action to get involved (p strategy for involving youth in tobacco prevention and generating negative attitudes about the industry.

The role of the food industry in health: lessons from tobacco?

Science.gov (United States)

Capewell, Simon; Lloyd-Williams, Ffion

2018-03-01

In this review, we highlight poor diet as the biggest risk factor for non-communicable diseases. We examine the denial tactics used by the food industry, how they reflect the tactics previously used by the tobacco industry, and how campaigners can use this knowledge to achieve future public health successes. Data sources are wide ranging, notably publications relating to public health, obesity and processed food, the effectiveness hierarchy and food industry denialism tactics. Global burden of disease analyses consistently demonstrate that poor diet produces a bigger burden of non-communicable disease than tobacco, alcohol and inactivity put together. The lessons learnt from the tobacco control experience of successfully fighting the tobacco industry can be applied to other industries including processed food and sugary drinks. Tackling obesity and poor diet is a more complex issue than tobacco. Food industries continue to promote weak or ineffective policies such as voluntary reformulation, and resist regulation and taxation. However, the UK food industry now faces increasing pressure from professionals, public and politicians to accept reformulation and taxes, or face more stringent measures. The rise in childhood and adult obesity needs to be arrested and then reversed. Unhealthy processed food and sugary drinks are a major contributing factor. There is increasing interest in the tactics being used by the food industry to resist change. Advocacy and activism will be essential to counter these denialism tactics and ensure that scientific evidence is translated into effective regulation and taxation.

Union women, the tobacco industry, and excise taxes: a lesson in unintended consequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Balbach, Edith D; Campbell, Richard B

2009-08-01

Between 1987 and 1997, the tobacco industry used the issue of cigarette excise tax increases to create a political partnership with the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), a group representing female trade unionists in the U.S. This paper documents how the industry created this relationship and the lessons tobacco-control advocates can learn from the industry's example, in order to mitigate possible unintended consequences of advocating excise tax increases. In 1998, under the terms of the Master Settlement Agreement, the tobacco industry began making documents produced in litigation available publicly. Currently, approximately 50 million pages are available online, including substantial documentation of the industry-CLUW relationship. For this study, a comprehensive search of these documents was conducted. The tobacco industry encouraged CLUW's opposition to excise tax increases by emphasizing the economic regressivity of these taxes, discussing excise taxes generically to deflect attention from cigarettes, and encouraging opposition to earmarking cigarette taxes to pay for specific programs. In addition, CLUW received at least $221,500 in financial support between 1987 and 1997 and in-kind support for its conferences, membership materials, and other services. Excise tax increases, if pursued without considering the impacts they may have on low-SES populations, may have unintended consequences. In this case, such proposals may have helped to create a relationship between CLUW and the tobacco industry. Because excise taxes are endorsed in the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, tobacco-control advocates must understand how to build relationships with low-SES populations and mitigate potential alliances with the tobacco industry.

Tobacco industry surveillance of public health groups: the case of STAT (Stop Teenage Addiction to Tobacco) and INFACT (Infant Formula Action Coalition).

Science.gov (United States)

Malone, Ruth E

2002-06-01

The goal of this study was to describe how the tobacco industry collects information about public health groups. Publicly available internal tobacco industry documents were reviewed and analyzed using a chronological case study approach. The industry engaged in aggressive intelligence gathering, used intermediaries to obtain materials under false pretenses, sent public relations spies to the organizations' meetings, and covertly taped strategy sessions. Other industry strategies included publicly minimizing the effects of boycotts, painting health advocates as "extreme," identifying and exploiting disagreements, and planning to "redirect the funding" of tobacco control organizations to other purposes. Public health advocates often make light of tobacco industry observers, but industry surveillance may be real, intense, and covert and may obstruct public health initiatives.

Exposing and addressing tobacco industry conduct in low-income and middle-income countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilmore, Anna B; Fooks, Gary; Drope, Jeffrey; Bialous, Stella Aguinaga; Jackson, Rachel Rose

2015-03-14

The tobacco industry's future depends on increasing tobacco use in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), which face a growing burden of tobacco-related disease, yet have potential to prevent full-scale escalation of this epidemic. To drive up sales the industry markets its products heavily, deliberately targeting non-smokers and keeps prices low until smoking and local economies are sufficiently established to drive prices and profits up. The industry systematically flaunts existing tobacco control legislation and works aggressively to prevent future policies using its resource advantage to present highly misleading economic arguments, rebrand political activities as corporate social responsibility, and establish and use third parties to make its arguments more palatable. Increasingly it is using domestic litigation and international arbitration to bully LMICs from implementing effective policies and hijacking the problem of tobacco smuggling for policy gain, attempting to put itself in control of an illegal trade in which there is overwhelming historical evidence of its complicity. Progress will not be realised until tobacco industry interference is actively addressed as outlined in Article 5.3 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Exemplar LMICs show this action can be achieved and indicate that exposing tobacco industry misconduct is an essential first step. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tobacco industry manipulation of data on and press coverage of the illicit tobacco trade in the UK.

Science.gov (United States)

Rowell, A; Evans-Reeves, K; Gilmore, A B

2014-05-01

In the UK, transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) have been arguing that levels of illicit trade are high and increasing and will rise further if standardised packaging is implemented. This paper examines trends in and accuracy of media reporting of, and industry data on, illicit tobacco in the UK. Quantification of the volume, nature and quality of press articles citing industry data on illicit tobacco in UK newspapers from March 2008 to March 2013. Examination of published TTC data on illicit, including a comparison with independent data and of TTC reporting of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs data on illicit. Media stories citing industry data on illicit tobacco began in June 2011, 2 months after the Tobacco Control Plan for England, which heralded standardised packaging, was published. The majority of data cited are based on industry Empty Pack Surveys for which no methodology is available. For almost all parts of the country where repeat data were cited in press stories, they indicated an increase, often substantial, in non-domestic/illicit cigarettes that is not supported by independent data. Similarly, national data from two published industry sources show a sudden large increase in non-domestic product between 2011 and 2012. Yet the methodology of one report changes over this period and the other provides no published methodology. In contrast, independent data show steady declines in non-domestic and illicit cigarette penetration from 2006 to 2012 and either a continued decline or small increase to 2013. Industry claims that use of Non-UK Duty Paid/illicit cigarettes in the UK is sharply increasing are inconsistent with historical trends and recent independent data. TTCs are exaggerating the threat of illicit tobacco by commissioning surveys whose methodology and validity remain uncertain, planting misleading stories and misquoting government data. Industry data on levels of illicit should be treated with extreme caution. Published by the BMJ Publishing

How does the tobacco industry attempt to influence marketing regulations? A systematic review.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emily Savell

Full Text Available The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control makes a number of recommendations aimed at restricting the marketing of tobacco products. Tobacco industry political activity has been identified as an obstacle to Parties' development and implementation of these provisions. This study systematically reviews the existing literature on tobacco industry efforts to influence marketing regulations and develops taxonomies of 1 industry strategies and tactics and 2 industry frames and arguments.Searches were conducted between April-July 2011, and updated in March 2013. Articles were included if they made reference to tobacco industry efforts to influence marketing regulations; supported claims with verifiable evidence; were written in English; and concerned the period 1990-2013. 48 articles met the review criteria. Narrative synthesis was used to combine the evidence.56% of articles focused on activity in North America, Europe or Australasia, the rest focusing on Asia (17%, South America, Africa or transnational activity. Six main political strategies and four main frames were identified. The tobacco industry frequently claims that the proposed policy will have negative unintended consequences, that there are legal barriers to regulation, and that the regulation is unnecessary because, for example, industry does not market to youth or adheres to a voluntary code. The industry primarily conveys these arguments through direct and indirect lobbying, the promotion of voluntary codes and alternative policies, and the formation of alliances with other industrial sectors. The majority of tactics and arguments were used in multiple jurisdictions.Tobacco industry political activity is far more diverse than suggested by existing taxonomies of corporate political activity. Tactics and arguments are repeated across jurisdictions, suggesting that the taxonomies of industry tactics and arguments developed in this paper are generalisable to multiple jurisdictions and can

Public reaction to the portrayal of the tobacco industry in the film The Insider.

Science.gov (United States)

Dixon, H G; Hill, D J; Borland, R; Paxton, S J

2001-09-01

To assess public perceptions of the tobacco industry and behavioural intentions for tobacco use in response to watching the film The Insider. Self administered pre-film survey conducted immediately before viewing and post-film telephone survey conducted within 1-5 weeks of viewing. Two commercial cinemas in Melbourne, Australia. 323 cinema patrons were recruited before screening of target films. 182 watched The Insider, 141 watched Erin Brockovich. Subjects watched one of two films: The Insider which featured information about unethical conduct by the tobacco industry and negative information about the health effects of smoking, or the "control" film Erin Brockovich which had an analogous plot without anti-tobacco content. Pre-film questionnaire: assessed movie viewing habits, demographic characteristics, smoking status, attitudes towards the tobacco industry, intentions for smoking. Post-film questionnaire: assessed same attitudes and intentions plus questions on the film viewed and perceptions of smoking prevalence. 266 (82%) subjects completed the post-film survey. Attitudes toward the tobacco industry were unfavourable at baseline. Those who saw The Insider held more negative views of business conduct by the tobacco industry than those who saw Erin Brockovich, once pre-existing attitudes to the industry were controlled for. The Insider also appears to have promoted a short term reduction in intentions to smoke. Results of this study suggest that if people were recurrently exposed to anti-tobacco content in movies there is potential for a more substantial and lasting impact on attitudes toward the tobacco industry and smoking.

The development of Tobacco Harm Prevention Law in Vietnam: stakeholder tensions over tobacco control legislation in a state owned industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Higashi, Hideki; Khuong, Tuan A; Ngo, Anh D; Hill, Peter S

2011-09-18

Building on its National Tobacco Control Policy initiated in 2000, Vietnam is currently considering introducing a comprehensive law to strengthen the implementation of tobacco control policy. This study analyses the positions of key stakeholders in the development of tobacco control legislation in the context of a largely state-owned industry, and discusses their implications for the policy process. Several qualitative methods were employed for the study including: literature review and documentary analysis; key informant interview; focus groups discussion; and key stakeholders survey. The Ministry of Health, Ministry of Trade and Industry, and Ministry of Finance are key players in the tobacco control policy and legislation, representing competing bureaucratic interests over health, macro-economy and revenue. High-ranking officials, including the Communist Party and National Assembly members, take a rather relaxed position reflecting the low political stakes placed on tobacco issues. The state-owned tobacco industry is regarded as an important contributor to the government revenue and gross domestic product, and the relative weight on health and socioeconomic issues placed by stakeholders determine their positions on tobacco control. Overall, short-term economic interests have more immediate influence in setting policy directions, with the consequences of health gains perceived as relegated to a distant future. This was reflected in the position of tobacco control advocates, including MOH, that presented with reluctance in insisting on some tobacco control strategies revealing a mixture attitude of concessions to the socioeconomic uncertainties and a sense of bargaining to win the strategies that are more likely to be accepted. The state-ownership of tobacco industry poses a major paradox within the government that benefits from manufacturing of tobacco products and is also responsible for controlling tobacco consumption. The perceptions of negative implications

Tobacco Industry Promotional Strategies Targeting American Indians/Alaska Natives and Exploiting Tribal Sovereignty.

Science.gov (United States)

Lempert, Lauren K; Glantz, Stanton A

2018-03-12

American Indians/Alaska Natives have the highest commercial tobacco use in the United States, resulting in higher tobacco-caused deaths and diseases than the general population. Some American Indians/Alaska Natives use commercial tobacco for ceremonial as well as recreational uses. Because federally-recognized Tribal lands are sovereign, they are not subject to state cigarette taxes and smokefree laws. This study analyzes tobacco industry promotional efforts specifically targeting American Indians/Alaska Natives and exploiting Tribal lands to understand appropriate policy responses in light of American Indians'/Alaska Natives' unique sovereign status and culture. We analyzed previously secret tobacco industry documents available at the Truth Tobacco Documents Library (https://industrydocuments.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco/). Tobacco companies used promotional strategies targeting American Indians/Alaska Natives and exploiting Tribal lands that leveraged the federally-recognized Tribes' unique sovereign status exempting them from state cigarette taxes and smokefree laws, and exploited some Tribes' existing traditional uses of ceremonial tobacco and poverty. Tactics included price reductions, coupons, giveaways, gaming promotions, charitable contributions and sponsorships. Additionally, tobacco companies built alliances with Tribal leaders to help improve their corporate image, advance ineffective "youth smoking prevention" programs, and defeat tobacco control policies. The industry's promotional tactics likely contribute to disparities in smoking prevalence and smoking-related diseases among American Indians//Alaska Natives. Proven policy interventions to address these disparities including tobacco price increases, cigarette taxes, comprehensive smokefree laws, and industry denormalization campaigns to reduce smoking prevalence and smoking-related disease could be considered by Tribal communities. The sovereign status of federally-recognized Tribes does not prevent them

The Policy Dystopia Model: An Interpretive Analysis of Tobacco Industry Political Activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Ulucanlar, Selda; Fooks, Gary J; Gilmore, Anna B

2016-09-01

Tobacco industry interference has been identified as the greatest obstacle to the implementation of evidence-based measures to reduce tobacco use. Understanding and addressing industry interference in public health policy-making is therefore crucial. Existing conceptualisations of corporate political activity (CPA) are embedded in a business perspective and do not attend to CPA's social and public health costs; most have not drawn on the unique resource represented by internal tobacco industry documents. Building on this literature, including systematic reviews, we develop a critically informed conceptual model of tobacco industry political activity. We thematically analysed published papers included in two systematic reviews examining tobacco industry influence on taxation and marketing of tobacco; we included 45 of 46 papers in the former category and 20 of 48 papers in the latter (n = 65). We used a grounded theory approach to build taxonomies of "discursive" (argument-based) and "instrumental" (action-based) industry strategies and from these devised the Policy Dystopia Model, which shows that the industry, working through different constituencies, constructs a metanarrative to argue that proposed policies will lead to a dysfunctional future of policy failure and widely dispersed adverse social and economic consequences. Simultaneously, it uses diverse, interlocking insider and outsider instrumental strategies to disseminate this narrative and enhance its persuasiveness in order to secure its preferred policy outcomes. Limitations are that many papers were historical (some dating back to the 1970s) and focused on high-income regions. The model provides an evidence-based, accessible way of understanding diverse corporate political strategies. It should enable public health actors and officials to preempt these strategies and develop realistic assessments of the industry's claims.

[Social responsibility argument for the tobacco industry in Brazil].

Science.gov (United States)

Cavalcante, Tânia; Carvalho, Aline de Mesquita; Rangel, Erica Cavalcanti

2006-01-01

The issue of "corporate social responsibility" has been one of great importance and concern in the world and has received different names, such as social responsibility, corporate citizenship, sustainable development and corporate ethics. Today, more than ever, it has been necessary for governments, as well as the diverse representatives of "organized civil society," to act in accordance with the concept of sustainable development. This implies an understanding that preservation of the environment, health and education is related to economic productivity; it means an understanding that healthy populations are essential to the reduction of poverty, as well as economic growth and sustainable development. The various positive experiences in Brazil in confronting the tobacco industry's strategies to undermine national tobacco control efforts are due to the existence of a wide network that has played a fundamental role in social control with respect to both the monitoring of public policies that control tobacco and tobacco industry strategies.

The Tobacco Deposition and Trial Testimony Archive (DATTA) project: origins, aims, and methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Ronald M; Douglas, Clifford E; Beasley, John K

2006-12-01

Research on previously secret tobacco industry documents has grown substantially during the past decade, since these documents first became available as the result of private and governmental litigation and investigations by the US Congress and the US Food and Drug Administration. Complementary research on tobacco litigation testimony is now being conducted through the Tobacco Deposition and Trial Testimony Archive (DATTA) project. We obtained transcripts of depositions and trial testimony, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, and other litigation documents from law firms, court reporter firms, individual lawyers and witnesses, tobacco company websites, and other sources. As of 3 March 2006, the publicly available collection of DATTA (http://tobaccodocuments.org/datta) contained 4850 transcripts of depositions and trial testimony, including a total of about 820,000 transcript pages. Transcripts covered testimony from 1957 to 2005 (85% were for testimony from 1990 to 2005) given by more than 1500 witnesses in a total of 232 lawsuits. Twelve research teams were established to study the transcripts, with each team covering a particular topic (for example, the health consequences of tobacco use, addiction and pharmacology, tobacco advertising and promotion, tobacco-product design and manufacture, economic impact of tobacco use, youth initiation of tobacco use, and public understanding of the risks of tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke). The teams used qualitative research methods to analyse the documents, and their initial findings are published throughout this journal supplement.

Geographical information systems as a tool for monitoring tobacco industry advertising.

Science.gov (United States)

Vardavas, C I; Connolly, G N; Kafatos, A G

2009-06-01

Although the use of a geographical information systems (GIS) approach is usually applied to epidemiological disease outbreaks and environmental exposure mapping, it has significant potential as a tobacco control research tool in monitoring point-of-purchase (POP) tobacco advertising. An ecological study design approach was applied so as to primarily evaluate and interpret the spatial density and intensity of POP and tobacco industry advertisements within advertisements per POP (range 0-25) were noted, and 80% of them were below child height. The GIS protocol identified that kiosks, that were excepted from the Greek ban on tobacco advertising, in comparison to other POP, were found not only to be closer and visible from the school gates (44.1% vs 10.8%, padvertisements (8 (5) vs 5 (3), padvertising on a large population-based scale and implies its use as a standardised method for monitoring tobacco industry strategies and tobacco control efforts.

Tobacco industry interference: A review of three South East Asian countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Assunta, Mary; Ritthiphakdee, Bungon; Soerojo, Widyastuti; Cho, May Myat; Jirathanapiwat, Worrawan

2017-09-01

The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Article 5.3 requires governments to protect tobacco control policies from the commercial interest of the tobacco industry (TI). TI interference is the biggest barrier to implementing comprehensive tobacco control measures. This paper reviews the extent of the TI's interference in tobacco control policy development in three countries, Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia, and the governments' efforts to protect these policies. The paper draws on incidents of TI interference reported in the 2016 Tobacco Industry Interference Index: ASEAN Report on Implementation of the WHO FCTC Article 5.3. Base data were obtained through a questionnaire on twenty most commonly reported incidents of interference from the FCTC Article 5.3 Guidelines recommendations. A scoring system was developed. All three countries faced varying levels of TI interference. Thailand, though known for its stringent tobacco control measures, still faced interference while Myanmar remains vulnerable. Indonesia faced the highest industry interference which may explain why it is lagging behind in tobacco control and remains a nonparty to the WHO FCTC. The TI gains access to government officials through offers of technical assistance and its corporate social responsibility activities. Transparency in dealing with the TI is needed in all three countries. Most governments have not set up disclosure procedures when dealing with the TI. Outside the Department/Ministry of Health, other departments remain unaware of Article 5.3, not utilizing its strength to regulate the TI. More concerted effort is needed to implement Article 5.3 to achieve greater success in tobacco control.

Tobacco industry use of judicial seminars to influence rulings in products liability litigation

Science.gov (United States)

Friedman, L C

2006-01-01

Objectives This paper examines the tobacco industry's efforts to influence litigation by sponsoring judicial seminars. Methods Thousands of internal tobacco documents were examined, including memos, reports, presentations, and newsletters. Connections to outside organisations were corroborated by examining tobacco industry financial records, budgets, and letters pledging funds. Facts about outside organisations were triangulated through examining their websites and publicly‐filed financial records, and verifying facts through their representatives' statements in newspaper and law review articles. Results There are direct financial ties between the tobacco industry and groups that organise judicial seminars in an effort to influence jurisprudence, and judges who attend these seminars may be breaching judicial ethics either by not inquiring about the source of funding or by ignoring funding by potential litigants. Conclusions The tobacco industry's attempts to clandestinely influence judges' decisions in cases to which they are a party endangers the integrity of the judiciary. PMID:16565460

Waiting for the Opportune Moment: The Tobacco Industry and Marijuana Legalization

Science.gov (United States)

Barry, Rachel Ann; Hiilamo, Heikki; Glantz, Stanton A

2014-01-01

Context In 2012, Washington State and Colorado legalized the recreational use of marijuana, and Uruguay, beginning in 2014, will become the first country to legalize the sale and distribution of marijuana. The challenge facing policymakers and public health advocates is reducing the harms of an ineffective, costly, and discriminatory “war on drugs” while preventing another public health catastrophe similar to tobacco use, which kills 6 million people worldwide each year. Methods Between May and December 2013, using the standard snowball research technique, we searched the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library of previously secret tobacco industry documents (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu). Findings Since at least the 1970s, tobacco companies have been interested in marijuana and marijuana legalization as both a potential and a rival product. As public opinion shifted and governments began relaxing laws pertaining to marijuana criminalization, the tobacco companies modified their corporate planning strategies to prepare for future consumer demand. Conclusions Policymakers and public health advocates must be aware that the tobacco industry or comparable multinational organizations (eg, food and beverage industries) are prepared to enter the marijuana market with the intention of increasing its already widespread use. In order to prevent domination of the market by companies seeking to maximize market size and profits, policymakers should learn from their successes and failures in regulating tobacco. PMID:24890245

Waiting for the opportune moment: the tobacco industry and marijuana legalization.

Science.gov (United States)

Barry, Rachel Ann; Hiilamo, Heikki; Glantz, Stanton A

2014-06-01

In 2012, Washington State and Colorado legalized the recreational use of marijuana, and Uruguay, beginning in 2014, will become the first country to legalize the sale and distribution of marijuana. The challenge facing policymakers and public health advocates is reducing the harms of an ineffective, costly, and discriminatory "war on drugs" while preventing another public health catastrophe similar to tobacco use, which kills 6 million people worldwide each year. Between May and December 2013, using the standard snowball research technique, we searched the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library of previously secret tobacco industry documents (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu). Since at least the 1970s, tobacco companies have been interested in marijuana and marijuana legalization as both a potential and a rival product. As public opinion shifted and governments began relaxing laws pertaining to marijuana criminalization, the tobacco companies modified their corporate planning strategies to prepare for future consumer demand. Policymakers and public health advocates must be aware that the tobacco industry or comparable multinational organizations (eg, food and beverage industries) are prepared to enter the marijuana market with the intention of increasing its already widespread use. In order to prevent domination of the market by companies seeking to maximize market size and profits, policymakers should learn from their successes and failures in regulating tobacco. © 2014 Milbank Memorial Fund.

Tobacco industry issues management organizations: Creating a global corporate network to undermine public health

Science.gov (United States)

McDaniel, Patricia A; Intinarelli, Gina; Malone, Ruth E

2008-01-01

Background The global tobacco epidemic claims 5 million lives each year, facilitated by the ability of transnational tobacco companies to delay or thwart meaningful tobacco control worldwide. A series of cross-company tobacco industry "issues management organizations" has played an important role in coordinating and implementing common strategies to defeat tobacco control efforts at international, national, and regional levels. This study examines the development and enumerates the activities of these organizations and explores the implications of continuing industry cooperation for global public health. Methods Using a snowball sampling strategy, we collected documentary data from tobacco industry documents archives and assembled them into a chronologically organized case study. Results The International Committee on Smoking Issues (ICOSI) was formed in 1977 by seven tobacco company chief executives to create common anti-tobacco control strategies and build a global network of regional and national manufacturing associations. The organization's name subsequently changed to INFOTAB. The multinational companies built the organization rapidly: by 1984, it had 69 members operating in 57 countries. INFOTAB material, including position papers and "action kits" helped members challenge local tobacco control measures and maintain tobacco-friendly environments. In 1992 INFOTAB was replaced by two smaller organizations. The Tobacco Documentation Centre, which continues to operate, distributes smoking-related information and industry argumentation to members, some produced by cross-company committees. Agro-Tobacco Services, and now Hallmark Marketing Services, assists the INFOTAB-backed and industry supported International Tobacco Growers Association in advancing claims regarding the economic importance of tobacco in developing nations. Conclusion The massive scale and scope of this industry effort illustrate how corporate interests, when threatened by the globalization of

Tobacco industry issues management organizations: creating a global corporate network to undermine public health.

Science.gov (United States)

McDaniel, Patricia A; Intinarelli, Gina; Malone, Ruth E

2008-01-17

The global tobacco epidemic claims 5 million lives each year, facilitated by the ability of transnational tobacco companies to delay or thwart meaningful tobacco control worldwide. A series of cross-company tobacco industry "issues management organizations" has played an important role in coordinating and implementing common strategies to defeat tobacco control efforts at international, national, and regional levels. This study examines the development and enumerates the activities of these organizations and explores the implications of continuing industry cooperation for global public health. Using a snowball sampling strategy, we collected documentary data from tobacco industry documents archives and assembled them into a chronologically organized case study. The International Committee on Smoking Issues (ICOSI) was formed in 1977 by seven tobacco company chief executives to create common anti-tobacco control strategies and build a global network of regional and national manufacturing associations. The organization's name subsequently changed to INFOTAB. The multinational companies built the organization rapidly: by 1984, it had 69 members operating in 57 countries. INFOTAB material, including position papers and "action kits" helped members challenge local tobacco control measures and maintain tobacco-friendly environments. In 1992 INFOTAB was replaced by two smaller organizations. The Tobacco Documentation Centre, which continues to operate, distributes smoking-related information and industry argumentation to members, some produced by cross-company committees. Agro-Tobacco Services, and now Hallmark Marketing Services, assists the INFOTAB-backed and industry supported International Tobacco Growers Association in advancing claims regarding the economic importance of tobacco in developing nations. The massive scale and scope of this industry effort illustrate how corporate interests, when threatened by the globalization of public health, sidestep competitive

Tobacco industry issues management organizations: Creating a global corporate network to undermine public health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malone Ruth E

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The global tobacco epidemic claims 5 million lives each year, facilitated by the ability of transnational tobacco companies to delay or thwart meaningful tobacco control worldwide. A series of cross-company tobacco industry "issues management organizations" has played an important role in coordinating and implementing common strategies to defeat tobacco control efforts at international, national, and regional levels. This study examines the development and enumerates the activities of these organizations and explores the implications of continuing industry cooperation for global public health. Methods Using a snowball sampling strategy, we collected documentary data from tobacco industry documents archives and assembled them into a chronologically organized case study. Results The International Committee on Smoking Issues (ICOSI was formed in 1977 by seven tobacco company chief executives to create common anti-tobacco control strategies and build a global network of regional and national manufacturing associations. The organization's name subsequently changed to INFOTAB. The multinational companies built the organization rapidly: by 1984, it had 69 members operating in 57 countries. INFOTAB material, including position papers and "action kits" helped members challenge local tobacco control measures and maintain tobacco-friendly environments. In 1992 INFOTAB was replaced by two smaller organizations. The Tobacco Documentation Centre, which continues to operate, distributes smoking-related information and industry argumentation to members, some produced by cross-company committees. Agro-Tobacco Services, and now Hallmark Marketing Services, assists the INFOTAB-backed and industry supported International Tobacco Growers Association in advancing claims regarding the economic importance of tobacco in developing nations. Conclusion The massive scale and scope of this industry effort illustrate how corporate interests, when

Project Cerberus: tobacco industry strategy to create an alternative to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Science.gov (United States)

Mamudu, Hadii M; Hammond, Ross; Glantz, Stanton A

2008-09-01

Between 1999 and 2001, British American Tobacco, Philip Morris, and Japan Tobacco International executed Project Cerberus to develop a global voluntary regulatory regime as an alternative to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). They aimed to develop a global voluntary regulatory code to be overseen by an independent audit body and to focus attention on youth smoking prevention. The International Tobacco Products Marketing Standards announced in September 2001, however, did not have the independent audit body. Although the companies did not stop the FCTC, they continue to promote the International Tobacco Products Marketing Standards youth smoking prevention as an alternative to the FCTC. Public health civil society groups should help policymakers and governments understand the importance of not working with the tobacco industry.

The development of Tobacco Harm Prevention Law in Vietnam: stakeholder tensions over tobacco control legislation in a state owned industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ngo Anh D

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Building on its National Tobacco Control Policy initiated in 2000, Vietnam is currently considering introducing a comprehensive law to strengthen the implementation of tobacco control policy. This study analyses the positions of key stakeholders in the development of tobacco control legislation in the context of a largely state-owned industry, and discusses their implications for the policy process. Methods Several qualitative methods were employed for the study including: literature review and documentary analysis; key informant interview; focus groups discussion; and key stakeholders survey. Findings The Ministry of Health, Ministry of Trade and Industry, and Ministry of Finance are key players in the tobacco control policy and legislation, representing competing bureaucratic interests over health, macro-economy and revenue. High-ranking officials, including the Communist Party and National Assembly members, take a rather relaxed position reflecting the low political stakes placed on tobacco issues. The state-owned tobacco industry is regarded as an important contributor to the government revenue and gross domestic product, and the relative weight on health and socioeconomic issues placed by stakeholders determine their positions on tobacco control. Overall, short-term economic interests have more immediate influence in setting policy directions, with the consequences of health gains perceived as relegated to a distant future. This was reflected in the position of tobacco control advocates, including MOH, that presented with reluctance in insisting on some tobacco control strategies revealing a mixture attitude of concessions to the socioeconomic uncertainties and a sense of bargaining to win the strategies that are more likely to be accepted. Conclusion The state-ownership of tobacco industry poses a major paradox within the government that benefits from manufacturing of tobacco products and is also responsible for

Strange bedfellows: the history of collaboration between the Massachusetts Restaurant Association and the tobacco industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Ritch, W A; Begay, M E

2001-04-01

This article examines the historical relationship between the tobacco industry and the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, a nonprofit trade association aligned with the food and beverage industry. The study analyzed data from Web-based tobacco industry documents, public relations materials, news articles, testimony from public hearings, requests for injunctions, court decisions, economic impact studies, handbooks, and private correspondence. Tobacco industry documents that became public after various state lawsuits reveal that a long history of collaboration exists between the Massachusetts Restaurant Association and the tobacco industry. For more than 20 years, their joint efforts have focused primarily on the battle to defeat state and local laws that would restrict smoking in public places, particularly in beverage and food service establishments. The resources of the tobacco industry, combined with the association's grassroots mobilization of its membership, have fueled their opposition to many state and local smoke-free restaurant, bar, and workplace laws in Massachusetts. The universal opposition of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association to smoking bans in food and beverage establishments is a reflection of its historic relationship with the tobacco industry.

Vested Interests in addiction research and policy. Alliance between tobacco and alcohol industries to shape public policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Nan; Ling, Pamela

2013-05-01

The tobacco and alcohol industries share common policy goals when facing regulation, opposing policies such as tax increases and advertising restrictions. The collaboration between these two industries in the tobacco policy arena is unknown. This study explored if tobacco and alcohol companies built alliances to influence tobacco legislation and, if so, how those alliances worked. Analysis of previously secret tobacco industry documents. In the early 1980s, tobacco companies started efforts to build coalitions with alcohol and other industries to oppose cigarette excise taxes, clean indoor air policies and tobacco advertising and promotion constraints. Alcohol companies were often identified as a key partner and source of financial support for the coalitions. These coalitions had variable success interfering with tobacco control policy-making. The combined resources of tobacco and alcohol companies may have affected tobacco control legislation. These alliances helped to create the perception that there is a broader base of opposition to tobacco control. Advocates should be aware of the covert alliances between tobacco, alcohol and other industries and expose them to correct this misperception. © 2013 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Informed choice and the nanny state: learning from the tobacco industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoek, Janet

2015-08-01

To examine the 'nanny state' arguments used by tobacco companies, explore the cognitive biases that impede smokers' ability to make fully informed choices, and analyse the implications for those working to limit the harmful effects of other risk products. A critical analysis of the practices engaged in by the tobacco industry, the logic on which they relied, and the extent to which their work has informed approaches used by other industries. The tobacco industry's deliberate strategy of challenging scientific evidence undermines smokers' ability to understand the harms smoking poses and questions arguments that smoking is an informed choice. Cognitive biases predispose smokers to discount risk information, particularly when this evidence is disputed and framed as uncertain. Only state intervention has held the tobacco industry to account and begun ameliorating the effects of their sustained duplicity. Evidence other industries are now adopting similar tactics, particularly use of 'nanny state' claims to oppose proportionate interventions, is concerning. Some marketing strategies have deliberately mis-informed consumers thus directly contributing to many public health problems. Far from removing free choice, government policies that restrain commercial communications and stimuli are prerequisites necessary to promote free choice. Copyright © 2015 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Youth Advocates’ Perceptions of Tobacco Industry Marketing Influences on Adolescent Smoking: Can They See the Signs?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malinda Douglas

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Point-of-sale (POS advertising at retail stores is one of the key marketing avenues used by the tobacco industry. The United States Surgeon General urges actions to eliminate POS tobacco advertisements because of their influence on youth smoking. Many youth empowerment programs are implemented to address tobacco industry marketing influences, including POS tobacco advertisements. While youth are asked to take on such collective action, little is known regarding their perceptions and understanding of tobacco industry marketing influences and related advocacy activities. This mixed methods study examined Oklahoma’s tobacco control youth empowerment program members’ perceptions of tobacco industry marketing influences. Four focus groups were held with active program members from rural and urban areas. Overall, the focus group participants viewed the program as purposeful, as an avenue to help others, and as a way to make a difference. Specifically, the older participants (median age = 18 years identified tobacco industry marketing influences such as POS, movies, and magazine advertisements and reported participating in activities that counter POS tobacco advertisements at retail stores. Likewise younger participants (median age = 16 years, identified similar tobacco industry marketing influences, but also included tobacco use by friends and family as tobacco industry marketing influences. Moreover, the younger participants did not report engaging in activities that addressed POS tobacco advertisements. The study results suggest that the empowerment program should tailor its programming, training, materials, and activities with input from youth of various ages. Thoughtfully developed messages and specific activities can truly empower youth and maximize their contribution as change agents who address POS or other initiatives at the retail environments to prevent chronic diseases.

Youth Advocates' Perceptions of Tobacco Industry Marketing Influences on Adolescent Smoking: Can They See the Signs?

Science.gov (United States)

Douglas, Malinda; Chan, Andie; Sampilo, Marilyn

2016-01-01

Point-of-sale (POS) advertising at retail stores is one of the key marketing avenues used by the tobacco industry. The United States Surgeon General urges actions to eliminate POS tobacco advertisements because of their influence on youth smoking. Many youth empowerment programs are implemented to address tobacco industry marketing influences, including POS tobacco advertisements. While youth are asked to take on such collective action, little is known regarding their perceptions and understanding of tobacco industry marketing influences and related advocacy activities. This mixed methods study examined Oklahoma's tobacco control youth empowerment program members' perceptions of tobacco industry marketing influences. Four focus groups were held with active program members from rural and urban areas. Overall, the focus group participants viewed the program as purposeful, as an avenue to help others, and as a way to make a difference. Specifically, the older participants (median age = 18 years) identified tobacco industry marketing influences such as POS, movies, and magazine advertisements and reported participating in activities that counter POS tobacco advertisements at retail stores. Likewise younger participants (median age = 16 years), identified similar tobacco industry marketing influences, but also included tobacco use by friends and family as tobacco industry marketing influences. Moreover, the younger participants did not report engaging in activities that addressed POS tobacco advertisements. The study results suggest that the empowerment program should tailor its programming, training, materials, and activities with input from youth of various ages. Thoughtfully developed messages and specific activities can truly empower youth and maximize their contribution as change agents who address POS or other initiatives at the retail environments to prevent chronic diseases.

Strange bedfellows: the history of collaboration between the Massachusetts Restaurant Association and the tobacco industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Ritch, W A; Begay, M E

2001-01-01

OBJECTIVES: This article examines the historical relationship between the tobacco industry and the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, a nonprofit trade association aligned with the food and beverage industry. METHODS: The study analyzed data from Web-based tobacco industry documents, public relations materials, news articles, testimony from public hearings, requests for injunctions, court decisions, economic impact studies, handbooks, and private correspondence. RESULTS: Tobacco industry documents that became public after various state lawsuits reveal that a long history of collaboration exists between the Massachusetts Restaurant Association and the tobacco industry. For more than 20 years, their joint efforts have focused primarily on the battle to defeat state and local laws that would restrict smoking in public places, particularly in beverage and food service establishments. The resources of the tobacco industry, combined with the association's grassroots mobilization of its membership, have fueled their opposition to many state and local smoke-free restaurant, bar, and workplace laws in Massachusetts. CONCLUSIONS: The universal opposition of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association to smoking bans in food and beverage establishments is a reflection of its historic relationship with the tobacco industry. PMID:11291372

Developing smokeless tobacco products for smokers: an examination of tobacco industry documents.

Science.gov (United States)

Carpenter, C M; Connolly, G N; Ayo-Yusuf, O A; Wayne, G Ferris

2009-02-01

To investigate whether development of smokeless tobacco products (SLT) is intended to target current smokers. This study analysed internal tobacco industry documents to describe research related to the smokeless tobacco market. Relevant documents included those detailing the development and targeting of SLT products with a particular emphasis on moist snuff. Cigarette and SLT manufacturers recognised that shifting demographics of SLT users, as well as indoor smoking restrictions, health concerns and reduced social acceptability of smoking could impact the growth of the SLT market. Manufacturers developed new SLT products to target cigarette smokers promoting dual cigarette and SLT use. Heavy marketing of new SLT products may encourage dual use and result in unknown public health effects. SLT products have been designed to augment cigarette use and offset regulatory strategies such as clean indoor air laws. In the United States, the SLT strategy may provide cigarette companies with a diversified range of products under the prospect of federal regulation. These products may pose significant challenges to efforts by federal agencies to reduce harm caused by tobacco use.

"Accommodating" smoke-free policies: tobacco industry's Courtesy of Choice programme in Latin America.

Science.gov (United States)

Sebrié, Ernesto M; Glantz, Stanton A

2007-10-01

To understand the implementation and effects of the Courtesy of Choice programme designed to "accommodate" smokers as an alternative to smoke-free policies developed by Philip Morris International (PMI) and supported by RJ Reynolds (RJR) and British American Tobacco (BAT) since the mid-1990s in Latin America. Analysis of internal tobacco industry documents, BAT "social reports", news reports and tobacco control legislation. Since the mid-1990s, PMI, BAT and RJR promoted Accommodation Programs to maintain the social acceptability of smoking. As in other parts of the world, multinational tobacco companies partnered with third party allies from the hospitality industry in Latin America. The campaign was extended from the hospitality industry (bars, restaurants and hotels) to other venues such as workplaces and airport lounges. A local public relations agency, as well as a network of engineers and other experts in ventilation systems, was hired to promote the tobacco industry's programme. The most important outcome of these campaigns in several countries was the prevention of meaningful smoke-free policies, both in public places and in workplaces. Courtesy of Choice remains an effective public relations campaign to undermine smoke-free policies in Latin America. The tobacco companies' accommodation campaign undermines the implementation of measures to protect people from second-hand smoke called for by the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, perpetuating the exposure to tobacco smoke in indoor enclosed environments.

Editorial input for the right price: tobacco industry support for a sheet metal indoor air quality manual.

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Richard; Balbach, Edith

2013-01-01

Following legal action in the 1990s, internal tobacco industry documents became public, allowing unprecedented insight into the industry's relationships with outside organizations. During the 1980s and 1990s, the National Energy Management Institute (NEMI), established by the Sheet Metal Workers International Association and the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors' National Association, (SMACNA) received tobacco industry funding to establish an indoor air quality services program. But the arrangement also required NEMI to serve as an advocate for industry efforts to defeat indoor smoking bans by arguing that ventilation was a more appropriate solution to environmental tobacco smoke. Drawing on tobacco industry documents, this paper describes a striking example of the ethical compromises that accompanied NEMI's collaboration with the tobacco industry, highlighting the solicitation of tobacco industry financial support for a SMACNA indoor air quality manual in exchange for sanitizing references to the health impact of environmental tobacco smoke prior to publication.

Tobacco industry attempts to frame smoking as a 'disability' under the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Eijk, Yvette; Glantz, Stanton A

2017-01-01

Using the Truth Tobacco Industry Documents Library and Congressional records, we examined the tobacco industry's involvement with the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). During legislative drafting of the ADA (1989-1990), the Tobacco Institute, the tobacco industry's lobbying and public relations arm at the time, worked with industry lawyers and civil rights groups to include smoking in the ADA's definition of "disability." Focus was on smoking as a perceived rather than actual disability so that tobacco companies could maintain that smoking is not addictive. Language that would have explicitly excluded smoking from ADA coverage was weakened or omitted. Tobacco Institute lawyers did not think the argument that smokers are "disabled" would convince the courts, so in the two years after the ADA was signed into law, the Tobacco Institute paid a lawyer to conduct media tours, seminars, and write articles to convince employers that hiring only non-smokers would violate the ADA. The ultimate goal of these activities was to deter employers from promoting a healthy, tobacco-free workforce and, more broadly, to promote the social acceptability of smoking. Employers and policy makers need to be aware that tobacco use is not protected by the ADA and should not be misled by tobacco industry efforts to insinuate otherwise.

Tobacco industry globalization and global health governance: towards an interdisciplinary research agenda

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kelley; Eckhardt, Jappe; Holden, Chris

2016-01-01

Shifting patterns of tobacco production and consumption, and the resultant disease burden worldwide since the late twentieth century, prompted efforts to strengthen global health governance through adoption of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. While the treaty is rightfully considered an important achievement, to address a neglected public health issue through collective action, evidence suggests that tobacco industry globalization continues apace. In this article, we provide a systematic review of the public health literature and reveal definitional and measurement imprecision, ahistorical timeframes, transnational tobacco companies and the state as the primary units and levels of analysis, and a strong emphasis on agency as opposed to structural power. Drawing on the study of globalization in international political economy and business studies, we identify opportunities to expand analysis along each of these dimensions. We conclude that this expanded and interdisciplinary research agenda provides the potential for fuller understanding of the dual and dynamic relationship between the tobacco industry and globalization. Deeper analysis of how the industry has adapted to globalization over time, as well as how the industry has influenced the nature and trajectory of globalization, is essential for building effective global governance responses. This article is published as part of a thematic collection dedicated to global governance. PMID:28458910

Tobacco industry globalization and global health governance: towards an interdisciplinary research agenda.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kelley; Eckhardt, Jappe; Holden, Chris

2016-01-01

Shifting patterns of tobacco production and consumption, and the resultant disease burden worldwide since the late twentieth century, prompted efforts to strengthen global health governance through adoption of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. While the treaty is rightfully considered an important achievement, to address a neglected public health issue through collective action, evidence suggests that tobacco industry globalization continues apace. In this article, we provide a systematic review of the public health literature and reveal definitional and measurement imprecision, ahistorical timeframes, transnational tobacco companies and the state as the primary units and levels of analysis, and a strong emphasis on agency as opposed to structural power. Drawing on the study of globalization in international political economy and business studies, we identify opportunities to expand analysis along each of these dimensions. We conclude that this expanded and interdisciplinary research agenda provides the potential for fuller understanding of the dual and dynamic relationship between the tobacco industry and globalization. Deeper analysis of how the industry has adapted to globalization over time, as well as how the industry has influenced the nature and trajectory of globalization, is essential for building effective global governance responses. This article is published as part of a thematic collection dedicated to global governance.

"The world's most hostile environment": how the tobacco industry circumvented Singapore's advertising ban.

Science.gov (United States)

Assunta, M; Chapman, S

2004-12-01

To review how tobacco transnational companies conducted their business in the hostile environment of Singapore, attempting to counter some of the government's tobacco control measures; to compare the Malaysian and the Singaporean governments' stance on tobacco control and the direct bearing of this on the way the tobacco companies conduct their business. Systematic keyword and opportunistic website searches of formerly private internal industry documents. The comprehensive prohibition on advertising did not prevent the companies from advertising cigarettes to Singaporeans. Both British American Tobacco and Philip Morris used Malaysian television to advertise into Singapore. To launch a new brand of cigarettes, Alpine, Philip Morris used a non-tobacco product, the Alpine wine cooler. Other creative strategies such as innovative packaging and display units at retailers were explored to overcome the restrictions. Philip Morris experimented with developing a prototype cigarette using aroma and sweetened tipping paper to target the young and health conscious. The industry sought to weaken the strong pack warnings. The industry distributed anti-smoking posters for youth to retailers but privately salivated over their market potential.

“Accommodating” smoke‐free policies: tobacco industry's Courtesy of Choice programme in Latin America

Science.gov (United States)

Sebrié, Ernesto M; Glantz, Stanton A

2007-01-01

Objective To understand the implementation and effects of the Courtesy of Choice programme designed to “accommodate” smokers as an alternative to smoke‐free polices developed by Philip Morris International (PMI) and supported by RJ Reynolds (RJR) and British American Tobacco (BAT) since the mid‐1990s in Latin America. Methods Analysis of internal tobacco industry documents, BAT “social reports”, news reports and tobacco control legislation. Results Since the mid‐1990s, PMI, BAT and RJR promoted Accommodation Programs to maintain the social acceptability of smoking. As in other parts of the world, multinational tobacco companies partnered with third party allies from the hospitality industry in Latin America. The campaign was extended from the hospitality industry (bars, restaurants and hotels) to other venues such as workplaces and airport lounges. A local public relations agency, as well as a network of engineers and other experts in ventilation systems, was hired to promote the tobacco industry's programme. The most important outcome of these campaigns in several countries was the prevention of meaningful smoke‐free policies, both in public places and in workplaces. Conclusions Courtesy of Choice remains an effective public relations campaign to undermine smoke‐free policies in Latin America. The tobacco companies' accommodation campaign undermines the implementation of measures to protect people from second‐hand smoke called for by the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, perpetuating the exposure to tobacco smoke in indoor enclosed environments. PMID:17897975

Comparison of advertising strategies between the indoor tanning and tobacco industries.

Science.gov (United States)

Greenman, Jennifer; Jones, David A

2010-04-01

The indoor tanning industry is large and continues to grow, with 2007 domestic sales in excess of $5 billion. Advertising is central to shaping the consumer's perception of indoor tanning as well as driving industry demand. This article aims to identify key drivers of consumer appeal by comparing tanning advertising strategies to those used by tobacco marketers. Tobacco advertising was selected as a reference framework because it is both well documented and designed to promote a product with known health hazards. Two thousand advertisements from 4 large tobacco advertisement databases were analyzed for type of advertisement strategy used, and 4 advertising method categories were devised to incorporate the maximum number of advertisements reviewed. Subsequently, contemporary tanning advertisements were collected from industry magazines and salon websites and evaluated relative to the identified strategy profiles. Both industries have relied on similar advertising strategies, including mitigating health concerns, appealing to a sense of social acceptance, emphasizing psychotropic effects, and targeting specific population segments. This examination is a small observational study, which was conducted without rigorous statistical analysis, and which is limited both by the number of advertisements and by advertising strategies examined. Given the strong parallels between tobacco and tanning advertising methodologies, further consumer education and investigation into the public health risks of indoor tanning is needed. Copyright 2009 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Menthol cigarettes and smoking initiation: a tobacco industry perspective

OpenAIRE

Klausner, Kim

2011-01-01

Objectives To determine what the tobacco industry knew about menthol cigarettes and the initiation of smoking. Methods Based on Food and Drug Administration staff-supplied research questions we used a snowball sampling strategy to search the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) between February and April 2010. Of the approximately 11 million documents available in the LTDL, the iterative searches returned tens of thousands of results. Researchers reviewed 2634 doc...

ARTIST (Asian regional tobacco industry scientist team): Philip Morris' attempt to exert a scientific and regulatory agenda on Asia.

Science.gov (United States)

Tong, E K; Glantz, S A

2004-12-01

To describe how the transnational tobacco industry has collaborated with local Asian tobacco monopolies and companies to promote a scientific and regulatory agenda. Analysis of previously secret tobacco industry documents. Transnational tobacco companies began aggressively entering the Asia market in the 1980s, and the current tobacco industry in Asia is a mix of transnational and local monopolies or private companies. Tobacco industry documents demonstrate that, in 1996, Philip Morris led an organisation of scientific representatives from different tobacco companies called the Asian Regional Tobacco Industry Science Team (ARTIST), whose membership grew to include monopolies from Korea, China, Thailand, and Taiwan and a company from Indonesia. ARTIST was initially a vehicle for PM's strategies against anticipated calls for global smoke-free areas from a World Health Organization secondhand smoke study. ARTIST evolved through 2001 into a forum to present scientific and regulatory issues faced primarily by Philip Morris and other transnational tobacco companies. Philip Morris' goal for the organisation became to reach the external scientific and public health community and regulators in Asia. The Asian tobacco industry has changed from an environment of invasion by transnational tobacco companies to an environment of participation with Philip Morris' initiated activities. With this participation, tobacco control efforts in Asia face new challenges as Philip Morris promotes and integrates its scientific and regulatory agenda into the local Asian tobacco industry. As the local Asian tobacco monopolies and companies can have direct links with their governments, future implementation of effective tobacco control may be at odds with national priorities.

Transnational tobacco company interests in smokeless tobacco in Europe: analysis of internal industry documents and contemporary industry materials.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silvy Peeters

Full Text Available European Union (EU legislation bans the sale of snus, a smokeless tobacco (SLT which is considerably less harmful than smoking, in all EU countries other than Sweden. To inform the current review of this legislation, this paper aims to explore transnational tobacco company (TTC interests in SLT and pure nicotine in Europe from the 1970s to the present, comparing them with TTCs' public claims of support for harm reduction.Internal tobacco industry documents (in total 416 documents dating from 1971 to 2009, obtained via searching the online Legacy Tobacco Documents Library, were analysed using a hermeneutic approach. This library comprises documents obtained via litigation in the US and does not include documents from Imperial Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International, or Swedish Match. To help overcome this limitation and provide more recent data, we triangulated our documentary findings with contemporary documentation including TTC investor presentations. The analysis demonstrates that British American Tobacco explored SLT opportunities in Europe from 1971 driven by regulatory threats and health concerns, both likely to impact cigarette sales negatively, and the potential to create a new form of tobacco use among those no longer interested in taking up smoking. Young people were a key target. TTCs did not, however, make SLT investments until 2002, a time when EU cigarette volumes started declining, smoke-free legislation was being introduced, and public health became interested in harm reduction. All TTCs have now invested in snus (and recently in pure nicotine, yet both early and recent snus test markets appear to have failed, and little evidence was found in TTCs' corporate materials that snus is central to their business strategy.There is clear evidence that BAT's early interest in introducing SLT in Europe was based on the potential for creating an alternative form of tobacco use in light of declining cigarette sales and social restrictions on

Transnational tobacco company interests in smokeless tobacco in Europe: analysis of internal industry documents and contemporary industry materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Peeters, Silvy; Gilmore, Anna B

2013-01-01

European Union (EU) legislation bans the sale of snus, a smokeless tobacco (SLT) which is considerably less harmful than smoking, in all EU countries other than Sweden. To inform the current review of this legislation, this paper aims to explore transnational tobacco company (TTC) interests in SLT and pure nicotine in Europe from the 1970s to the present, comparing them with TTCs' public claims of support for harm reduction. Internal tobacco industry documents (in total 416 documents dating from 1971 to 2009), obtained via searching the online Legacy Tobacco Documents Library, were analysed using a hermeneutic approach. This library comprises documents obtained via litigation in the US and does not include documents from Imperial Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International, or Swedish Match. To help overcome this limitation and provide more recent data, we triangulated our documentary findings with contemporary documentation including TTC investor presentations. The analysis demonstrates that British American Tobacco explored SLT opportunities in Europe from 1971 driven by regulatory threats and health concerns, both likely to impact cigarette sales negatively, and the potential to create a new form of tobacco use among those no longer interested in taking up smoking. Young people were a key target. TTCs did not, however, make SLT investments until 2002, a time when EU cigarette volumes started declining, smoke-free legislation was being introduced, and public health became interested in harm reduction. All TTCs have now invested in snus (and recently in pure nicotine), yet both early and recent snus test markets appear to have failed, and little evidence was found in TTCs' corporate materials that snus is central to their business strategy. There is clear evidence that BAT's early interest in introducing SLT in Europe was based on the potential for creating an alternative form of tobacco use in light of declining cigarette sales and social restrictions on smoking, with

[Understand the tobacco industry's strategy for recruiting teens: Lessons from a 1973 marketing document].

Science.gov (United States)

Dautzenberg, B

2018-06-01

For years, the tobacco industry has organized the inoculation of tobacco addiction to adolescents. The analysis of a 1973 RJReynols ® document identified ten physical and psychological factors in order to increase the number of young users for a brand of cigarettes. These young people are classified into three groups: pre-smokers, learners and smokers. The taste for pre-smokers and learners and nicotine for smokers are main physical parameters. The industry clearly knows that tobacco is mainly consumed because of nicotine addiction, so it is necessary to make adolescents addict. It is interesting to note that cigarette pack was in 1973 a positive factor to attract young smokers, whereas now with the arrival of the neutral packaging, the tobacco industry declares that packaging has no influence to attract teenagers ! Of the psychological factors, the only negative factor is the self-image of the smoker. The tobacco industry already recognized in 1973 that smokers were unhappy about smoking. For learners, self-image and the experience of adults are most important factor, which is why the industry strives to create a positive image and convey message that smoking initiation is a ritual to become adult. According to the tobacco industry, stress and alleviation of boredom are also important points in turning pre-smokers into learners and learners into smokers. This article aims to provide practical tools for understanding industry initiatives targeting adolescents. The attached tool can be used by the teens or adults involved to understand the optimization of teenagers tobacco marketing. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Mobilising public opinion for the tobacco industry: the Consumer Tax Alliance and excise taxes.

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, R; Balbach, E D

2008-10-01

Tobacco industry funding was instrumental in creating and financing the Consumer Tax Alliance in 1989 as an organisation that relied upon extensive media outreach to build opposition to excise taxes as a regressive form of taxation. By obscuring its own role in this effort, the tobacco industry undermined the public's reasonable expectations for transparency in the policy-making process. To examine the formation and activities of the Consumer Tax Alliance as a "hybrid" form of interest group in order to provide tobacco control and public health advocates with a better understanding of unanticipated tobacco industry coalitions and facilitate appropriate countermeasures. Document searches through the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library and through Tobacco Documents Online and review of background literature. The Tobacco Institute actively sought liberal allies beginning in the mid-1980s in seeking to build public opposition to cigarette excise tax increases by promoting them as a regressive form of taxation. The creation of the Consumer Tax Alliance in 1989 was expressly intended to turn labour and middle-class opinion against prospective excise tax increases in federal budget deficit negotiations, without divulging the tobacco industry's role in its formation. It is important to understand the dynamic by which trusted organisations can be induced to alter their agendas in response to funding sources. Advocates need to understand this form of interest group behaviour so that they are better able to negotiate the policy arena by diagnosing and exposing this influence where it occurs and, by doing so, be better prepared to take appropriate countermeasures.

"I always thought they were all pure tobacco": American smokers' perceptions of "natural" cigarettes and tobacco industry advertising strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

McDaniel, Patricia A; Malone, Ruth E

2007-12-01

To examine how the US tobacco industry markets cigarettes as "natural" and American smokers' views of the "naturalness" (or unnaturalness) of cigarettes. Internal tobacco industry documents, the Pollay 20th Century Tobacco Ad Collection, and newspaper sources were reviewed, themes and strategies were categorised, and the findings were summarised. Cigarette advertisements have used the term "natural" since at least 1910, but it was not until the 1950s that "natural" referred to a core element of brand identity, used to describe specific product attributes (filter, menthol, tobacco leaf). The term "additive-free", introduced in the 1980s, is now commonly used to define natural cigarettes. Tobacco company market research, available from 1970 to 1998, consistently revealed that within focus group sessions, smokers initially had difficulty interpreting the term "natural" in relation to cigarettes; however, after discussion of cigarette ingredients, smokers viewed "natural" cigarettes as healthier. Tobacco companies regarded the implied health benefits of natural cigarettes as their key selling point, but hesitated to market them because doing so might raise doubts about the composition of their highly profitable "regular" brands. Although our findings support the idea advanced by some tobacco control advocates that informing smokers of conventional cigarettes' chemical ingredients could promote cessation, they also suggest that such a measure could increase the ubiquity and popularity of "natural" cigarettes. A more effective approach may be to "denaturalise" smoking.

The so-called "Spanish model" - Tobacco industry strategies and its impact in Europe and Latin America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schneider Nick K

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background To demonstrate the tobacco industry rationale behind the "Spanish model" on non-smokers' protection in hospitality venues and the impact it had on some European and Latin American countries between 2006 and 2011. Methods Tobacco industry documents research triangulated against news and media reports. Results As an alternative to the successful implementation of 100% smoke-free policies, several European and Latin American countries introduced partial smoking bans based on the so-called "Spanish model", a legal framework widely advocated by parts of the hospitality industry with striking similarities to "accommodation programmes" promoted by the tobacco industry in the late 1990s. These developments started with the implementation of the Spanish tobacco control law (Ley 28/2005 in 2006 and have increased since then. Conclusion The Spanish experience demonstrates that partial smoking bans often resemble tobacco industry strategies and are used to spread a failed approach on international level. Researchers, advocates and policy makers should be aware of this ineffective policy.

The so-called "Spanish model" - Tobacco industry strategies and its impact in Europe and Latin America

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background To demonstrate the tobacco industry rationale behind the "Spanish model" on non-smokers' protection in hospitality venues and the impact it had on some European and Latin American countries between 2006 and 2011. Methods Tobacco industry documents research triangulated against news and media reports. Results As an alternative to the successful implementation of 100% smoke-free policies, several European and Latin American countries introduced partial smoking bans based on the so-called "Spanish model", a legal framework widely advocated by parts of the hospitality industry with striking similarities to "accommodation programmes" promoted by the tobacco industry in the late 1990s. These developments started with the implementation of the Spanish tobacco control law (Ley 28/2005) in 2006 and have increased since then. Conclusion The Spanish experience demonstrates that partial smoking bans often resemble tobacco industry strategies and are used to spread a failed approach on international level. Researchers, advocates and policy makers should be aware of this ineffective policy. PMID:22151884

Understanding tobacco industry pricing strategy and whether it undermines tobacco tax policy: the example of the UK cigarette market.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilmore, Anna B; Tavakoly, Behrooz; Taylor, Gordon; Reed, Howard

2013-07-01

Tobacco tax increases are the most effective means of reducing tobacco use and inequalities in smoking, but effectiveness depends on transnational tobacco company (TTC) pricing strategies, specifically whether TTCs overshift tax increases (increase prices on top of the tax increase) or undershift the taxes (absorb the tax increases so they are not passed onto consumers), about which little is known. Review of literature on brand segmentation. Analysis of 1999-2009 data to explore the extent to which tax increases are shifted to consumers, if this differs by brand segment and whether cigarette price indices accurately reflect cigarette prices. UK. UK smokers. Real cigarette prices, volumes and net-of-tax- revenue by price segment. TTCs categorise brands into four price segments: premium, economy, mid and 'ultra-low price' (ULP). TTCs have sold ULP brands since 2006; since then, their real price has remained virtually static and market share doubled. The price gap between premium and ULP brands is increasing because the industry differentially shifts tax increases between brand segments; while, on average, taxes are overshifted, taxes on ULP brands are not always fully passed onto consumers (being absorbed at the point each year when tobacco taxes increase). Price indices reflect the price of premium brands only and fail to detect these problems. Industry-initiated cigarette price changes in the UK appear timed to accentuate the price gap between premium and ULP brands. Increasing the prices of more expensive cigarettes on top of tobacco tax increases should benefit public health, but the growing price gap enables smokers to downtrade to cheaper tobacco products and may explain smoking-related inequalities. Governments must monitor cigarette prices by price segment and consider industry pricing strategies in setting tobacco tax policies. © 2013 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Understanding tobacco industry pricing strategy and whether it undermines tobacco tax policy: the example of the UK cigarette market

Science.gov (United States)

Gilmore, Anna B; Tavakoly, Behrooz; Taylor, Gordon; Reed, Howard

2013-01-01

Aims Tobacco tax increases are the most effective means of reducing tobacco use and inequalities in smoking, but effectiveness depends on transnational tobacco company (TTC) pricing strategies, specifically whether TTCs overshift tax increases (increase prices on top of the tax increase) or undershift the taxes (absorb the tax increases so they are not passed onto consumers), about which little is known. Design Review of literature on brand segmentation. Analysis of 1999–2009 data to explore the extent to which tax increases are shifted to consumers, if this differs by brand segment and whether cigarette price indices accurately reflect cigarette prices. Setting UK. Participants UK smokers. Measurements Real cigarette prices, volumes and net-of-tax- revenue by price segment. Findings TTCs categorise brands into four price segments: premium, economy, mid and ‘ultra-low price’ (ULP). TTCs have sold ULP brands since 2006; since then, their real price has remained virtually static and market share doubled. The price gap between premium and ULP brands is increasing because the industry differentially shifts tax increases between brand segments; while, on average, taxes are overshifted, taxes on ULP brands are not always fully passed onto consumers (being absorbed at the point each year when tobacco taxes increase). Price indices reflect the price of premium brands only and fail to detect these problems. Conclusions Industry-initiated cigarette price changes in the UK appear timed to accentuate the price gap between premium and ULP brands. Increasing the prices of more expensive cigarettes on top of tobacco tax increases should benefit public health, but the growing price gap enables smokers to downtrade to cheaper tobacco products and may explain smoking-related inequalities. Governments must monitor cigarette prices by price segment and consider industry pricing strategies in setting tobacco tax policies. PMID:23445255

Countering tobacco industry sponsorship of Hispanic/Latino organizations through policy adoption: a case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Portugal, Cecilia; Cruz, Tess Boley; Espinoza, Lilia; Romero, Marisol; Baezconde-Garbanati, Lourdes

2004-07-01

Restricted by Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) provisions, the tobacco industry employs corporate sponsorship of communities of color (e.g., sponsoring community cultural events and/or chambers of commerce) to secure their stronghold. The Hispanic/Latino Tobacco Education Network (H/LaTEN) initiated efforts to counter these marketing forms within the Hispanic community. In 1998, 38 California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce (CHCCs) were contacted to assess the tobacco industry's marketing tactics and penetration. CHCCs reported receiving tobacco funding in the past, making them susceptible to future protobacco industry influence. Subsequently, an intervention was implemented to inoculate the CHCCs against industry influence by encouraging an antitobacco corporate sponsorship policy adoption. Six CHCCs representing approximately 400 businesses in the community adopted this policy. Targeting susceptible organizations including and beyond the Hispanic community and advocating for an antitobacco corporate sponsorship policy adoption are strategies that can be used in tandem with MSA enforcement to effectively build resistance.

Tobacco Industry Marketing to Low Socio-economic Status Women in the US

Science.gov (United States)

Brown-Johnson, Cati G.; England, Lucinda J.; Glantz, Stanton A.; Ling, Pamela M.

2014-01-01

Objectives Describe tobacco companies’ marketing strategies targeting low socioeconomic-status (SES) females in the US. Methods Analysis of previously secret tobacco industry documents. Results Tobacco companies focused marketing on low SES women starting in the late 1970s, including military wives, low-income inner-city minority women, “discount-susceptible” older female smokers, and less-educated young white women. Strategies included distributing discount coupons with food stamps to reach the very poor, discount offers at point-of-sale and via direct mail to keep cigarette prices low, developing new brands for low SES females, and promoting luxury images to low SES African American women. More recently, companies integrated promotional strategies targeting low-income women into marketing plans for established brands. Conclusions Tobacco companies used numerous marketing strategies to reach low SES females in the US for at least four decades. Strategies to counteract marketing to low SES women could include: 1) counter-acting price discounts and direct mail coupons that reduce the price of tobacco products, 2) instituting restrictions on point-of-sale advertising and retail display, and 3) creating counter-advertising that builds resistance to psychosocial targeting of low SES women. To achieve health equity, tobacco control efforts are needed to counteract the influence of tobacco industry marketing to low-income women. PMID:24449249

Marketing 'less harmful, low-tar' cigarettes is a key strategy of the industry to counter tobacco control in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Gonghuan

2014-03-01

While the 'low-tar' scheme has been widely recognised as a misleading tactic used by the tobacco industry to deceive the public about the true risks of cigarette smoking, a similar campaign using the slogan of 'less harmful, low tar' was launched by the Chinese tobacco industry, that is, State Tobacco Monopoly Administration/China National Tobacco Corporation and began to gain traction during the last decade. Despite the fact that no sufficient research evidence supports the claims made by the industry that these cigarettes are safer, the Chinese tobacco industry has continued to promote them using various health claims. As a result, the production and sales of 'less harmful, low-tar' cigarettes have increased dramatically since 2000. Recently, a tobacco industry senior researcher, whose main research area is 'less harmful, low-tar' cigarettes, was elected as an Academician to the prestigious Chinese Academy of Engineering for his contribution to developing 'less harmful, low-tar' cigarettes. The tobacco researcher's election caused an outcry from the tobacco control community and the general public in China. This paper discusses the Chinese tobacco industry's 'less harmful, low-tar' initiatives and calls for the Chinese government to stop the execution of this deceptive strategy for tobacco marketing.

Through tobacco industry eyes: civil society and the FCTC process from Philip Morris and British American Tobacco's perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzalez, Mariaelena; Green, Lawrence W; Glantz, Stanton A

2012-07-01

To analyse the models Philip Morris (PM) and British American Tobacco (BAT) used internally to understand tobacco control non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and their relationship to the global tobacco control policy-making process that resulted in the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC). Analysis of internal tobacco industry documents in the Legacy Tobacco Document Library. PM contracted with Mongoven, Biscoe, and Duchin, Inc. (MBD, a consulting firm specialising in NGO surveillance) as advisors. MBD argued that because NGOs are increasingly linked to epistemic communities, NGOs could insert themselves into the global policy-making process and influence the discourse surrounding the treaty-making process. MBD advised PM to insert itself into the policy-making process, mimicking NGO behaviour. BAT's Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (CORA) department argued that global regulation emerged from the perception (by NGOs and governments) that the industry could not regulate itself, leading to BAT advocating social alignment and self-regulation to minimise the impact of the FCTC. Most efforts to block or redirect the FCTC failed. PM and BAT articulated a global policy-making environment in which NGOs are key, non-state stakeholders, and as a result, internationalised some of their previous national-level strategies. After both companies failed to prevent the FCTC, their strategies began to align. Multinational corporations have continued to successfully employ some of the strategies outlined in this paper at the local and national level while being formally excluded from ongoing FCTC negotiations at the global level.

Transnational Tobacco Company Interests in Smokeless Tobacco in Europe: Analysis of Internal Industry Documents and Contemporary Industry Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Peeters, Silvy; Gilmore, Anna B.

2013-01-01

Background European Union (EU) legislation bans the sale of snus, a smokeless tobacco (SLT) which is considerably less harmful than smoking, in all EU countries other than Sweden. To inform the current review of this legislation, this paper aims to explore transnational tobacco company (TTC) interests in SLT and pure nicotine in Europe from the 1970s to the present, comparing them with TTCs' public claims of support for harm reduction. Methods and Results Internal tobacco industry documents (in total 416 documents dating from 1971 to 2009), obtained via searching the online Legacy Tobacco Documents Library, were analysed using a hermeneutic approach. This library comprises documents obtained via litigation in the US and does not include documents from Imperial Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International, or Swedish Match. To help overcome this limitation and provide more recent data, we triangulated our documentary findings with contemporary documentation including TTC investor presentations. The analysis demonstrates that British American Tobacco explored SLT opportunities in Europe from 1971 driven by regulatory threats and health concerns, both likely to impact cigarette sales negatively, and the potential to create a new form of tobacco use among those no longer interested in taking up smoking. Young people were a key target. TTCs did not, however, make SLT investments until 2002, a time when EU cigarette volumes started declining, smoke-free legislation was being introduced, and public health became interested in harm reduction. All TTCs have now invested in snus (and recently in pure nicotine), yet both early and recent snus test markets appear to have failed, and little evidence was found in TTCs' corporate materials that snus is central to their business strategy. Conclusions There is clear evidence that BAT's early interest in introducing SLT in Europe was based on the potential for creating an alternative form of tobacco use in light of declining cigarette sales

Implications of Tobacco Industry Research on Packaging Colors for Designing Health Warning Labels.

Science.gov (United States)

Lempert, Lauren K; Glantz, Stanton A

2016-09-01

Health warning labels (HWLs) are an important way to educate the public about the dangers of tobacco products. Tobacco companies conducted research to understand how pack colors affect consumers' perceptions of the products and make packages and their labeling more visually prominent. We analyzed previously secret tobacco industry documents concerning the tobacco industry's internal research on how cigarette package colors and design influence the visual prominence of packages and consumers' perceptions of the harmfulness of the products. The companies found that black is visually prominent, placing dark pack elements on a contrasting light background makes them stand out more, and black text on a white background is more prominent than white text on a black background. Yellow most quickly and effectively seizes and holds consumers' attention and signals warning or danger, while white connotes health and safety. Using black text on a bright contrasting background color, particularly yellow, attracts consumers' attention to the message. Tobacco industry research on pack color choices that make pack elements more prominent, attract and keep consumers' attention, and convey danger instead of health should guide governments in specifying requirements for HWLs. These factors suggest that HWLs printed on a yellow background with black lettering and borders would most effectively seize and keep consumers' attention and signal the danger of cigarettes and other tobacco products. Tobacco companies' internal research on improving the prominence of pack elements suggests that HWLs using black lettering on a contrasting yellow background would most effectively seize and hold consumers' attention and signal the danger of cigarettes and other tobacco products. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Mobilizing Public Opinion for the Tobacco Industry: The Consumer Tax Alliance and Excise Taxes

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Richard; Balbach, Edith D.

2009-01-01

Background Tobacco industry funding was instrumental in creating and financing the Consumer Tax Alliance in 1989 as an ostensibly organization that relied upon extensive media outreach to build opposition to excise taxes as a regressive form of taxation. By obscuring its own role in this effort, the tobacco industry undermined the public’s reasonable expectations for transparency in the policy making process. Aim To examine the formation and activities of the Consumer Tax Alliance as a “hybrid” form of interest group in order to provide tobacco control and public health advocates with a better understanding of unanticipated tobacco industry coalitions and facilitate appropriate counter measures. Methods Document searches through the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library and through Tobacco Documents Online and review of background literature. Results The Tobacco Institute actively sought liberal allies beginning in the mid-1980s in seeking to build public opposition to cigarette excise tax increases by promoting them as a regressive form of taxation. The creation of the Consumer Tax Alliance in 1989 was expressly intended to turn labor and middle class opinion against prospective excise tax increases in federal budget deficit negotiations, without divulging the tobacco industry’s role in its formation. Conclusion It is important to understand the dynamic by which trusted organizations can be induced to alter their agendas in response to funding sources. Advocates need to understand this form of interest group behavior so that they are better able to negotiate the policy arena by diagnosing and exposing this influence where it occurs and, by doing so, be better prepared to take appropriate counter measures. What this paper adds The tobacco industry’s political strategies for utilizing third party efforts to contest cigarette excise tax increases have not been extensively studied. While there has been some attention to industry sponsorship of third parties, the

Psychological Intervention for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder among Witnesses of a Fatal Industrial Accident in a Workers' Health Center

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dong-Mug Kang

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD is a serious problem not only among workers who experience industrial accidents but also among workers who witness such accidents. Early intervention is needed to prevent prolonged psychological problems. There has been no study conducted regarding the psychological problems of and interventions for bystander workers in Korea. This study introduces the experience of intervention on psychological problems at the Busan Workers' Health Center workers who witnessed their colleagues' death. An investigation and an intervention were conducted according to the Korean Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA Guide. In total, 21 individuals including indirect observers showed statistical differences on scores of the Impact Event Scale Revised and the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 after the intervention. Future interventions and research involving a larger sample size over a longer period are needed. The KOSHA Guide could be a useful tool for urgent psychological intervention in the event of major workplace disasters. Keywords: industrial accident, post-traumatic stress disorder, witness, workers' health center

Menthol cigarettes and smoking initiation: a tobacco industry perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Klausner, Kim

2011-05-01

To determine what the tobacco industry knew about menthol cigarettes and the initiation of smoking. Based on Food and Drug Administration staff-supplied research questions we used a snowball sampling strategy to search the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) between February and April 2010. Of the approximately 11 million documents available in the LTDL, the iterative searches returned tens of thousands of results. Researchers reviewed 2634 documents and 128 were deemed relevant to one or more of the research questions. The documents show that menthol is added to cigarettes in part because it is known to be an attractive feature to inexperienced smokers who perceive menthol cigarettes as less harsh and easier to smoke and because of their availability from friends and family. Second, the tobacco industry found that some youths smoke menthols because they perceive them to be less harmful than non-menthol cigarettes. A key product design issue concerns whether to increase brand menthol levels to appeal to the taste preferences of long-term menthol smokers or keep menthol levels lower to appeal to inexperienced smokers. Marketing studies showed that the companies carefully researched the menthol segment of the market in order to recruit younger smokers to their brands. The industry tracked menthol cigarette usage by age, gender and race to inform product development and marketing decisions. Menthol is a prominent design feature used by cigarette manufacturers to attract and retain new, younger smokers.

Costa Rica’s Implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: Overcoming decades of industry dominance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric Crosbie

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. To analyze the passage of Costa Rica’s 2012 tobacco control law. Materials and methods. Review of legislation, newspaper articles, and key informant interviews. Results. Tobacco control advocates, in close collaboration with international health groups, recruited national, regional and international experts to testify in the Legislative Assembly, implemented grassroots advocacy campaigns, and generated media coverage to enact strong legislation in March 2012 consistent with the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, despite tobacco industry lobbying efforts that for decades blocked effective tobacco control legislation. Conclusion. Costa Rica’s experience illustrates how with resources, good strategic planning, aggressive tactics and perseverance tobacco control advocates can overcome tobacco industry opposition in the Legislative Assembly and Executive Branch. This determined approach has positioned Costa Rica to become a regional leader in tobacco control.

Influence of tobacco industry advertisements and promotions on tobacco use in India: findings from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2009-2010.

Science.gov (United States)

Sinha, D N; Palipudi, K M; Oswal, K; Gupta, P C; Andes, L J; Asma, S

2014-12-01

The developing world, including countries like India, has become a major target for the tobacco industry to market its products. This study examines the influence of the marketing (advertising and promotion) of tobacco products on the use of tobacco by adults (ages 15 and over) in India. Data from Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2009-2010 was analyzed using methods for complex (clustered) sample designs. Multivariate logistic regression was employed to predict the use of different tobacco products by level of exposure to tobacco marketing using adults who have never used tobacco as the reference category. Odds ratios (ORs) were adjusted for education, gender, age, state of residence, wealth index, and place of residence (urban/rural). Adults in India were almost twice as likely to be current smokers (versus never users) when they were exposed to a moderate level of bidi or cigarette marketing. For bidis, among adults with high exposure, the OR for current use was 4.57 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.6, 13.0). Adults were more likely to be current users of smokeless tobacco (SLT) with even a low level of exposure to SLT marketing (OR = 1.24 [95% CI: 1.1, 1.4]). For SLT, the ORs showed an increasing trend (P for trend marketing (minimum, OR = 1.25 [1.1-1.4]; moderate, OR = 1.38 [1.1-1.8]; and high, OR = 2.73 [1.8-4.2]), with the trend highly significant (P marketing of tobacco products, which may take the form of advertising at the point of sale, sales or a discounted price, free coupons, free samples, surrogate advertisements, or any of several other modalities, increased prevalence of tobacco use among adults. An increasing level of exposure to direct and indirect advertisement and promotion is associated with an increased likelihood of tobacco use.

Marketing ‘less harmful, low-tar’ cigarettes is a key strategy of the industry to counter tobacco control in China

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Gonghuan

2014-01-01

While the ‘low-tar’ scheme has been widely recognised as a misleading tactic used by the tobacco industry to deceive the public about the true risks of cigarette smoking, a similar campaign using the slogan of ‘less harmful, low tar’ was launched by the Chinese tobacco industry, that is, State Tobacco Monopoly Administration/China National Tobacco Corporation and began to gain traction during the last decade. Despite the fact that no sufficient research evidence supports the claims made by the industry that these cigarettes are safer, the Chinese tobacco industry has continued to promote them using various health claims. As a result, the production and sales of ‘less harmful, low-tar’ cigarettes have increased dramatically since 2000. Recently, a tobacco industry senior researcher, whose main research area is ‘less harmful, low-tar’ cigarettes, was elected as an Academician to the prestigious Chinese Academy of Engineering for his contribution to developing ‘less harmful, low-tar’ cigarettes. The tobacco researcher's election caused an outcry from the tobacco control community and the general public in China. This paper discusses the Chinese tobacco industry's ‘less harmful, low-tar’ initiatives and calls for the Chinese government to stop the execution of this deceptive strategy for tobacco marketing. PMID:23349230

KT&G: From Korean monopoly to 'a global name in the tobacco industry'.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kelley; Gong, Lucy; Eckhardt, Jappe; Holden, Chris; Lee, Sungkyu

2017-03-01

Until the late 1980s, the former South Korean tobacco monopoly KT&G was focused on the protected domestic market. The opening of the market to foreign competition, under pressure from the U.S. Trade Representative, led to a steady erosion of market share over the next 10 years. Drawing on company documents and industry sources, this paper examines the adaptation of KT&G to the globalization of the South Korean tobacco industry since the 1990s. It is argued that KT&G has shifted from a domestic monopoly to an outward-looking, globally oriented business in response to the influx of transnational tobacco companies. Like other high-income countries, South Korea has also seen a decline in smoking prevalence as stronger tobacco control measures have been adopted. Faced with a shrinking domestic market, KT&G initially focused on exporting Korean-manufactured cigarettes. Since the mid-2000s, a broader global business strategy has been adopted including the building of overseas manufacturing facilities, establishing strategic partnerships and acquiring foreign companies. Trends in KT&G sales suggest an aspiring transnational tobacco company poised to become a major player in the global tobacco market. This article is part of the special issue 'The emergence of Asian tobacco companies: Implications for global health governance'.

Booze and butts: A content analysis of the presence of alcohol in tobacco industry lifestyle magazines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nan Jiang

2016-06-01

Conclusions: Frequent depictions of smoking and drinking in tobacco industry lifestyle magazines might have reinforced norms about paired use of tobacco and alcohol among young adults. The pairing of tobacco and alcohol may particularly target young men. Anti-tobacco interventions need to address the co-use of tobacco and alcohol, change the social acceptability of smoking in social settings, and tailor anti-tobacco messaging by gender.

Tobacco Industry Research on Nicotine Replacement Therapy: "If Anyone Is Going to Take Away Our Business It Should Be Us".

Science.gov (United States)

Apollonio, Dorie; Glantz, Stanton A

2017-10-01

Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is recommended for tobacco cessation on the basis of pharmaceutical industry research showing its effectiveness when combined with counseling. The tobacco industry opposed NRT when it first appeared in the 1980s but by 2016 was marketing its own NRT products. We used internal tobacco industry documents dated 1960 through 2010 to identify the industry's perceptions of NRT. As early as the 1950s, tobacco companies developed nonsmoked nicotine replacements for cigarettes, but they stopped out of concern that marketing such products would trigger Food and Drug Administration regulation of cigarettes. In the 1990s, after pharmaceutical companies began selling prescription NRT, tobacco companies found that many smokers used NRT to supplement smoking rather than to quit. In 2009, once the Food and Drug Administration began regulating tobacco, tobacco companies restarted their plans to capture the nicotine market. Although the tobacco industry initially viewed NRT as a threat, it found that smokers often combined NRT with smoking rather than using it as a replacement and began marketing their own NRT products.

Using Anti-Tobacco Industry Messages to Prevent Smoking among High-Risk Adolescents

Science.gov (United States)

Thrasher, James F.; Niederdeppe, Jeffrey D.; Jackson, Christine; Farrelly, Matthew C.

2006-01-01

Media campaigns to prevent adolescent tobacco use in the United States increasingly focus on the deceitful practices of the tobacco industry; however, little is known about how adolescents at elevated smoking risk respond to this strategy. This study used data from a nationally representative survey of 10,035 adolescents, ages 12-17 years, in…

'Manage and mitigate punitive regulatory measures, enhance the corporate image, influence public policy': industry efforts to shape understanding of tobacco-attributable deforestation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kelley; Carrillo Botero, Natalia; Novotny, Thomas

2016-09-20

Deforestation due to tobacco farming began to raise concerns in the mid 1970s. Over the next 40 years, tobacco growing increased significantly and shifted markedly to low- and middle-income countries. The percentage of deforestation caused by tobacco farming reached 4 % globally by the early 2000s, although substantially higher in countries such as China (18 %), Zimbabwe (20 %), Malawi (26 %) and Bangladesh (>30 %). Transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) have argued that tobacco-attributable deforestation is not a serious problem, and that the industry has addressed the issue through corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. After reviewing the existing scholarly literature on tobacco and deforestation, we analysed industry sources of public information to understand how the industry framed deforestation, its key causes, and policy responses. To analyse industry strategies between the 1970s and early 2000s to shape understanding of deforestation caused by tobacco farming and curing, the Truth Tobacco Documents Library was systematically searched. The above sources were compiled and triangulated, thematically and chronologically, to derive a narrative of how the industry has framed the problem of, and solutions to, tobacco-attributable deforestation. The industry sought to undermine responses to tobacco-attributable deforestation by emphasising the economic benefits of production in LMICs, blaming alternative causes, and claiming successful forestation efforts. To support these tactics, the industry lobbied at the national and international levels, commissioned research, and colluded through front groups. There was a lack of effective action to address tobacco-attributable deforestation, and indeed an escalation of the problem, during this period. The findings suggest the need for independent data on the varied environmental impacts of the tobacco industry, awareness of how the industry seeks to work with environmental researchers and groups to

Tobacco Industry vs. the World Health Organization: a historical confrontation between social networks of stakeholders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sérgio Boeira

2007-04-01

Full Text Available The aim of this article is to present an introduction to the history of the tobacco industry and the confrontation between its social network of stakeholders and the network led by the World Health Organization (WHO, with a focus on the Brazilian context and the role of the Alliance for the Control of Tobacco Use (ACT as the coordinator of multiple stakeholders opposing the tobacco industry strategies in Brazil. The article seeks to describe the problematic relationship between tobacco production and export on the one hand and tobacco control on the other, as exemplified by the approval, in February 2005, of the first international public health treaty (WHO Framework Convention for Tobacco Control. The text is based on research leading to a PhD thesis in 2000, which has been updated through articles and ongoing research since then, with the aim of monitoring the unfolding of this issue that is central to the public health policies

The price paid: manipulation of otolaryngologists by the tobacco industry to obfuscate the emerging truth that smoking causes cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Jackler, Robert K; Samji, Hussein A

2012-01-01

Our objectives were to explore the multifaceted campaign by the tobacco industry to enlist otolaryngologists in support of their efforts to reassure consumers that cigarettes were safe, and to elucidate the incentives that led so many leading otolaryngologists to give testimony denying a causal linkage between tobacco use and head and neck cancer. Historical analyses. Recent litigation has exposed for public viewing a huge trove of internal tobacco industry documents. These documents include correspondence files, internal memoranda, research solicitations, grant agreements, records of payments, marketing plans, and testimony by otolaryngologists on behalf of tobacco interests in court proceedings, before congressional committees, and at U.S. Federal Trade Commission hearings. Evidence shows that marketing divisions of major tobacco companies systematically sought to use the authority and prestige of otolaryngologists to support their promotional efforts. Industry documents reveal widespread collaboration by leaders in the field through conducting research and giving well-compensated testimony favorable to tobacco interests. Invariably, industry-funded research showed tobacco in a favorable light. The industry also sought to influence otolaryngologists with free cigarettes, elegant dinners, and hospitality booths at conventions. In revealing this unfortunate period in our history, we by no means intend to diminish the memory of distinguished leaders whose tobacco involvements were certainly more acceptable by the standards of their own time. Rather, by exposing the pervasive tobacco industry manipulation of scientific research for commercial purposes we seek to encourage vigilance by contemporary researchers who might consider seeking funding from an industry that places the pursuit of profits above the well-being of its customers. Copyright © 2011 The American Laryngological, Rhinological, and Otological Society, Inc.

[Response of the tobacco industry to the creation of smoke-free environments in Brazil].

Science.gov (United States)

Bialous, Stella Aguinaga; Presman, Sabrina; Gigliotti, Analice; Muggli, Monique; Hurt, Richard

2010-04-01

To document the response of the tobacco industry to the regulation of smoking in public places in Brazil starting in 1996. The Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (legacy.library.ucsf.edu/) and the British American Tobacco (BAT) Company Documents (bat.library.ucsf.edu/) were searched. The following key words were used: Brasil/Brazil; Souza Cruz; fumo passivo, tabagismo passivo/passive smoking; fumo de segunda mão/secondhand smoking; convivência em harmonia/courtesy of choice; along with the names of institutions, politicians, and individuals associated with tobacco control. We also searched the websites of cigarette manufacturers and hospitality industry organizations and businesses, news websites, and online newspapers and magazines. The search was limited to the period from 1995 to 2005. The text of the first law restricting smoking in Brazil (no. 9 294, of 1996) benefited the industry by stating that smokers and nonsmokers could share the same space provided that specific areas were designated as smoking and nonsmoking. As in other countries, the tobacco industry established partnerships with hotel, bar, and restaurant associations to prevent the passing of laws creating 100% smoke-free environments, as recommended by the World Health Organization. However, local state and city laws in major cities and states (such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo) have been successful in ensuring the creation of 100% smoke-free places. It is essential that Brazil recognize the damage caused by smoking and revise its federal law regulating smoking in closed environments. The knowledge concerning the strategies employed by the industry may be useful for politicians and health care professionals to prepare arguments opposing measures that can be detrimental to public health.

[The cynical game of the tobacco industry. Many years' efforts to deny or cover-up the negative effects of tobacco are revealed by the forced publication of internal documents].

Science.gov (United States)

Lambe, Mats; Hallhagen, Erika; Boëthius, Göran

2002-06-13

Scrutiny of internal tobacco industry documents, now available on the Internet, reveals that Sweden and Finland were classified as "priority 1" areas in which to intensify efforts to resist tobacco control measures. In the late 1980s Philip Morris increased its activities in Scandinavia in order to counteract penal taxation threats and marketing restrictions. Swedish scientists were engaged by the tobacco industry in the "White Coat" project, a program expected to shed doubt on research linking passive smoking to health risks. The Swedish tobacco company Swedish Match collaborated with Philip Morris in challenging measures to limit tobacco use, including the new, stricter tobacco law proposed in the early 1990s.

Marketing of menthol cigarettes and consumer perceptions: a review of tobacco industry documents.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Stacey J

2011-05-01

To examine tobacco industry marketing of menthol cigarettes and to determine what the tobacco industry knew about consumer perceptions of menthol. A snowball sampling design was used to systematically search the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (LTDL) (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) between 28 February and 27 April 2010. Of the approximately 11 million documents available in the LTDL, the iterative searches returned tens of thousands of results from the major US tobacco companies and affiliated organisations. A collection of 953 documents from the 1930s to the first decade of the 21st century relevant to 1 or more of the research questions were qualitatively analysed, as follows: (1) are/were menthol cigarettes marketed with health reassurance messages? (2) What other messages come from menthol cigarette advertising? (3) How do smokers view menthol cigarettes? (4) Were menthol cigarettes marketed to specific populations? Menthol cigarettes were marketed as, and are perceived by consumers to be, healthier than non-menthol cigarettes. Menthol cigarettes are also marketed to specific social and demographic groups, including African-Americans, young people and women, and are perceived by consumers to signal social group belonging. The tobacco industry knew consumers perceived menthol as healthier than non-menthol cigarettes, and this was the intent behind marketing. Marketing emphasising menthol attracts consumers who may not otherwise progress to regular smoking, including young, inexperienced users and those who find 'regular' cigarettes undesirable. Such marketing may also appeal to health-concerned smokers who might otherwise quit.

[Excise taxes on tobacco and the problem of smuggling - concerning the credibility of the tobacco industry's "Discarded-Cigarette-Packages-Study"].

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, M; Effertz, T

2011-10-01

The consumption of tobacco products is one of the main causes of illnesses. An often neglected but highly effective instrument for fiscal and preventive purposes is higher taxes on tobacco products. The tobacco industry however claims that higher taxes have tremendous effects on smuggling activity with additional costs with regard to law enforcement. The claim appears to be substantiated by a study which collects and documents the amounts of discarded empty cigarette packs, and which is used to estimate the fraction of illegally imported cigarettes. We show that this study makes use of systematic misspecifications and impreciseness and thus seems to pursue the aim of showing an exaggerated high amount of illegally imported cigarettes. The industry's claim that two thirds of non-taxed cigarettes in Germany are imported illegally, thus lacks any sound, well-grounded empirical corroboration. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Shared vision, shared vulnerability: A content analysis of corporate social responsibility information on tobacco industry websites.

Science.gov (United States)

McDaniel, Patricia A; Cadman, Brie; Malone, Ruth E

2016-08-01

Tobacco companies rely on corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives to improve their public image and advance their political objectives, which include thwarting or undermining tobacco control policies. For these reasons, implementation guidelines for the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) recommend curtailing or prohibiting tobacco industry CSR. To understand how and where major tobacco companies focus their CSR resources, we explored CSR-related content on 4 US and 4 multinational tobacco company websites in February 2014. The websites described a range of CSR-related activities, many common across all companies, and no programs were unique to a particular company. The websites mentioned CSR activities in 58 countries, representing nearly every region of the world. Tobacco companies appear to have a shared vision about what constitutes CSR, due perhaps to shared vulnerabilities. Most countries that host tobacco company CSR programs are parties to the FCTC, highlighting the need for full implementation of the treaty, and for funding to monitor CSR activity, replace industry philanthropy, and enforce existing bans. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Competing initiatives: a new tobacco industry strategy to oppose statewide clean indoor air ballot measures.

Science.gov (United States)

Tung, Gregory J; Hendlin, Yogi H; Glantz, Stanton A

2009-03-01

To describe how the tobacco and gaming industries opposed clean indoor air voter initiatives in 2006, we analyzed media records and government and other publicly available documents and conducted interviews with knowledgeable individuals. In an attempt to avoid strict "smoke free" regulations pursued by health groups via voter initiatives in Arizona, Ohio, and Nevada, in 2006, the tobacco and gaming industries sponsored competing voter initiatives for alternative laws. Health groups succeeded in defeating the pro-tobacco competing initiatives because they were able to dispel confusion and create a head-to-head competition by associating each campaign with its respective backer and instructing voters to vote "no" on the pro-tobacco initiative in addition to voting "yes" on the health group initiative.

PROFESSIONALISM AND ETHICS: IS THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY DAMAGING THE HEALTH OF THE PUBLIC RELATIONS PROFESSION?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adnan Hussein

2006-01-01

Full Text Available In most parts of the world, public relations (PR is seeking recognition as a profession. The path to gaining professional status hinges on its adherence to professional ethical standards. This paper argues that it is inappropriate for public relations practitioners to represent the tobacco industry because it is against the PR ethics of upholding truth and public interest. The paper cites historical tobacco industry documents to reveal that the industry would not hesitate to use unethical means to maximise profits.

Tobacco industry marketing to low socioeconomic status women in the U.S.A.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown-Johnson, Cati G; England, Lucinda J; Glantz, Stanton A; Ling, Pamela M

2014-11-01

Describe tobacco companies' marketing strategies targeting low socioeconomic status (SES) females in the U.S.A. Analysis of previously secret tobacco industry documents. Tobacco companies focused marketing on low SES women starting in the late 1970s, including military wives, low-income inner-city minority women, 'discount-susceptible' older female smokers and less-educated young white women. Strategies included distributing discount coupons with food stamps to reach the very poor, discount offers at point-of-sale and via direct mail to keep cigarette prices low, developing new brands for low SES females and promoting luxury images to low SES African-American women. More recently, companies integrated promotional strategies targeting low-income women into marketing plans for established brands. Tobacco companies used numerous marketing strategies to reach low SES females in the U.S.A. for at least four decades. Strategies to counteract marketing to low SES women could include (1) counteracting price discounts and direct mail coupons that reduce the price of tobacco products, (2) instituting restrictions on point-of-sale advertising and retail display and (3) creating counteradvertising that builds resistance to psychosocial targeting of low SES women. To achieve health equity, tobacco control efforts are needed to counteract the influence of tobacco industry marketing to low-income women. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

'It's interesting how few people die from smoking': tobacco industry efforts to minimize risk and discredit health promotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Elizabeth A

2007-04-01

It is well known that the tobacco industry has placed articles in scientific literature to maintain controversy over the dangers of tobacco use, while claiming that smokers are well-informed about risk. This study illuminates an industry attempt to directly undermine popular understanding of the hazards of smoking using an industry-created organization called Associates for Research in the Science of Enjoyment (ARISE). Searches of tobacco industry documents contained in the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library, British American Tobacco Documents Library, and British Columbia's Tobacco Industry documents were performed as well as searches of the LexisNexis database for news articles on ARISE published between 1989 and 2005. Qualitative analysis focused on industry motives, media strategies, and rhetorical tactics; quantitative content analysis focused on media coverage. Between 1989 and 2005, at least 846 articles appeared in the European, Australian, and US press mentioning ARISE, its members, or its activities. Many of these articles presented two themes: smoking was a healthful 'pleasure', and health promotion practices, including cessation, were stressful and unhealthy. Few articles included responses from health advocates, questioned ARISE's claims, or mentioned its funding. ARISE successfully planted stories in the press, designed to allay the health concerns of smokers and to discredit health promotion information and practices. ARISE's later interest in food suggests that counterfactual 'health' messages on almost any topic could be promoted similarly, regardless of their implausibility.

Are the tobacco industry's claims about the size of the illicit cigarette market credible? The case of South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

van Walbeek, Corné; Shai, Lerato

2015-06-01

The tobacco industry claims that illicit cigarette trade in South Africa is high and rising. This is often used as an argument not to increase the tobacco excise tax or to regulate tobacco products. To determine how the tobacco industry's estimates of the size of the illicit cigarette market have changed over time. Published media articles were obtained from South African Press Cuttings; published articles and press releases were sourced from the internet. The period of interest is 1990-2012. Between 1990 and 2012 we found 90 newspaper articles and press statements that emphasised the tobacco industry's view on illicit trade. Articles that reported on action taken against illicit trade were excluded. Between 2006 and early 2011 the Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa, a body representing the interests of large cigarette companies, reported that South Africa's illicit cigarette market share was 20%. This share increased to 25% in late 2011 and 30% in 2012. In a 2012 presentation by Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa to National Treasury the illicit market share in 2008 was indicated as 7.9%, compared with claims in that year that the illicit market share was 20%. Industry findings that the illicit market decreased in 2007 and 2008 were not reported in the press. The tobacco industry has adjusted previous estimates of the illicit trade share downwards to create the impression that illicit trade is high and rising. If previous estimates by the tobacco industry were incorrect the credibility of current estimates should be questioned. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Inventing conflicts of interest: a history of tobacco industry tactics.

Science.gov (United States)

Brandt, Allan M

2012-01-01

Confronted by compelling peer-reviewed scientific evidence of the harms of smoking, the tobacco industry, beginning in the 1950s, used sophisticated public relations approaches to undermine and distort the emerging science. The industry campaign worked to create a scientific controversy through a program that depended on the creation of industry-academic conflicts of interest. This strategy of producing scientific uncertainty undercut public health efforts and regulatory interventions designed to reduce the harms of smoking. A number of industries have subsequently followed this approach to disrupting normative science. Claims of scientific uncertainty and lack of proof also lead to the assertion of individual responsibility for industrially produced health risks.

Tobacco industry control of menthol in cigarettes and targeting of adolescents and young adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Kreslake, Jennifer M; Wayne, Geoffrey Ferris; Alpert, Hillel R; Koh, Howard K; Connolly, Gregory N

2008-09-01

We examined whether tobacco manufacturers manipulate the menthol content of cigarettes in an effort to target adolescents and young adults. We analyzed data from tobacco industry documents describing menthol product development, results of laboratory testing of US menthol brands, market research reports, and the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The tobacco industry attracted new smokers by promoting cigarettes with lower menthol content, which were popular with adolescents and young adults, and provided cigarettes with higher menthol content to long-term smokers. Menthol cigarette sales remained stable from 2000 to 2005 in the United States, despite a 22% decline in overall packs sold. Tobacco companies manipulate the sensory characteristics of cigarettes, including menthol content, thereby facilitating smoking initiation and nicotine dependence. Menthol brands that have used this strategy have been the most successful in attracting youth and young adult smokers and have grown in popularity.

Impact of tobacco industry and other corporations in the defeat of the 1994 Clinton health care plan.

Science.gov (United States)

Givel, Michael

2017-06-21

The primary reason cited by many scholars for the defeat of the Clinton Administration's 1994 health care reform bill has long been identified as Health Insurance Association of America and National Federation of Independent Businesses opposition to the bill. Given this predominant consensus combined with sizeable proposed funding for the bill by a large tobacco product tax, this manuscript examined what the tobacco industry's role was in whole or part in defeating the Clinton health care bill. This research occurred through crosschecking internal tobacco industry documents and Clinton White House documents. Prior to the passage of the bill, the tobacco industry accepted a compromise of 45 cents per pack increase phased in over five years. Due to this compromise, the industry or third party allies had no role in the ultimate defeat in the bill. The primary reason for the bill's ultimate defeat was general business (but not tobacco industry and third party ally) opposition, the bill running out of time, and conflicting bills. Secondary reasons for the bill's defeat included issues with: employer mandates, high taxes on insurance plans, impacts on medical research and education, Congressional attention to other issues, election year politics, and possible future excise tax possibilities.

Tobacco industry use of flavours to recruit new users of little cigars and cigarillos.

Science.gov (United States)

Kostygina, Ganna; Glantz, Stanton A; Ling, Pamela M

2016-01-01

While flavoured cigarettes were prohibited in the USA in 2009, flavoured little cigars and cigarillos (LCCs) remain on the market. We describe the evolving strategies used by tobacco companies to encourage uptake of flavoured LCCs and industry research findings on consumer perceptions of flavoured LCC products. Analysis of internal tobacco industry documents was triangulated with data from tobacco advertisement archives, national newspapers, trade press and the internet. Flavoured LCC products were associated with young and inexperienced tobacco users, women and African-Americans. Internal industry studies confirmed that menthol and candy-like flavours (eg, vanilla and cherry) increased LCC appeal to starters by masking the heavy cigar taste, reducing throat irritation and making LCC smoke easier to inhale. To appeal to new users, manufacturers also reduced the size of cigars to make them more cigarette-like, introduced filters and flavoured filter tips, emphasised mildness and ease of draw in advertising, and featured actors using little cigars in television commercials. RJ Reynolds tried to capitalise on the popularity of menthol cigarettes among African-Americans and marketed a menthol little cigar to African-Americans. Tobacco companies engaged in a calculated effort to blur the line between LCCs to increase the appeal to cigarette smokers, and the use of flavours facilitated these efforts. Bans on flavoured cigarettes should be expanded to include flavoured LCCs, and tobacco use prevention initiatives should include LCCs. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Understanding the vector in order to plan effective tobacco control policies: an analysis of contemporary tobacco industry materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilmore, Anna B

2012-03-01

This paper builds on tobacco document research by analysing contemporary materials to explore how the global tobacco market has changed, how transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) are responding and the implications for tobacco control. The methods involved analysis of a variety of materials, including tobacco company annual reports, investor relations materials, financial analyst reports, market research reports and data. Once China, where TTCs have little market share, is excluded, global cigarette volumes are already declining. Nevertheless, industry profits continue to increase. This pattern is explained by the pricing power of TTCs-their ability to increase prices faster than volumes fall, a consequence of market failure. Pricing power is now fundamental to the long term future of TTCs. Consequently, and in light of growing regulations, the business model of the TTCs is changing. Product innovation is now a key marketing technique used to drive consumers to buy more expensive (ie, profitable) premium cigarettes. Contrary to established wisdom, high tobacco excise rates, particularly where increases in excise are gradual, can benefit TTCs by enabling price (profit) increases to be disguised. Large intermittent tax increases likely have a greater public health benefit. TTC investments in smokeless tobacco appear designed to eliminate competition between smokeless tobacco and cigarettes, thereby increasing the pricing power of TTCs while enabling them to harness the rhetoric of harm reduction. Monitoring TTCs can inform effective policy development. The value maximising approach of TTCs suggests that a ban on product innovation and more informed tobacco excise policies are needed.

Tobacco and transition: an overview of industry investments, impact and influence in the former Soviet Union.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilmore, A B; McKee, M

2004-06-01

To quantify the contribution the tobacco industry has made to foreign direct investment (FDI) in the former Soviet Union (FSU) as an indicator of its political and economic leverage; to explore the impact this has had on production capacity and tobacco control in the region. Data on industry investment and its impact on cigarette production capacity were collated from industry journals, reports, and websites. Data on total FDI were obtained from the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development. By the end of 2000, transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) had invested over 2.7 billion US dollars in 10 countries of the FSU. Tobacco money as a proportion of FDI varies from 1% to over 30% in Uzbekistan. Cigarette production capacity in the factories receiving investments tripled from 146 to 416 billion cigarettes per annum and the TTCs' market share has increased from nothing to between 50-100% in the markets in which they invested. Findings suggest that the effectiveness of national tobacco control measures corresponds broadly to the nature of the political and economic transition in each country and the size of industry investment, which is determined in part by the political context. Thus more effective measures tend to be seen in democratic states with smaller or no industry investments while the least effective measures are seen in highly centralised, one party states with high levels of industry investment or those with limited governmental capacity. The entry of the TTCs at a time of major political and economic change left the FSU particularly vulnerable to industry influence. This influence was enhanced by the industry's significant contribution to FDI, their ability to take over existing state monopolies in all but the largest countries, and the lack of democratic opposition.

Tobacco and transition: an overview of industry investments, impact and influence in the former Soviet Union

Science.gov (United States)

Gilmore, A; McKee, M

2004-01-01

Objectives: To quantify the contribution the tobacco industry has made to foreign direct investment (FDI) in the former Soviet Union (FSU) as an indicator of its political and economic leverage; to explore the impact this has had on production capacity and tobacco control in the region. Design: Data on industry investment and its impact on cigarette production capacity were collated from industry journals, reports, and websites. Data on total FDI were obtained from the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development. Results: By the end of 2000, transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) had invested over US$2.7 billion in 10 countries of the FSU. Tobacco money as a proportion of FDI varies from 1% to over 30% in Uzbekistan. Cigarette production capacity in the factories receiving investments tripled from 146 to 416 billion cigarettes per annum and the TTCs' market share has increased from nothing to between 50–100% in the markets in which they invested. Findings suggest that the effectiveness of national tobacco control measures corresponds broadly to the nature of the political and economic transition in each country and the size of industry investment, which is determined in part by the political context. Thus more effective measures tend to be seen in democratic states with smaller or no industry investments while the least effective measures are seen in highly centralised, one party states with high levels of industry investment or those with limited governmental capacity. Conclusions: The entry of the TTCs at a time of major political and economic change left the FSU particularly vulnerable to industry influence. This influence was enhanced by the industry's significant contribution to FDI, their ability to take over existing state monopolies in all but the largest countries, and the lack of democratic opposition. PMID:15175530

Do We Believe the Tobacco Industry Lied to Us? Association with Smoking Behavior in a Military Population

Science.gov (United States)

Klesges, Robert C.; Sherrill-Mittleman, Deborah A.; Debon, Margaret; Talcott, G. Wayne; Vanecek, Robert J.

2009-01-01

Despite the dangers of smoking, tobacco companies continue to impede tobacco control efforts through deceptive marketing practices. Media campaigns that expose these practices have been effective in advancing anti-industry attitudes and reducing smoking initiation among young people, yet the association between knowledge of industry practices and…

One unhealthy commodities industry? Understanding links across tobacco, alcohol and ultra-processed food manufacturers and their implications for tobacco control and the SDGS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeff Collin

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Background FCTC Article 5.3 requires protection against tobacco industry interference in policy-making. By contrast, manufacturers of alcohol and ultra-processed food and drink products are often identified as potential partners in multi-sectoral health initiatives, including via the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs. This divergence has been questioned given evidence of strategic similarities across sectors, to which this presentation adds an examination of structural links and their implications for health policy. This focuses on an analysis of 'interlocking directorates', via which directors of one organisation also occupy positions on different boards, widely as the principal indicator of network ties across corporations. Methods Using data from corporate websites, annual reports and business databases, we employ UCINET social network analysis software to examine interlocks in the top six transnational companies of each sector within and across tobacco, alcohol and food companies, with political elites, and with health and development agencies. Results We present findings via (i profiles of individual tobacco industry directors, highlighting strategically valuable links to other actors; (ii a quantitative comparison of interlocks across the three sectors, with no direct links between tobacco and food companies but with alcohol companies providing several bridges between them, and with food companies more extensively linked to political elites and health agencies; (iii a case study of the board of brewing giant SAB Miller at the time of its mega-merger with AB InBev to highlight the significance to tobacco control of wider interactions enabled by interlocks. Conclusions This account of linkages across tobacco, alcohol and ultra-processed food companies calls into question regulatory approaches that treat the tobacco industry as an exceptional case. Neglecting conflicts of interest with other unhealthy commodity producers is potentially

Trafficking in tobacco farm culture: Tobacco companies use of video imagery to undermine health policy

Science.gov (United States)

Otañez, Martin G; Glantz, Stanton A

2009-01-01

The cigarette companies and their lobbying organization used tobacco industry-produced films and videos about tobacco farming to support their political, public relations, and public policy goals. Critical discourse analysis shows how tobacco companies utilized film and video imagery and narratives of tobacco farmers and tobacco economies for lobbying politicians and influencing consumers, industry-allied groups, and retail shop owners to oppose tobacco control measures and counter publicity on the health hazards, social problems, and environmental effects of tobacco growing. Imagery and narratives of tobacco farmers, tobacco barns, and agricultural landscapes in industry videos constituted a tobacco industry strategy to construct a corporate vision of tobacco farm culture that privileges the economic benefits of tobacco. The positive discursive representations of tobacco farming ignored actual behavior of tobacco companies to promote relationships of dependency and subordination for tobacco farmers and to contribute to tobacco-related poverty, child labor, and deforestation in tobacco growing countries. While showing tobacco farming as a family and a national tradition and a source of jobs, tobacco companies portrayed tobacco as a tradition to be protected instead of an industry to be regulated and denormalized. PMID:20160936

Trafficking in tobacco farm culture: Tobacco companies use of video imagery to undermine health policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Otañez, Martin G; Glantz, Stanton A

2009-05-01

The cigarette companies and their lobbying organization used tobacco industry-produced films and videos about tobacco farming to support their political, public relations, and public policy goals. Critical discourse analysis shows how tobacco companies utilized film and video imagery and narratives of tobacco farmers and tobacco economies for lobbying politicians and influencing consumers, industry-allied groups, and retail shop owners to oppose tobacco control measures and counter publicity on the health hazards, social problems, and environmental effects of tobacco growing. Imagery and narratives of tobacco farmers, tobacco barns, and agricultural landscapes in industry videos constituted a tobacco industry strategy to construct a corporate vision of tobacco farm culture that privileges the economic benefits of tobacco. The positive discursive representations of tobacco farming ignored actual behavior of tobacco companies to promote relationships of dependency and subordination for tobacco farmers and to contribute to tobacco-related poverty, child labor, and deforestation in tobacco growing countries. While showing tobacco farming as a family and a national tradition and a source of jobs, tobacco companies portrayed tobacco as a tradition to be protected instead of an industry to be regulated and denormalized.

The Virginia Slims identity crisis: an inside look at tobacco industry marketing to women.

Science.gov (United States)

Toll, B A; Ling, P M

2005-06-01

Because no prior studies have comprehensively analysed previously secret tobacco industry documents describing marketing female brands, the Virginia Slims brand was studied to explore how Philip Morris and competitors develop and adapt promotional campaigns targeting women. Analysis of previously secret tobacco industry documents. The majority of the documents used were from Philip Morris. The key to Virginia Slims advertising was creating an aspirational image which women associated with the brand. Virginia Slims co-opted women's liberation slogans to build a modern female image from 1968 through to the 1980s, and its market share grew from 0.24% to 3.16% during that time period. Ironically, the feminist image that worked very well for the brand was also the reason for its subsequent problems. Philip Morris experienced unprecedented losses in market share in the early 1990s, with a decline in market share for four consecutive years from 3.16% to 2.26%; they attributed this decline to both the fact that the brand's feminist image no longer appealed to young women aged 18-24 years, and increased competition from more contemporary and lower priced competitors. Throughout the 1990s, attempts to reacquire young women while retaining Virginia Slims loyal (now older) smokers were made using a "King Size" line extension, new slogans, and loyalty building promotions. Tobacco advertisers initially created distinct female brands with aspirational images; continued appeal to young women was critical for long term growth. The need for established brands to evolve to maintain relevance to young women creates an opportunity for tobacco counter-marketing, which should undermine tobacco brand imagery and promote aspirational smoke-free lifestyle images. Young women age 18-24 are extremely valuable to the tobacco industry and should be a focus for tobacco control programmes.

The Virginia Slims identity crisis: an inside look at tobacco industry marketing to women

Science.gov (United States)

Toll, B; Ling, P

2005-01-01

Objectives: Because no prior studies have comprehensively analysed previously secret tobacco industry documents describing marketing female brands, the Virginia Slims brand was studied to explore how Philip Morris and competitors develop and adapt promotional campaigns targeting women. Methods: Analysis of previously secret tobacco industry documents. The majority of the documents used were from Philip Morris. Results: The key to Virginia Slims advertising was creating an aspirational image which women associated with the brand. Virginia Slims co-opted women's liberation slogans to build a modern female image from 1968 through to the 1980s, and its market share grew from 0.24% to 3.16% during that time period. Ironically, the feminist image that worked very well for the brand was also the reason for its subsequent problems. Philip Morris experienced unprecedented losses in market share in the early 1990s, with a decline in market share for four consecutive years from 3.16% to 2.26%; they attributed this decline to both the fact that the brand's feminist image no longer appealed to young women aged 18–24 years, and increased competition from more contemporary and lower priced competitors. Throughout the 1990s, attempts to reacquire young women while retaining Virginia Slims loyal (now older) smokers were made using a "King Size" line extension, new slogans, and loyalty building promotions. Conclusions: Tobacco advertisers initially created distinct female brands with aspirational images; continued appeal to young women was critical for long term growth. The need for established brands to evolve to maintain relevance to young women creates an opportunity for tobacco counter-marketing, which should undermine tobacco brand imagery and promote aspirational smoke-free lifestyle images. Young women age 18–24 are extremely valuable to the tobacco industry and should be a focus for tobacco control programmes. PMID:15923467

Contrasting academic and tobacco industry estimates of illicit cigarette trade: evidence from Warsaw, Poland.

Science.gov (United States)

Stoklosa, Michal; Ross, Hana

2014-05-01

To compare two different methods for estimating the size of the illicit cigarette market with each other and to contrast the estimates obtained by these two methods with the results of an industry-commissioned study. We used two observational methods: collection of data from packs in smokers' personal possession, and collection of data from packs discarded on streets. The data were obtained in Warsaw, Poland in September 2011 and October 2011. We used tests of independence to compare the results based on the two methods, and to contrast those with the estimate from the industry-commissioned discarded pack collection conducted in September 2011. We found that the proportions of cigarette packs classified as not intended for the Polish market estimated by our two methods were not statistically different. These estimates were 14.6% (95% CI 10.8% to 19.4%) using the survey data (N=400) and 15.6% (95% CI 13.2% to 18.4%) using the discarded pack data (N=754). The industry estimate (22.9%) was higher by nearly a half compared with our estimates, and this difference is statistically significant. Our findings are consistent with previous evidence of the tobacco industry exaggerating the scope of illicit trade and with the general pattern of the industry manipulating evidence to mislead the debate on tobacco control policy in many countries. Collaboration between governments and the tobacco industry to estimate tobacco tax avoidance and evasion is likely to produce upward-biased estimates of illicit cigarette trade. If governments are presented with industry estimates, they should strictly require a disclosure of all methodological details and data used in generating these estimates, and should seek advice from independent experts. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Tobacco industry responsibility for butts: a Model Tobacco Waste Act.

Science.gov (United States)

Curtis, Clifton; Novotny, Thomas E; Lee, Kelley; Freiberg, Mike; McLaughlin, Ian

2017-01-01

Cigarette butts and other postconsumer products from tobacco use are the most common waste elements picked up worldwide each year during environmental cleanups. Under the environmental principle of Extended Producer Responsibility, tobacco product manufacturers may be held responsible for collection, transport, processing and safe disposal of tobacco product waste (TPW). Legislation has been applied to other toxic and hazardous postconsumer waste products such as paints, pesticide containers and unused pharmaceuticals, to reduce, prevent and mitigate their environmental impacts. Additional product stewardship (PS) requirements may be necessary for other stakeholders and beneficiaries of tobacco product sales and use, especially suppliers, retailers and consumers, in order to ensure effective TPW reduction. This report describes how a Model Tobacco Waste Act may be adopted by national and subnational jurisdictions to address the environmental impacts of TPW. Such a law will also reduce tobacco use and its health consequences by raising attention to the environmental hazards of TPW, increasing the price of tobacco products, and reducing the number of tobacco product retailers. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Booze and butts: A content analysis of the presence of alcohol in tobacco industry's lifestyle magazines.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Nan; Cortese, Daniel K; Lewis, M Jane; Ling, Pamela M

2016-06-01

Advertising influences people's health behaviors. Tobacco companies have linked tobacco and alcohol in their marketing activities. We examined how depictions of alcohol were placed in lifestyle magazines produced by tobacco companies, and if these references differed depending on if the magazine was oriented towards men, women, or if it was unisex. Content analysis of 6 different tobacco industry lifestyle magazines (73 issues), including 73 magazine covers, 1558 articles, 444 tobacco ads, and 695 non-tobacco ads. 14 of 73 (19%) magazine covers featured alcohol; 581 of 1558 (37%) magazine articles mentioned alcohol; 119 of 444 (27%) tobacco ads showed alcohol images; and 57 of 695 (8%) non-tobacco ads portrayed alcohol. Male-oriented magazines ( Unlimited , CML , and Real Edge ) contained the most alcohol references, and the references were mainly beer, mixed drinks, and liquor or spirits. Female-oriented magazines ( All Woman and Flair ) contained the fewest alcohol references, and wine and mixed drinks were the major types of alcoholic beverage portrayed. For unisex magazine ( P.S. ), the frequency of alcohol references fell between the male- and female-oriented magazines, and most frequently mentioned mixed drinks. Frequent depictions of smoking and drinking in tobacco industry lifestyle magazines might have reinforced norms about paired use of tobacco and alcohol among young adults. The pairing of tobacco and alcohol may particularly target young men. Anti-tobacco interventions need to address the co-use of tobacco and alcohol, change the social acceptability of smoking in any social settings, and tailor alcohol related anti-tobacco messaging by gender.

Use of corporate sponsorship as a tobacco marketing tool: a review of tobacco industry sponsorship in the USA, 1995-99.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenberg, N J; Siegel, M

2001-09-01

To describe the nature and extent of tobacco company sponsorship in the USA during the period 1995-99 and analyse this sponsorship in a marketing context. A cross-sectional study of tobacco company sponsorships identified through a customised research report from IEG Inc, and from internet web site searches. First, a customised report was received from IEG Inc, which identified sponsorship activities for Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds, Brown & Williamson, Lorillard, and US Tobacco for the years 1997 and 1998. Second, the internet was systematically searched for tobacco industry sponsorships during the period 1995-99 by the same parent companies and their respective brands. During the period 1995-99, tobacco companies sponsored at least 2733 events, programmes, and organisations in the USA. Sponsorships involved all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and the minimum total funding amount of these sponsorships was $365.4 million. Tobacco corporate sponsorships involved numerous small, community based organisations, both through direct funding and through grants to larger umbrella organisations, and many of these organisations were part of the public health infrastructure. Tobacco corporate sponsorship serves as an important marketing tool for tobacco companies, serving both a sales promotion and public relations function. Public health practitioners need to develop better surveillance systems for monitoring tobacco sponsorship, to seek out alternative funding sources for tobacco company sponsored events and organisations, and to consider promoting a ban on tobacco sponsorship, possibly linking such regulation to the creation of alternative funding sources.

Tobacco industry tactics with advertisements at the point of sale in Mumbai.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, S; Rendell, H; Maudgal, S; Oswal, K

2013-01-01

The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertising and Regulations of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act 2003 (COTPA) set out a number of stringent regulations to address tobacco promotion, some of which were revised in 2004. The aim of the study was to monitor the industry tactics at the point of sale with advertising and promotion of tobacco product in Mumbai. The study was carried out by Cancer Patients Aid Association in Mumbai with the help of volunteers. The surveys consisted of two parts, observational information and an interviewer administered questionnaire. Observations like size of board, display of advertisement, backlighting, and use of any promotion were noted. A questionnaire captured information about any incentives from tobacco companies for advertisement and promotion was administered to the vendors who agreed to participate. Study was approved by the Scientific and independent Ethics committee. Total 125 establishments (58 shops, 55 kiosks, 12 other sites) with display boards were surveyed across 5 wards in Mumbai. It was noted that the most common violation was the placements of boards, mainly placed above the shop. The display boards were oversized and few of the advertisements were highlighted with backlights. Out of 125 tobacco vendors surveyed, 107 (85.5%) vendors agreed to answer the questionnaire. We noted that a majority of 67% (84 vendors) stated that they had been approached by tobacco companies to place the signages during the past 5 years post COTPA came into effect. 79 vendors (65 %) admitted to being paid by the tobacco companies. Although the civil society and various non-governmental organizations has casted voice against the industry tactics but ineffective enforcement of the law is a major hurdle. It is likely that cigarette companies will be further able to overcome advertising restrictions by finding loopholes in tobacco legislation unless the decision makers ban it comprehensively

Booze and butts: A content analysis of the presence of alcohol in tobacco industry lifestyle magazines

OpenAIRE

Jiang, Nan; K. Cortese, Daniel; Jane Lewis, M.; M. Ling, Pamela

2017-01-01

Background: Advertising influences people's health behaviors. Tobacco companies have linked tobacco and alcohol in their marketing activities. We examined how depictions of alcohol were placed in lifestyle magazines produced by tobacco companies, and if these references differed depending on the magazine’s orientation, if it was towards men, women, or if it was unisex. Methods: Content analysis of 6 different tobacco industry lifestyle magazines (73 issues), including 73 magazine covers, 1...

Impacts of the Master Settlement Agreement on the tobacco industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Sloan, F A; Mathews, C A; Trogdon, J G

2004-12-01

To assess effects of the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) and the four individual state settlements on tobacco company decisions and performance. 10-K reports filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, firm and daily data from the Center for Research in Security Prices, stock price indices, market share and advertising data, cigarette export and domestic consumption data, and newspaper articles were used to assess changes before (1990-98) and after (1999-2002) the MSA was implemented. Five major tobacco manufacturers in the USA. Stockholder returns, operating performance of defendant companies, exports, market share of the original participants in the MSA, and advertising/promotion expenditures. Returns to investments in the tobacco industry exceeded returns from investments in securities of other companies, using each of four indexes as comparators. Domestic tobacco revenues increased during 1999-2002 from pre-MSA levels. Profits from domestic sales rose from levels prevailing immediately before the MSA. There is no indication that the MSA caused an increase in tobacco exports. Total market share of the original participating manufacturers in the MSA decreased. Total advertising expenditures by the tobacco companies increased at a higher rate than the 1990-98 trend during 1999-2002, but total advertising expenditures net of spending on coupons and promotions decreased. The experience during the post-MSA period demonstrates that the MSA did no major harm to the companies. Some features of the MSA appear to have increased company value and profitability.

The evolution of health warning labels on cigarette packs: the role of precedents, and tobacco industry strategies to block diffusion

Science.gov (United States)

Hiilamo, Heikki; Crosbie, Eric; Glantz, Stanton A

2013-01-01

Objective To analyse the evolution and diffusion of health warnings on cigarette packs around the world, including tobacco industry attempts to block this diffusion. Methods We analysed tobacco industry documents and public sources to construct a database on the global evolution and diffusion of health warning labels from 1966 to 2012, and also analysed industry strategies. Results Health warning labels, especially labels with graphic elements, threaten the tobacco industry because they are a low-cost, effective measure to reduce smoking. Multinational tobacco companies did not object to voluntary innocuous warnings with ambiguous health messages, in part because they saw them as offering protection from lawsuits and local packaging regulations. The companies worked systematically at the international level to block or weaken warnings once stronger more specific warnings began to appear in the 1970s. Since 1985 in Iceland, the tobacco industry has been aware of the effectiveness of graphic health warning labels (GWHL). The industry launched an all-out attack in the early 1990s to prevent GHWLs, and was successful in delaying GHWLs internationally for nearly 10 years. Conclusions Beginning in 2005, as a result of the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), GHWLs began to spread. Effective implementation of FCTC labelling provisions has stimulated diffusion of strong health warning labels despite industry opposition. PMID:23092884

Transnational tobacco industry promotion of the cigarette gifting custom in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Alexandria; Jiang, Nan; Glantz, Stanton A

2011-07-01

To understand how British American Tobacco (BAT) and Philip Morris (PM) researched the role and popularity of cigarette gifting in forming relationships among Chinese customs and how they exploited the practice to promote their brands State Express 555 and Marlboro. Searches and analysis of industry documents from the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library complemented by searches on LexisNexis Academic news, online search engines and information from the tobacco industry trade press. From 1980-1999, BAT and PM employed Chinese market research firms to gather consumer information about perceptions of foreign cigarettes and the companies discovered that cigarettes, especially prestigious ones, were gifted and smoked purposely for building relationships and social status in China. BAT and PM promoted their brands as gifts by enhancing cigarette cartons and promoting culturally themed packages, particularly during the gifting festivals of Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival to tie their brands in to festival values such as warmth, friendship and celebration. They used similar marketing in Chinese communities outside China. BAT and PM tied their brands to Chinese cigarette gifting customs by appealing to social and cultural values of respect and personal honour. Decoupling cigarettes from their social significance in China and removing their appeal would probably reduce cigarette gifting and promote a decline in smoking. Tobacco control efforts in countermarketing, large graphic warnings and plain packaging to make cigarette packages less attractive as gifts could contribute to denormalising cigarette gifting.

Transnational tobacco industry promotion of the cigarette gifting custom in China

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Alexandria; Jiang, Nan; Glantz, Stanton A

2011-01-01

Objective To understand how British American Tobacco (BAT) and Philip Morris (PM) researched the role and popularity of cigarette gifting in forming relationships among Chinese customs and how they exploited the practice to promote their brands State Express 555 and Marlboro. Methods Searches and analysis of industry documents from the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library complemented by searches on LexisNexis Academic news, online search engines and information from the tobacco industry trade press. Results From 1980–1999, BAT and PM employed Chinese market research firms to gather consumer information about perceptions of foreign cigarettes and the companies discovered that cigarettes, especially prestigious ones, were gifted and smoked purposely for building relationships and social status in China. BAT and PM promoted their brands as gifts by enhancing cigarette cartons and promoting culturally themed packages, particularly during the gifting festivals of Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival to tie their brands in to festival values such as warmth, friendship and celebration. They used similar marketing in Chinese communities outside China. Conclusions BAT and PM tied their brands to Chinese cigarette gifting customs by appealing to social and cultural values of respect and personal honour. Decoupling cigarettes from their social significance in China and removing their appeal would probably reduce cigarette gifting and promote a decline in smoking. Tobacco control efforts in countermarketing, large graphic warnings and plain packaging to make cigarette packages less attractive as gifts could contribute to denormalising cigarette gifting. PMID:21282136

Tobacco Industry Dominating National Tobacco Policy Making in Argentina, 1966-2005

OpenAIRE

Sebrie, Ernesto M.; Barnoya, Joaquin; Perez-Stable, Eliseo; Glantz, Stanton A.

2005-01-01

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Argentina accounts for 15% of total tobacco consumption in Latin America and has made the epidemiological transition to an advanced stage in the tobacco epidemic. The Southern Cone region of the Americas leads the hemisphere in tobacco attributable mortality. Argentina is a developing country with economic interests in tobacco growing and rapidly increasing tobacco use in urban areas. In 2000, smoking prevalence was 40.4% among adults- 46.8% of men and 34% of wom...

Tobacco industry marketing: an analysis of direct mail coupons and giveaways.

Science.gov (United States)

Brock, Betsy; Schillo, Barbara A; Moilanen, Molly

2015-09-01

Despite marketing prohibitions, tobacco company marketing expenditures in the USA have continued to grow with tobacco companies shifting focus towards point-of-sale-marketing and direct marketing to consumers through the mail and on the web. The purpose of this observational study was to investigate the content of direct marketing sent in response to registrations on select industry websites. An analysis of 659 tobacco company direct mail marketing pieces received between July 2011 and June 2012 was conducted. Mailings were coded for type and value of tobacco coupons, type of tobacco products promoted with coupons and number and type of giveaways offered. The most common type of mailing was tobacco coupon distribution; 86.5% of the mailings contained at least one coupon. Mailings with coupons had an average estimated coupon value of $4.17. The total coupon value of each mailing varied by the type of coupon offer and product promoted. The Camel and Marlboro coupon mailings heavily promoted snus, with over half of Camel coupon mailings (60.9%) and nearly half (44.8%) of Marlboro coupon mailings promoting snus alone. In addition, 47.9% of Marlboro coupon mailings and 11.4% of Camel mailings promoted snus alongside cigarettes. Tobacco companies use direct mail marketing to communicate with consumers and provide valuable tobacco coupons. More research is needed to understand the content of these mailings and how they are used by tobacco consumers in order to develop effective policy solutions. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Marketing ‘less harmful, low-tar’ cigarettes is a key strategy of the industry to counter tobacco control in China

OpenAIRE

Yang, Gonghuan

2013-01-01

While the ‘low-tar’ scheme has been widely recognised as a misleading tactic used by the tobacco industry to deceive the public about the true risks of cigarette smoking, a similar campaign using the slogan of ‘less harmful, low tar’ was launched by the Chinese tobacco industry, that is, State Tobacco Monopoly Administration/China National Tobacco Corporation and began to gain traction during the last decade. Despite the fact that no sufficient research evidence supports the claims made by th...

Secret science: tobacco industry research on smoking behaviour and cigarette toxicity.

Science.gov (United States)

Hammond, David; Collishaw, Neil E; Callard, Cynthia

2006-03-04

A lack of scientific data remains the principal obstacle to regulating cigarette toxicity. In particular, there is an immediate need to improve our understanding of the interaction between smoking behaviour and product design, and its influence on cigarette deliveries. This article reviews internal tobacco industry documents on smoking behaviour research undertaken by Imperial Tobacco Limited (ITL) and British-American Tobacco (BAT). BAT documents indicate that smokers vary their puffing behaviour to regulate nicotine levels and compensate for low-yield cigarettes by smoking them more intensely. BAT research also shows that the tar and nicotine delivered to smokers is substantially greater than the machine-smoked yields reported to consumers and regulators. Internal documents describe a strategy to maximise this discrepancy through product design. In particular, BAT developed elastic cigarettes that produced low yields under standard testing protocols, whereas in consumers' hands they elicited more intensive smoking and provided higher concentrations of tar and nicotine to smokers. Documents also show that BAT pursued this product strategy despite the health risks to consumers and ethical concerns raised by senior scientists, and paired it with an equally successful marketing campaign that promoted these cigarettes as low-tar alternatives for health-concerned smokers. Overall, the documents seem to reveal a product strategy intended to exploit the limitations of the testing protocols and to intentionally conceal from consumers and regulators the potential toxicity of BAT products revealed by BAT's own research. Tobacco industry research underscores the serious limitations of the current cigarette testing protocols and the documents describe deceptive business practices that remain in place.

[Aiming for the adolescent market: internet and video games, the new strategies of the tobacco industry].

Science.gov (United States)

Barrientos-Gutiérrez, Tonatiuh; Barrientos-Gutiérrez, Inti; Reynales-Shigematsu, Luz Myriam; Thrasher, James F; Lazcano-Ponce, Eduardo

2012-06-01

Exposure to tobacco advertisement is associated with smoking initiation among the youth, its elimination is a key objective to effectively curb the tobacco epidemic. Historically, the tobacco industry has pioneered the use of new communication technologies to keep and expand their market. Nowadays, Internet and video games have transcended the entertainment sphere, becoming significant media for massive communication and providing new opportunities for advertisement. The present essay reviews the existing literature on tobacco presence in the Internet and video games to define research and policy tasks required to develop effective means for tobacco advertisement regulation and control.

Permissiveness toward tobacco sponsorship undermines tobacco control support in Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Ayo-Yusuf, Olalekan A; Olutola, Bukola G; Agaku, Israel T

2016-06-01

School personnel, who are respected members of the community, may exert significant influence on policy adoption. This study assessed the impact of school personnel's permissiveness toward tobacco industry sponsorship activities on their support for complete bans on tobacco advertisements, comprehensive smoke-free laws and increased tobacco prices. Representative data were obtained from the Global School Personnel Survey for 29 African countries (n = 17 929). Adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) were calculated using multi-variable Poisson regression models to assess the impact of permissiveness toward tobacco sponsorship activities on support for tobacco control policies (p industry should be allowed to sponsor school events were significantly less likely to support complete bans on tobacco advertisements [aPR = 0.89; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.84-0.95] and comprehensive smoke-free laws (aPR = 0.95; 95% CI 0.92-0.98). In contrast, support for complete tobacco advertisement bans was more likely among those who believed that the tobacco industry encourages youths to smoke (aPR = 1.27; 95% CI 1.17-1.37), and among those who taught about health sometimes (aPR = 1.06; 95% CI 1.01-1.11) or a lot (aPR = 1.05; 95% CI 1.01-1.10) compared with those who did not teach about health at all. These findings underscore the need to educate school personnel on tobacco industry's strategies to undermine tobacco control policies. This may help to build school personnel support for laws intended to reduce youth susceptibility, experimentation and established use of tobacco products. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Implementation of graphic health warning labels on tobacco products in India: the interplay between the cigarette and the bidi industries.

Science.gov (United States)

Sankaran, Sujatha; Hiilamo, Heikki; Glantz, Stanton A

2015-11-01

To understand the competition between and among tobacco companies and health groups that led to graphical health warning labels (GHWL) on all tobacco products in India. Analysis of internal tobacco industry documents in the Legacy Tobacco Document Library, documents obtained through India's Right to Information Act, and news reports. Implementation of GHWLs in India reflects a complex interplay between the government and the cigarette and bidi industries, who have shared as well as conflicting interests. Joint lobbying by national-level tobacco companies (that are foreign subsidiaries of multinationals) and local producers of other forms of tobacco blocked GHWLs for decades and delayed the implementation of effective GHWLs after they were mandated in 2007. Tobacco control activists used public interest lawsuits and the Right to Information Act to win government implementation of GHWLs on cigarette, bidi and smokeless tobacco packs in May 2009 and rotating GHWLs in December 2011. GHWLs in India illustrate how the presence of bidis and cigarettes in the same market creates a complex regulatory environment. The government imposing tobacco control on multinational cigarette companies led to the enforcement of regulation on local forms of tobacco. As other developing countries with high rates of alternate forms of tobacco use establish and enforce GHWL laws, the tobacco control advocacy community can use pressure on the multinational cigarette industry as an indirect tool to force implementation of regulations on other forms of tobacco. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

State monopoly, Chinese style : a case study of the tobacco industry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cheng, Yi-Wen

2015-01-01

Adopting a historical institutionalist approach, this study focuses on the tobacco industry as a case study to explore why competition would happen in this state-monopoly regime from its outset and how it evolved during the past three decades in China. I argue that the emergence of competition in

Changing conclusions on secondhand smoke in a sudden infant death syndrome review funded by the tobacco industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Tong, Elisa K; England, Lucinda; Glantz, Stanton A

2005-03-01

Prenatal and postnatal exposure to tobacco smoke adversely affects maternal and child health. Secondhand smoke (SHS) has been linked causally with sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in major health reports. In 1992, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) first noted an association between SHS and SIDS, and both prenatal exposure and postnatal SHS exposure were listed as independent risk factors for SIDS in a 1997 California EPA report (republished in 1999 by the National Cancer Institute) and a 2004 US Surgeon General report. The tobacco industry has used scientific consultants to attack the evidence that SHS causes disease, most often lung cancer. Little is known about the industry's strategies to contest the evidence on maternal and child health. In 2001, a review was published on SIDS that acknowledged funding from the Philip Morris (PM) tobacco company. Tobacco industry documents related to this review were examined to identify the company's influence on the content and conclusions of this review. Tobacco industry documents include 40 million pages of internal memos and reports made available to the public as a result of litigation settlements against the tobacco industry in the United States. Between November 2003 and January 2004, we searched tobacco industry document Internet sites from the University of California Legacy Tobacco Documents Library and the Tobacco Documents Online website. Key terms included "SIDS" and names of key persons. Two authors conducted independent searches with similar key terms, reviewed the documents, and agreed on relevancy through consensus. Thirty documents were identified as relevant. Two drafts (an early version and a final version) of an industry-funded review article on SIDS were identified, and 2 authors independently compared these drafts with the final publication. Formal comments by PM executives made in response to the first draft were also reviewed. We used Science Citation Index in July 2004 to determine

Socioeconomic mobility and tobacco consumption patterns in fish industry workers in Udupi District of coastal Karnataka.

Science.gov (United States)

Acharya, Shashidhar; Pentapati, Kalyana Chakravarthy; Acharya, Shruthi

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to understand the tobacco consumption patterns and their relationship with life course socioeconomic mobility among fish industry workers as this could provide important information in dealing with the tobacco problem in this very vulnerable population. Socioeconomic life course data and information about tobacco habits was collected from 102 fish industry workers. A subject was considered to be upwardly mobile if the family head's educational attainment and the number of earning members increased and the number of children and dependents decreased since childhood in his or her household. Oral examination was also done for malignant/premalignant lesions. Of the 102 subjects, 64 regularly consumed tobacco either in smoking or smokeless forms and the common reasons for the habit were the co-workers' influence and to keep awake at work. Fourteen subjects had premalignant lesions in the oral cavity and all them were in the buccal mucosa. The prevalence of the tobacco habit was much lesser (25%) among the upwardly mobile group when compared to the minimal or no improvement group (75%). A majority of those free from the habit (73.7%) were belonging to the group, which showed improved educational attainment. Among those with good social mobility, the percentage of workers with high frequency of tobacco consumption and those with a longer duration of the tobacco habit was low when compared to the minimal social mobility group. A holistic approach consisting of efforts to improve the overall socioeconomic conditions can be more effective than piecemeal solutions in dealing with the tobacco menace.

Rapid transient expression of human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor in two industrial cultivars of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. by agroinfiltration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lea Vojta

2015-09-01

Full Text Available We report the production of hGM-CSF cytokine in leaves of industrial tobacco cultivars DH-17 and DH-27 by using Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression. We prove the concept that very high biomass industrial tobacco plants are suitable platforms for rapid, low cost production of foreign proteins. Successful transient expression of the GM-CSF was achieved in less than three months, opening the possibility for future applications of this approach in rapid response production of various proteins of non-plant origin in industrial tobacco.

Tobacco

Science.gov (United States)

... Second-hand smoke is the smoke that fills restaurants, offices or other enclosed spaces when people burn ... as smuggling, illicit manufacturing and counterfeiting. The tobacco industry and others often argue that high tobacco product ...

78 FR 72900 - Guidance for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff; Civil Money Penalties for Tobacco...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-04

...] Guidance for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff; Civil Money Penalties for Tobacco Retailers... the guidance entitled ``Civil Money Penalties for Tobacco Retailers: Responses to Frequently Asked... issuance of civil money penalties for violations of regulations issued under the Federal Food, Drug, and...

NUMERICAL COMPUTATION AND PREDICTION OF ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION IN TOBACCO INDUSTRY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirjana Laković

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Electricity is a key energy source in each country and an important condition for economic development. It is necessary to use modern methods and tools to predict energy consumption for different types of systems and weather conditions. In every industrial plant, electricity consumption presents one of the greatest operating costs. Monitoring and forecasting of this parameter provide the opportunity to rationalize the use of electricity and thus significantly reduce the costs. The paper proposes the prediction of energy consumption by a new time-series model. This involves time series models using a set of previously collected data to predict the future load. The most commonly used linear time series models are the AR (Autoregressive Model, MA (Moving Average and ARMA (Autoregressive Moving Average Model. The AR model is used in this paper. Using the AR (Autoregressive Model model, the Monte Carlo simulation method is utilized for predicting and analyzing the energy consumption change in the considered tobacco industrial plant. One of the main parts of the AR model is a seasonal pattern that takes into account the climatic conditions for a given geographical area. This part of the model was delineated by the Fourier transform and was used with the aim of avoiding the model complexity. As an example, the numerical results were performed for tobacco production in one industrial plant. A probabilistic range of input values is used to determine the future probabilistic level of energy consumption.

Adult smokers' responses to "corrective statements" regarding tobacco industry deception.

Science.gov (United States)

Kollath-Cattano, Christy L; Abad-Vivero, Erika N; Thrasher, James F; Bansal-Travers, Maansi; O'Connor, Richard J; Krugman, Dean M; Berg, Carla J; Hardin, James W

2014-07-01

To inform consumers, U.S. Federal Courts have ordered the tobacco industry to disseminate "corrective statements" (CSs) about their deception regarding five topics: smoker health effects, nonsmoker health effects, cigarette addictiveness, design of cigarettes to increase addiction, and relative safety of light cigarettes. To determine how smokers from diverse backgrounds respond to the final, court-mandated wording of these CSs. Data were analyzed from an online consumer panel of 1,404 adult smokers who evaluated one of five CS topics (n=280-281) by reporting novelty, relevance, anger at the industry, and motivation to quit because of the CS. Logistic and linear regression models assessed main and interactive effects of race/ethnicity, gender, education, and CS topic on these responses. Data were collected in January 2013 and analyzed in March 2013. Thirty percent to 54% of participants reported that each CS provided novel information, and novelty was associated with greater relevance, anger at the industry, and motivation to quit because of the message. African Americans and Latinos were more likely than non-Hispanic whites to report that CSs were novel, and they had stronger responses to CSs across all indicators. Compared to men, women reported that CSs were more relevant and motivated them to quit. This study suggests that smokers would value and respond to CSs, particularly smokers from groups that suffer from tobacco-related health disparities. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Tobacco industry use of corporate social responsibility tactics as a sword and a shield on secondhand smoke issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Friedman, Lissy C

2009-01-01

The tobacco industry has used corporate social responsibility tactics to improve its corporate image with the public, press, and regulators who increasingly have grown to view it as a merchant of death. There is, however, an intractable problem that corporate social responsibility efforts can mask but not resolve: the tobacco industry's products are lethal when used as directed, and no amount of corporate social responsibility activity can reconcile that fundamental contradiction with ethical corporate citizenship. This study's focus is to better understand the tobacco industry's corporate social responsibility efforts and to assess whether there has been any substantive change in the way it does business with regard to the issue of exposure to secondhand smoke. The results show that the industry has made no substantial changes and in fact has continued with business as usual. Although many of the tobacco companies' tactics traditionally had been defensive, they strove for a way to change to a more offensive strategy. Almost without exception, however, their desire to appear to be good corporate citizens clashed with their aversion to further regulation and jeopardizing their legal position, perhaps an irreconcilable conflict. Despite the switch to offense, in 2006 a federal judge found the companies guilty of racketeering.

Social responsibility in tobacco production? Tobacco companies' use of green supply chains to obscure the real costs of tobacco farming.

Science.gov (United States)

Otañez, Marty; Glantz, Stanton A

2011-11-01

Tobacco companies have come under increased criticism because of environmental and labour practices related to growing tobacco in developing countries. Analysis of tobacco industry documents, industry websites and interviews with tobacco farmers in Tanzania and tobacco farm workers, farm authorities, trade unionists, government officials and corporate executives from global tobacco leaf companies in Malawi. British American Tobacco and Philip Morris created supply chains in the 1990 s to improve production efficiency, control, access to markets and profits. In the 2000s, the companies used their supply chains in an attempt to legitimise their portrayals of tobacco farming as socially and environmentally friendly, rather than take meaningful steps to eliminate child labour and reduce deforestation in developing countries. The tobacco companies used nominal self-evaluation (not truly independent evaluators) and public relations to create the impression of social responsibility. The companies benefit from $1.2 billion in unpaid labour costs because of child labour and more than $64 million annually in costs that would have been made to avoid tobacco-related deforestation in the top 12 tobacco growing developing countries, far exceeding the money they spend nominally working to change these practices. The tobacco industry uses green supply chains to make tobacco farming in developing countries appear sustainable while continuing to purchase leaf produced with child labour and high rates of deforestation. Strategies to counter green supply chain schemes include securing implementing protocols for the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to regulate the companies' practices at the farm level.

Social Responsibility in Tobacco Production? Tobacco Companies Use of Green Supply Chains to Obscure the Real Costs of Tobacco Farming

Science.gov (United States)

Otañez, Marty

2011-01-01

Background Tobacco companies have come under increased criticism because of environmental and labor practices related to growing tobacco in developing countries. Methods Analysis of tobacco industry documents, industry web sites and interviews with tobacco farmers in Tanzania and tobacco farm workers, farm authorities, trade unionists, government officials and corporate executives from global tobacco leaf companies in Malawi. Results British American Tobacco and Philip Morris created supply chains in the 1990s to improve production efficiency, control, access to markets, and profits. In the 2000s, the companies used their supply chains in an attempt to legitimize their portrayals of tobacco farming as socially and environmentally friendly, rather than take meaningful steps to eliminate child labor and reduce deforestation in developing countries. The tobacco companies used nominal self-evaluation (not truly independent evaluators) and public relations to create the impression of social responsibility. The companies benefit from $1.2 billion in unpaid labor costs due to child labor and more than $64 million annually in costs that would have been made to avoid tobacco related deforestation in the top twelve tobacco growing developing countries, far exceeding the money they spend nominally working to change these practices. Conclusions The tobacco industry uses green supply chains to make tobacco farming in developing countries appear sustainable while continuing to purchase leaf produced with child labor and high rates of deforestation. Strategies to counter green supply chain schemes include securing implementing protocols for the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to regulate the companies’ practices at the farm level. PMID:21504915

Tobacco Industry interference in TAPS policy making in Bulgaria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pavel P Antonov

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Tobacco industry (TI has a powerful grasp of politics and the media in Bulgaria, but there is limited knowledge of its methods and communication messages. To explore and analyse them, we are using a recent case from the policy advocacy practice of the Smoke-free Life Coalition, ENSP member in Bulgaria. A mixed social research methodology was employed, involving: a case study; qualitative content analysis of documented communication; ethnographic participant observation; and semi-structured interviews with TAPS advocacy campaigners, policy makers and TI representatives, in the action research tradition. The case study analyses TI reaction to a surprising proposal for a complete ban of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, submitted to Bulgaria’s Parliament in November 2016 – and consecutively withdrawn. Being involved in all stages of the case and present at meetings between TI and MPs enables the researchers to gather rich information and analyse it, to cast light on: the methods for successful interference with democratic decision making, applied by industry representatives; the specific communication messages and arguments they employ to suppress smoke-free legislation. The paper observes how TI speculates with the interests of different groups, affected by and involved in its operations, to successfully contradict health concerns voiced by MPs. Democratically elected representatives appear unable to uphold the social and health interests of their voters and succumb to TI priorities. The paper concludes that a pro-industry discourse, which favours corporate incomes over concerns for people’s health and life, dominates democratic decision making mechanisms in Bulgaria’s post-socialist political landscape. Funding The Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases

Tobacco Industry Political Power and Influence in Florida From 1979 to 1999

OpenAIRE

Givel, Michael S. Ph.D.; Glantz, Stanton A. Ph.D.

1999-01-01

The tobacco industry is a major political and legal force in Florida through campaign contributions, public relations efforts, lobbying and litigation, which at least from the late 1970s, has had a centralized political organization in Florida that defends and promotes its political and economic interests at the local and state levels of government. Although the industry has operated in the open in some political campaigns, it has also operated quietly behind the scenes, often through front g...

Targeting youth and concerned smokers: evidence from Canadian tobacco industry documents.

Science.gov (United States)

Pollay, R W

2000-06-01

To provide an understanding of the targeting strategies of cigarette marketing, and the functions and importance of the advertising images chosen. Analysis of historical corporate documents produced by affiliates of British American Tobacco (BAT) and RJ Reynolds (RJR) in Canadian litigation challenging tobacco advertising regulation, the Tobacco Products Control Act (1987): Imperial Tobacco Limitee & RJR-Macdonald Inc c. Le Procurer General du Canada. Careful and extensive research has been employed in all stages of the process of conceiving, developing, refining, and deploying cigarette advertising. Two segments commanding much management attention are "starters" and "concerned smokers". To recruit starters, brand images communicate independence, freedom and (sometimes) peer acceptance. These advertising images portray smokers as attractive and autonomous, accepted and admired, athletic and at home in nature. For "lighter" brands reassuring health concerned smokers, lest they quit, advertisements provide imagery conveying a sense of well being, harmony with nature, and a consumer's self image as intelligent. The industry's steadfast assertions that its advertising influences only brand loyalty and switching in both its intent and effect is directly contradicted by their internal documents and proven false. So too is the justification of cigarette advertising as a medium creating better informed consumers, since visual imagery, not information, is the means of advertising influence.

Healthcare system simulation using Witness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khakdaman, Masoud; Zeinahvazi, Milad; Zohoori, Bahareh; Nasiri, Fardokht; Wong, Kuan Yew

2013-01-01

Simulation techniques have a proven track record in manufacturing industry as well as other areas such as healthcare system improvement. In this study, simulation model of a health center in Malaysia is developed through the application of WITNESS simulation software which has shown its flexibility and capability in manufacturing industry. Modelling procedure is started through process mapping and data collection and continued with model development, verification, validation and experimentation. At the end, final results and possible future improvements are demonstrated.

Tobacco and the Malays: ethnicity, health and the political economy of tobacco in Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Barraclough, Simon; Morrow, Martha

2017-04-01

To identify the historical nexus between Malaysia's largest and politically dominant ethnic group and the political economy of tobacco, and to consider the implications of this connection for tobacco control. Primary and secondary documentary sources in both English and Malay were analysed to illuminate key events and decisions, and the discourse of industry and government. Sources included: speeches by Malaysian political and industry actors; tobacco industry reports, press releases and websites; government documents; World Health Organization (WHO) tobacco control literature; and press reports. Malays have the highest smoking prevalence among Malaysia's major ethnic groups. The tobacco industry has consistently been promoted as furthering Malay economic development. Malays play the major role in growing and curing. Government-owned Malay development trusts have been prominent investors in tobacco corporations, which have cultivated linkages with the Malay elite. The religious element of Malay ethnicity has also been significant. All Malays are Muslim, and the National Fatwa Council has declared smoking to be haram (forbidden); however, the Government has declined to implement this ruling. Exaggerated claims for the socio-economic benefits of tobacco production, government investment and close links between tobacco corporations and sections of the Malay elite have created a conflict of interest in public policy, limited the focus on tobacco as a health policy issue among Malays and retarded tobacco control policy. More recently, ratification of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, regional free trade policies reducing the numbers of growers, concerns about smoking from an Islamic viewpoint, and anxieties about the effects of smoking upon youth have increasingly challenged the dominant discourse that tobacco furthers Malay interests. Nevertheless, the industry remains a formidable political and economic presence in Malaysia that is likely to continue to

Analysis of the logic and framing of a tobacco industry campaign opposing standardised packaging legislation in New Zealand.

Science.gov (United States)

Waa, Andrew Morehu; Hoek, Janet; Edwards, Richard; Maclaurin, James

2017-11-01

The tobacco industry routinely opposes tobacco control policies, often using a standard repertoire of arguments. Following proposals to introduce standardised packaging in New Zealand (NZ), British American Tobacco New Zealand (BATNZ) launched the 'Agree-Disagree' mass media campaign, which coincided with the NZ government's standardised packaging consultations. This study examined the logic of the arguments presented and rhetorical strategies employed in the campaign. We analysed each advertisement to identify key messages, arguments and rhetorical devices, then examined the arguments' structure and assessed their logical soundness and validity. All advertisements attempted to frame BATNZ as reasonable, and each contained flawed arguments that were either unsound or based on logical fallacies. Flawed arguments included misrepresenting the intent of the proposed legislation (straw man), claiming standardised packaging would harm all NZ brands (false dilemma), warning NZ not to adopt standardised packaging because of its Australian origins (an unsound argument) or using vague premises as a basis for claiming negative outcomes (equivocation). BATNZ's Agree-Disagree campaign relied on unsound arguments, logical fallacies and rhetorical devices. Given the industry's frequent recourse to these tactics, we propose strategies based on our study findings that can be used to assist the tobacco control community to counter industry opposition to standardised packaging. Greater recognition of logical fallacies and rhetorical devices employed by the tobacco industry will help maintain focus on the health benefits proposed policies will deliver. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

'The industry must be inconspicuous': Japan Tobacco's corruption of science and health policy via the Smoking Research Foundation.

Science.gov (United States)

Iida, Kaori; Proctor, Robert N

2018-02-04

To investigate how and why Japan Tobacco, Inc. (JT) in 1986 established the Smoking Research Foundation (SRF), a research-funding institution, and to explore the extent to which SRF has influenced science and health policy in Japan. We analysed documents in the Truth Tobacco Industry Documents archive, along with recent Japanese litigation documents and published documents. JT's effort to combat effective tobacco control was strengthened in the mid-1980s, following privatisation of the company. While remaining under the protection of Japan's Ministry of Finance, the semiprivatised company lost its 'access to politicos', opening up a perceived need for collaboration with global cigarette makers. One solution, arrived at through clandestine planning with American companies, was to establish a third-party organisation, SRF, with the hope of capturing scientific and medical authority for the industry. Guarded by powerful people in government and academia, SRF was launched with the covert goal of influencing tobacco policy both inside and outside Japan. Scholars funded by SRF have participated in international conferences, national advisory committees and tobacco litigation, in most instances helping the industry to maintain a favourable climate for the continued sale of cigarettes. Contrary to industry claims, SRF was never meant to be independent or neutral. With active support from foreign cigarette manufacturers, SRF represents the expansion into Asia of the denialist campaign that began in the USA in 1953. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Exploring how the tobacco industry presents and promotes itself in social media.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Yunji; Zheng, Xiaolong; Zeng, Daniel Dajun; Zhou, Xingshe; Leischow, Scott James; Chung, Wingyan

2015-01-21

The commercial potential of social media is utilized by tobacco manufacturers and vendors for tobacco promotion online. However, the prevalence and promotional strategies of pro-tobacco content in social media are still not widely understood. The goal of this study was to reveal what is presented by the tobacco industry, and how it promotes itself, on social media sites. The top 70 popular cigarette brands are divided into two groups according to their retail prices: group H (brands with high retail prices) and group L (brands with low retail prices). Three comprehensive searches were conducted on Facebook, Wikipedia, and YouTube respectively using the top 70 popular cigarette brands as keywords. We identified tobacco-related content including history and culture, product features, health warnings, home page of cigarette brands, and Web-based tobacco shops. Furthermore, we examined the promotional strategies utilized in social media. According to the data collected from March 3, 2014 to March 10, 2014, 43 of the 70 representative cigarette brands had created 238 Facebook fan pages, 46 cigarette brands were identified in Wikipedia, and there were over 120,000 pro-tobacco videos on YouTube, associated with 61 cigarette brands. The main content presented on the three social media websites differs significantly. Wikipedia focuses on history and culture (67%, 32/48; Ppromotional strategies used, sales promotions exist extensively in social media. Sales promotion is more prevalent on YouTube than on the other two sites (64%, 39/61 vs 35%, 15/43; P=.004). Generally, the sale promotions of higher-cost brands in social media are more prevalent than those of lower-cost brands (55%, 16/29 vs 7%, 1/14; Ppromotion in social media.

Tobacco Control and Tobacco Farming: Separating Myth from Reality

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2014-09-10

Sep 10, 2014 ... The bulk of the world's tobacco is produced in low- and middle-income countries. In order to dissuade these countries from implementing policies aimed at curbing tobacco consumption (such as increased taxes, health warnings, advertising bans, and smoke-free environments), the tobacco industry claims ...

Tobacco Control and Tobacco Farming: Separating Myth from Reality

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

10 sept. 2014 ... The bulk of the world's tobacco is produced in low- and middle-income countries. In order to dissuade these countries from implementing policies aimed at curbing tobacco consumption (such as increased taxes, health warnings, advertising bans, and smoke-free environments), the tobacco industry claims ...

Assessing storefront tobacco advertising after the billboard ban.

Science.gov (United States)

Jason, Leonard A; Pokorny, Steven B; Mikulski, Kathy; Schoeny, Michael E

2004-03-01

This study examined storefront tobacco advertisements in 11 towns in Illinois from 1999 through 2001 to assess possible changes in these types of advertisements since the master tobacco settlement, which banned tobacco advertisements on billboards. Observers assessed the number of merchant- and industry-made tobacco storefront advertisements in Illinois stores and whether these advertisements were either brand- or price-focused. The relationship between the amount of tobacco advertisements and underage tobacco sales to minors was also explored. Findings indicated no significant relationships between tobacco advertisements and underage tobacco sales. However, industry price advertisements decreased over time because of tobacco price increases resulting from the master settlement, whereas industry brand advertisements increased over time, perhaps in an effort by the tobacco industry to retain sales of their products through brand recognition.

New media and tobacco control.

Science.gov (United States)

Freeman, Becky

2012-03-01

This paper reviews how the tobacco industry is promoting its products online and examines possible regulation models to limit exposure to this form of marketing. Opportunities to use new media to advance tobacco control are also discussed and future research possibilities are proposed. Published articles and grey literature reports were identified through searches of the electronic databases, PUBMED and Google Scholar using a combination of the following search terms: tobacco or smoking and new media, online media, social media, internet media, Web 2.0, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. A possible obstacle to fully realising the benefits of regulating tobacco marketing activities and effectively communicating tobacco control messages is the rapid evolution of the media landscape. New media also offer the tobacco industry a powerful and efficient channel for rapidly countering the denormalising strategies and policies of tobacco control. Evidence of tobacco promotion through online media is emerging, with YouTube being the most researched social media site in the tobacco control field. The explosive rise in Internet use and the shift to these new media being driven by consumer generated content through social platforms may mean that fresh approaches to regulating tobacco industry marketing are needed.

Tobacco industry use of personal responsibility rhetoric in public relations and litigation: disguising freedom to blame as freedom of choice.

Science.gov (United States)

Friedman, Lissy C; Cheyne, Andrew; Givelber, Daniel; Gottlieb, Mark A; Daynard, Richard A

2015-02-01

We examined the tobacco industry's rhetoric to frame personal responsibility arguments. The industry rarely uses the phrase "personal responsibility" explicitly, but rather "freedom of choice." When freedom of choice is used in the context of litigation, the industry means that those who choose to smoke are solely to blame for their injuries. When used in the industry's public relations messages, it grounds its meaning in the concept of liberty and the right to smoke. The courtroom "blame rhetoric" has influenced the industry's larger public relations message to shift responsibility away from the tobacco companies and onto their customers. Understanding the rhetoric and framing that the industry employs is essential to combating this tactic, and we apply this comprehension to other industries that act as disease vectors.

Are adolescents receptive to current sales promotion practices of the tobacco industry?

Science.gov (United States)

Gilpin, E A; Pierce, J P; Rosbrook, B

1997-01-01

The tobacco industry increased the portion of its marketing budget for sales promotion to $2.5 billion in 1993. Although it claims not to target those under age 18 years, it is important to determine the extent to which adolescents are affected as participation may lead to smoking initiation. California population surveys, conducted in 1993 among youth ages 12-17 years (N = 5,531) and in 1994 among both youth (N = 1,735) and adults (N = 4,170), asked questions regarding possession and willingness to use promotional items. In 1994, young adults (18-24 years) were the most likely to possess a promotional item (27.5 +/- 4.1, +/- 95% confidence limit). However, willingness to use an item was highest among those ages 15-17 years (35.4 +/- 3.4%) and was also high among those ages 12-14 years (24.4 +/- 2.7%). Among youth, ownership or willingness to use promotional items was more likely for boys, whites, those reporting below average school performance, and those smoking or susceptible to smoking. Youth ownership of promotional items increased from 1993 to 1994, as did the frequency of their obtaining items from coupons. Promotional marketing undertaken by the tobacco industry was effective in capturing the interest of adolescents, although actual acquisition was highest among young adults. The rapidly increasing interest in tobacco promotional items from 1993 to 1994 may soon translate into increased adolescent smoking rates.

Changes in tobacco industry advertising around high schools in Greece following an outdoor advertising ban: a follow-up study.

Science.gov (United States)

Vardavas, Constantine I; Girvalaki, Charis; Lazuras, Lambros; Triantafylli, Danai; Lionis, Christos; Connolly, Gregory N; Behrakis, Panagiotis

2013-09-01

As tobacco advertising bans are enacted in accordance with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, it is essential to assess enforcement and how the industry may circumvent such measures. During this longitudinal study, we compared the characteristics of points-of-sale (POS) advertising within 300 m of all high schools in Heraklion, Greece before (n=101 POS and 44 billboards in 2007) and after (n=106 POS in 2011) an outdoor advertising ban was implemented in 2009. Cigarette advertisements in all retailers near all high schools were assessed. Following the ban, tobacco industry billboards around schools were eradicated (from 44 to 0). The proportion of POS that had external advertisements dropped from 98% to 66% (padvertisements on the door (79.5% to 20.4%, padvertisements per POS fell from 7.4 to 3.9 (padvertising restriction in Greece has led to a reduced number of tobacco advertisements per POS, and the eradication of billboard advertising. Nevertheless, there is a need to regulate kiosks, which were identified as a key vector for tobacco advertising, and to increase compliance among regulated convenience stores.

Combustible Tobacco and Smokeless Tobacco Use Among Working Adults-United States, 2012 to 2014.

Science.gov (United States)

Syamlal, Girija; Jamal, Ahmed; Mazurek, Jacek M

2016-12-01

The aim of this study was to examine tobacco use among working adults at least 18 years of age. The 2012 to 2014 National Health Interview Survey (n = 105,779) was used to estimate prevalences for cigarette smoking, other combustible tobacco use, and smokeless tobacco use and prevalence odds ratios (PORs) for any tobacco product use among working adults at least 18 years of age, by industry and occupation. Of the estimated 144 million currently employed adults, 17% were cigarette smokers, 7.0% other noncigarette combustible tobacco users, and 3.4% smokeless tobacco users. Odds of using tobacco varied by sociodemographic characteristics and by industry and occupations. Disparities in tobacco use exist among working adults. Continued implementation of proven interventions to prevent and reduce all forms of tobacco use among U.S. workers is warranted, particularly among those workers with a higher burden of use.

Quid pro quo: tobacco companies and the black press.

Science.gov (United States)

McCandless, Phyra M; Yerger, Valerie B; Malone, Ruth E

2012-04-01

We explored the relationship between tobacco companies and the Black press, which plays an important role in conveying information and opinions to Black communities. In this archival case study, we analyzed data from internal tobacco industry documents and archives of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the trade association of the Black press. In exchange for advertising dollars and other support, the tobacco industry expected and received support from Black newspapers for tobacco industry policy positions. Beginning in the 1990s, resistance from within the Black community and reduced advertising budgets created counterpressures. The tobacco industry, however, continued to sustain NNPA support. The quid pro quo between tobacco companies and the Black press violated journalistic standards and represented an unequal trade. Although numerous factors explain today's tobacco-related health disparities, the Black press's service to tobacco companies is problematic because of the trust that the community placed in such media. Understanding the relationship between the tobacco industry and the NNPA provides insight into strategies that the tobacco industry may use in other communities and countries.

The perimetric boycott: a tool for tobacco control advocacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Offen, N; Smith, E A; Malone, R E

2005-08-01

To propose criteria to help advocates: (1) determine when tobacco related boycotts may be useful; (2) select appropriate targets; and (3) predict and measure boycott success. Analysis of tobacco focused boycotts retrieved from internal tobacco industry documents websites and other scholarship on boycotts. Tobacco related boycotts may be characterised by boycott target and reason undertaken. Most boycotts targeted the industry itself and were called for political or economic reasons unrelated to tobacco disease, often resulting in settlements that gave the industry marketing and public relations advantages. Even a lengthy health focused boycott of tobacco industry food subsidiaries accomplished little, making demands the industry was unlikely to meet. In contrast, a perimetric boycott (targeting institutions at the perimeter of the core target) of an organisation that was taking tobacco money mobilised its constituency and convinced the organisation to end the practice. Direct boycotts of the industry have rarely advanced tobacco control. Perimetric boycotts of industry allies offer advocates a promising tool for further marginalising the industry. Successful boycotts include a focus on the public health consequences of tobacco use; an accessible point of pressure; a mutual interest between the target and the boycotters; realistic goals; and clear and measurable demands.

The case for the plain packaging of tobacco products.

Science.gov (United States)

Freeman, Becky; Chapman, Simon; Rimmer, Matthew

2008-04-01

The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) requires nations that have ratified the convention to ban all tobacco advertising and promotion. In the face of these restrictions, tobacco packaging has become the key promotional vehicle for the tobacco industry to interest smokers and potential smokers in tobacco products. This paper reviews available research into the probable impact of mandatory plain packaging and internal tobacco industry statements about the importance of packs as promotional vehicles. It critiques legal objections raised by the industry about plain packaging violating laws and international trade agreements. Searches for available evidence were conducted within the internal tobacco industry documents through the online document archives; tobacco industry trade publications; research literature through the Medline and Business Source Premier databases; and grey literature including government documents, research reports and non-governmental organization papers via the Google internet search engine. Plain packaging of all tobacco products would remove a key remaining means for the industry to promote its products to billions of the world's smokers and future smokers. Governments have required large surface areas of tobacco packs to be used exclusively for health warnings without legal impediment or need to compensate tobacco companies. Requiring plain packaging is consistent with the intention to ban all tobacco promotions. There is no impediment in the FCTC to interpreting tobacco advertising and promotion to include tobacco packs.

Roadmap to a tobacco epidemic: transnational tobacco companies invade Indonesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Hurt, Richard D; Ebbert, Jon O; Achadi, Anhari; Croghan, Ivana T

2012-05-01

Indonesia is the world's fifth largest cigarette market in the world but for decades, transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) have had limited success infiltrating this market, due to their inability to compete in the kretek market. Kreteks are clove/tobacco cigarettes that most Indonesians smoke. To determine how Phillip Morris International (PMI) and British American Tobacco (BAT) have now successfully achieved a substantial market presence in Indonesia. We analyzed previously secret, tobacco industry documents, corporate reports on Indonesia operations, the Tobacco Trade press, Indonesia media, and "The Roadmap". Internal, corporate documents from BAT and PMI demonstrate that they had known for decades that kreteks are highly carcinogenic. Despite that knowledge, BAT and PMI now own and heavily market these products, as well as new more westernised versions of kreteks. BAT and PMI used their successful basic strategy of keeping cigarettes affordable by maintaining the social responsibility of smoking and opposing smoke-free workplace laws but in the 21st century, they added the acquisition of and westernisation of domestic kretek manufacturers as an additional strategy. These acquisitions allowed them to assert influences on health policy in Indonesia and to grow their business under current government policy embodied in the 2007-2020 Roadmap of Tobacco Products Industry and Excise Policy which calls for increased cigarette production by 12% over the next 15 years. PMI and Bat have successfully entered and are expanding their share in the Indonesia cigarette market. Despite the obvious and pervasive influence of the tobacco industry on policy decisions, the Indonesian government should ratify the FCTC and implement effective legislation to reduce tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke and revise the Roadmap to protect future generations of Indonesians.

Effect of smokeless tobacco product marketing and use on population harm from tobacco use policy perspective for tobacco-risk reduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Kozlowski, Lynn T

2007-12-01

This article presents policy perspectives on the marketing of smokeless tobacco products to reduce population harm from tobacco use. Despite consensus that smokeless tobacco products as sold in the United States are less dangerous than cigarettes, there is no consensus on how to proceed. Diverse factions have different policy concerns. While the tobacco industry is exempted from U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight, the pharmaceutical industry whose nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) medicines compete with smokeless tobacco as noncombustible nicotine-delivery systems are regulated by the FDA. Some public health experts support smokeless tobacco use to reduce population harm from tobacco; other public health experts oppose promoting smokeless tobacco for harm reduction. Adult consumers can freely purchase currently-marketed smokeless tobacco products and even more-deadly cigarettes. Concerns with and advantages of smokeless tobacco products are discussed. In that noncombustible medicinal nicotine-delivery systems have been proven to be effective smoking-cessation aids, smokeless tobacco, as another source of psychoactive doses of nicotine, could be used similarly, in a dose-response fashion as a smoking-cessation aid (consistent with FDA principles for evaluating generic versions of drugs). Price measures should be used on tobacco products to make costs to consumers proportional to product health risks (which would make smokeless tobacco much cheaper than cigarettes), and smokeless tobacco should be encouraged as an option for smoking cessation in adult smokers, particularly for those who have failed to stop smoking using NRT or other methods.

Building up echo chambers and framing messages: comparison of tobacco industry´s think tank activities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Satu Lipponen

2018-03-01

Tobacco control experts must maintain a critical perspective towards industry tactics in the media. It is important to collaborate with journalists of specific interest in research, scientific methods and medical topics. More coverage is needed of industry ties to think tanks, as the public and journalists are not aware of these connections.

How the tobacco industry responded to an influential study of the health effects of secondhand smoke

OpenAIRE

Hong, Mi-Kyung; Bero, Lisa A

2002-01-01

In 1981 an influential Japanese study showed an association between passive smoking and lung cancer. This article documents the tobacco industry's attempts to refute this study by producing a credible alternative study.

The Tobacco Industry’s Abuse of Scientific Evidence and Activities to Recruit Scientists During Tobacco Litigation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sungkyu Lee

2016-01-01

Full Text Available South Korea’s state health insurer, the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS, is in the process of a compensation suit against tobacco industry. The tobacco companies have habitually endeavored to ensure favorable outcomes in litigation by misusing scientific evidence or recruiting scientists to support its interests. This study analyzed strategies that tobacco companies have used during the NHIS litigation, which has been receiving world-wide attention. To understand the litigation strategies of tobacco companies, the present study reviewed the existing literature and carried out content analysis of petitions, preparatory documents, and supporting evidence submitted to the court by the NHIS and the tobacco companies during the suit. Tobacco companies misrepresented the World Health Organization (WHO report’s argument and misused scientific evidence, and removed the word “deadly” from the title of the citation. Tobacco companies submitted the research results of scientists who had worked as a consultant for the tobacco industry as evidence. Such litigation strategies employed by the tobacco companies internationally were applied similarly in Korean lawsuits. Results of tobacco litigation have a huge influence on tobacco control policies. For desirable outcomes of the suits, healthcare professionals need to pay a great deal of attention to the enormous volume of written opinions and supporting evidence that tobacco companies submit. They also need to face the fact that the companies engage in recruitment of scientists. Healthcare professionals should refuse to partner with tobacco industry, as recommended by Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Smoking behavior and use of tobacco industry sponsored websites among medical students and young physicians in Argentina.

Science.gov (United States)

Salgado, M Victoria; Mejia, Raul; Kaplan, Celia P; Perez-Stable, Eliseo J

2014-02-06

Internet-based marketing has become an attractive option for promoting tobacco products due to its potential to avoid advertising restrictions. In Argentina, several cigarette brands have designed websites for the local market, which promote user participation. The intent of the study was to report on the use of tobacco company-sponsored websites by medical students and recently graduated physicians. An online self-administered survey was conducted among eligible medical students and recent graduates from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA). Sampling was from lists of email addresses of students enrolled in two required courses. Eligibility criteria were ages 18-30 years and reporting on smoking status. Questions on Internet use included accessing a tobacco brand website at least once during their lifetime and any use of tobacco promotional materials. The response rate was 35.08% (1743/4969). The final sample included 1659 participants: 73.06% (1212/1659) were women and mean age was 26.6 years (SD 1.9). The majority were current medical students (55.70%, 924/1659) and 27.31% (453/1659) were current smokers. Men were more likely to report having seen a tobacco advertisement on the Internet (P=.001), to have received a tobacco promotion personally addressed to them (P=.03), to have used that promotion (P=.02), and to have accessed a tobacco-sponsored website (P=.01). Among respondents, 19.35% (321/1659) reported having accessed a tobacco-sponsored website at least once in their lifetime and almost all of them (93.8%, 301/321) accessed these sites only when it was necessary for participating in a marketing promotion. Most people logging on for promotions reported entering once a month or less (58.9%, 189/321), while 25.5% (82/321) reported accessing the tobacco industry Internet sites once a week or more. In adjusted logistic regression models, participants were more likely to have accessed a tobacco brand website if they were former smokers (OR 2.45, 95% CI 1

Why do violations of FCTC Article 5.3 occur?: The case of tobacco industry incentives in Turkey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Efza Evrengil

2018-03-01

Incentives constitute a gross violation of FCTC Article 5.3, a key principle of which provides, "…the tobacco industry should not be granted incentives to establish or run their businesses ". As the Turkish case shows, FCTC Article 5.3 may get violated and rendered completely obsolete, not necessarily because of political or bureaucratic weakness or inaptitude, but often on grounds of neoliberal policies and regulations. Political action is needed at national and international levels, to abolish tobacco industry incentives, strengthen effectiveness of FCTC implementation through supply-side measures which would allow Article 5.3 to take root, uphold FCTC as an overriding, powerful legal instrument, and operationalize and fortify its binding nature.

Tobacco-control policies in tobacco-growing states: where tobacco was king.

Science.gov (United States)

Fallin, Amanda; Glantz, Stanton A

2015-06-01

POLICY POINTS: The tobacco companies prioritized blocking tobacco-control policies in tobacco-growing states and partnered with tobacco farmers to oppose tobacco-control policies. The 1998 Master Settlement Agreement, which settled state litigation against the cigarette companies, the 2004 tobacco-quota buyout, and the companies' increasing use of foreign tobacco led to a rift between the companies and tobacco farmers. In 2003, the first comprehensive smoke-free local law was passed in a major tobacco-growing state, and there has been steady progress in the region since then. Health advocates should educate the public and policymakers on the changing reality in tobacco-growing states, notably the major reduction in the volume of tobacco produced. The 5 major tobacco-growing states (Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia) are disproportionately affected by the tobacco epidemic, with higher rates of smoking and smoking-induced disease. These states also have fewer smoke-free laws and lower tobacco taxes, 2 evidence-based policies that reduce tobacco use. Historically, the tobacco farmers and hospitality associations allied with the tobacco companies to oppose these policies. This research is based on 5 detailed case studies of these states, which included key informant interviews, previously secret tobacco industry documents (available at http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu), and media articles. This was supplemented with additional tobacco document and media searches specifically for this article. The tobacco companies were particularly concerned about blocking tobacco-control policies in the tobacco-growing states by promoting a pro-tobacco culture, beginning in the late 1960s. Nevertheless, since 2003, there has been rapid progress in the tobacco-growing states' passage of smoke-free laws. This progress came after the alliance between the tobacco companies and the tobacco farmers fractured and hospitality organizations stopped opposing smoke

Tobacco Research and Its Relevance to Science, Medicine and Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tso TC

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This article is a historical review and a vision for the future of tobacco plant research. This is the perspective of an experienced tobacco scientist who devoted his total professional career to tobacco research. From the very beginning, pioneering tobacco research was the foundation of plant science at the dawn of modern development, in such areas as light, nutrition, genetics, growth control, disorders and metabolism. Tobacco research led to current advancements in plant biotechnology. In addition, tobacco plant research contributed significantly to public health research in radioactive elements, mycotoxins, and air pollutants. However, public support for tobacco research has today greatly declined to almost total elimination because of a sense of political correctness. This author points out that tobacco is one of the most valuable research tools, and is a most abundant source of scientific information. Research with tobacco plants will contribute far beyond the frontiers of agricultural science: tobacco can be a source of food supply with nutrition value similar to that of milk; tobacco can be a source of health supplies including medical chemicals and various vaccines; tobacco can be a source of biofuel. All we need is to treat tobacco with respect; the use of tobacco is only in its initial stages.

Symmetry witnesses

Science.gov (United States)

Aniello, Paolo; Chruściński, Dariusz

2017-07-01

A symmetry witness is a suitable subset of the space of selfadjoint trace class operators that allows one to determine whether a linear map is a symmetry transformation, in the sense of Wigner. More precisely, such a set is invariant with respect to an injective densely defined linear operator in the Banach space of selfadjoint trace class operators (if and) only if this operator is a symmetry transformation. According to a linear version of Wigner’s theorem, the set of pure states—the rank-one projections—is a symmetry witness. We show that an analogous result holds for the set of projections with a fixed rank (with some mild constraint on this rank, in the finite-dimensional case). It turns out that this result provides a complete classification of the sets of projections with a fixed rank that are symmetry witnesses. These particular symmetry witnesses are projectable; i.e. reasoning in terms of quantum states, the sets of ‘uniform’ density operators of corresponding fixed rank are symmetry witnesses too.

Assessment of periodontal status in smokeless tobacco chewers and nonchewers among industrial workers in North Bengaluru

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dinta Kathiriya

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: More than one-third of the tobacco consumed in India is of smokeless form. While the smokeless tobacco (ST products have been strongly associated with oral cancer, the association between ST and periodontal disease is less clear. The present study was conducted on industrial workers because in premises, there is a ban on smoking tobacco and hence workers tend to consume more of ST products. Aim: The aim of this study is to assess periodontal status in ST chewers and nonchewers among industrial workers in North Bengaluru. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted on 800 industrial workers (400 ST chewers and 400 nonchewers of North Bengaluru. Information regarding ST habits was obtained using the Global Adult Tobacco Survey questionnaire, followed by clinical examination to assess periodontal status using the community periodontal index and attachment loss. The comparison between chewers and nonchewers was done using Pearson's Chi-square test. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the difference of periodontal status and loss of attachment (LOA between chewers and nonchewers. Results: ST chewing habit was observed the maximum (46.5% among age group 25–44 years. Most of male chewers had habit of chewing gutkha followed by khaini, and majority of the female chewers were using khaini followed by betel nut quid. A significantly higher prevalence of bleeding on probing and calculus was found among nonchewers. ST chewers had 2.06 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.55–2.75 times more risk of developing periodontal pockets and 2.23 (95% CI: 1.68–2.98 times more risk of having LOA when compared with nonchewers. Conclusions: ST has deleterious effects on the periodontium. Hence, it is one of the important risk factors for periodontal disease.

International trade law, plain packaging and tobacco industry political activity: the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Science.gov (United States)

Fooks, Gary; Gilmore, Anna B

2014-01-01

Tobacco companies are increasingly turning to trade and investment agreements to challenge measures aimed at reducing tobacco use. This study examines their efforts to influence the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a major trade and investment agreement which may eventually cover 40% of the world's population; focusing on how these efforts might enhance the industry's power to challenge the introduction of plain packaging. Specifically, the paper discusses the implications for public health regulation of Philip Morris International's interest in using the TPP to: shape the bureaucratic structures and decision-making processes of business regulation at the national level; introduce a higher standard of protection for trademarks than is currently provided under the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights; and expand the coverage of Investor-State Dispute Settlement which empowers corporations to litigate directly against governments where they are deemed to be in breach of investment agreements. The large number of countries involved in the TPP underlines its risk to the development of tobacco regulation globally.

Ocular manifestations in bidi industry workers: Possible consequences of occupational exposure to tobacco dust

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mittal Saurabh

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Tobacco consumption is the leading preventable cause of disease, disability, and premature death but little is known about its deleterious effect on the ocular health of workers handling tobacco. The goal of this study was to identify probable effects of occupational tobacco exposure among south Indian bidi-industry workers. This study included 310 females (mean age, 34.8 ± 10.9 years actively involved in bidi-rolling presenting with eye symptoms to a tertiary eye care hospital. Results suggested that a wide spectrum of ocular complications exist among these workers. Common ocular symptoms were defective vision, dull-aching headache and eye irritation. The main ocular findings were papillary conjunctival hyperplasia, hyperpigmentation of ocular surface, punctate epithelial erosion or superficial punctate keratitis, cataract or pseudophakia and segmental optic atrophy. Abstaining from work, supplementation of Vitamin B complex rich in B 12 and appropriate surgical or medical management reversed visual loss due to corneal disease or cataract but was not effective in optic neuropathy.

The Spanish tobacco tax loopholes and their consequences.

Science.gov (United States)

López-Nicolás, Ángel; Cobacho, María Belén; Fernández, Esteve

2013-05-01

The Spanish government has strengthened tobacco control policies since 2005, including changes in tobacco taxes. Because these changes have targeted cigarettes mainly, the tobacco industry has marketed cheaper alternative tobacco products, offering smokers the possibility to downtrade. This paper traces the evolution of patterns of demand for cigarettes and other tobacco products in Spain over the period 2005-2011 in order to assess the impact of such tax loopholes. The authors use data on tobacco products prices and sales as well as changes in the structure and levels of tobacco taxes to relate tax changes to price changes and subsequent market share changes. Tax reforms have lifted the bottom end of the cigarette price distribution, but the industry has been successful in marketing fine-cut tobacco at cheap prices. There have been partial attempts to correct this asymmetric tax treatment, but these have not avoided a remarkable increase in the market share of fine-cut tobacco. The absence of a minimum tax on quantity for the rest of tobacco products allows the industry to place them as potential future downtrading vehicles. In order to address public health objectives, tax policies should aim to equalise the cost of smoking across different tobacco products. Otherwise the tobacco industry can exploit tax loopholes to market cheap alternatives to cigarettes. This requires all tobacco products to bear a minimum tax on quantity, whose levels need to be adjusted in order to reflect the equivalence between different forms of smoking.

Engaño mortal: las "nuevas" normas mundiales de la industria tabacalera para la comercialización del tabaco Fatal deception: the tobacco industry's "new" world standards for tobacco marketing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yussuf Saloojee

2002-02-01

Full Text Available Being increasingly threatened by the worldwide antismoking struggle, the major tobacco companies are eager to improve their public image. This leads the companies to adopt inconsequential "measures" such as the tobacco industry's "new" standards for tobacco marketing that were "voluntarily" issued in September 2001 by the British American Tobacco company. These measures are clearly attempts to reduce the disapproval generated by the companies' promotion and advertising campaigns, which indirectly target young people. With these standards the tobacco companies supposedly commit themselves, among other things, to not using advertising directed at youth and to not selling or distributing tobacco products in places frequented by young people. This document explains why these measures are completely ineffective, are not anything new, and are a subtle effort to feign a conscientious, responsible attitude, which is far from genuine. As long as there are marketing activities directed at adults, young people will be exposed to the influence of those activities. Many countries have completely prohibited the marketing of tobacco products, given that the "new" marketing standards do not represent progress in any way whatsoever.

The Relativity of Free Will and Liability of the Tobacco Industry – Deconstruction of a Myth. Brazilian Meditations on the United States v. Philip Morris et al. Case

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eugênio Facchini Neto

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This essay analyzes one of the main arguments put forward by the tobacco industry to support the absence of liability for damages caused by tobacco addiction: the free will of the smoker. Through the contribution of other sciences, it seeks to demonstrate how young people, targeted audience of marketing campaigns of the tobacco industry, were extremely vulnerable to tobacco industry maneuvers to attract them to their products. It also demonstrates the addictive effects of nicotine and how it practically neutralizes the ability of an adult deciding to stop the addiction. At the end, it sustains the relativization of the principle of free will.

Japanese spousal smoking study revisited: how a tobacco industry funded paper reached erroneous conclusions

OpenAIRE

Yano, E

2005-01-01

Objectives: To provide a participant's account of the development of a paper commissioned by the tobacco industry examining the reliability of self reported smoking status; to redress the distorted report of this Japanese spousal smoking study which evaluated the reliability and validity of self reported smoking status, and estimated confounding by diet and lifestyle factors.

The Tobacco Use Management System: Analyzing Tobacco Control From a Systems Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Young, David; Coghill, Ken; Zhang, Jian Ying

2010-01-01

We use systems thinking to develop a strategic framework for analyzing the tobacco problem and we suggest solutions. Humans are vulnerable to nicotine addiction, and the most marketable form of nicotine delivery is the most harmful. A tobacco use management system has evolved out of governments’ attempts to regulate tobacco marketing and use and to support services that provide information about tobacco's harms and discourage its use. Our analysis identified 5 systemic problems that constrain progress toward the elimination of tobacco-related harm. We argue that this goal would be more readily achieved if the regulatory subsystem had dynamic power to regulate tobacco products and the tobacco industry as well as a responsive process for resourcing tobacco use control activities. PMID:20466970

Whither tobacco product regulation?

Science.gov (United States)

McNeill, Ann; Hammond, David; Gartner, Coral

2012-03-01

Despite decades of industry innovation and regulatory efforts, the harmfulness of conventional cigarettes has not changed. There are several pitfalls in this area, including the long time lag before health impacts of product regulatory changes become apparent, the danger of consumers deriving false reassurance of lesser harm in the interim period, the lack of relevant expertise and the lack of an internationally agreed and evidence-based strategic approach. Articles 9 and 10 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control provide the potential for such a global strategy, and knowledge and research has increased significantly over recent years. However, there are huge opportunity costs in implementing product disclosure and regulatory strategies: most national regulators have very limited human and financial resources, which should be focused on other evidence-based tobacco control interventions. We believe therefore that it is now time to abandon the notion of safe or safer cigarettes while moving consumers towards cleaner nicotine products as soon as possible. In parallel to this, we recommend a number of other strategies be implemented including: reducing the appeal of all tobacco products, forbidding new tobacco products or brand variants being marketed without evidence of reduced harm, appeal or addictiveness, and developing a tobacco industry resourced, but industry independent, Framework Convention on Tobacco Control global repository to assist national regulators in understanding and regulating the products on their markets.

[Legal framework and strategy of the tobacco industry in relation to tobacco advertising in Spain].

Science.gov (United States)

Elder, J; Cortés Blanco, M; Sarriá Santamera, A

2000-01-01

Publicity is legally regulated in Spain, in order to avoid its misuse. Tobacco publicity is also under those regulation, having had the companies operating in this sector to adapt themselves through new strategies. In this work, the legal restrictions existing in Spain regarding publicity are analyzed, together with some of the strategies developed by tobacco companies in order to elude them. In this sense, and despite of the existing legal framework, it should be noticed that tobacco companies are cleverly taking advantage of the existence of legal loopholes in tobacco publicity to promote their products.

Through tobacco industry eyes: civil society and the FCTC process from Philip Morris and British American Tobacco’s perspectives

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzalez, Mariaelena; Green, Lawrence W; Glantz, Stanton A

2011-01-01

Objective To analyse the models Philip Morris (PM) and British American Tobacco (BAT) used internally to understand tobacco control non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and their relationship to the global tobacco control policy-making process that resulted in the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC). Methods Analysis of internal tobacco industry documents in the Legacy Tobacco Document Library. Results PM contracted with Mongoven, Biscoe, and Duchin, Inc. (MBD, a consulting firm specialising in NGO surveillance) as advisors. MBD argued that because NGOs are increasingly linked to epistemic communities, NGOs could insert themselves into the global policy-making process and influence the discourse surrounding the treaty-making process. MBD advised PM to insert itself into the policy-making process, mimicking NGO behaviour. BAT’s Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (CORA) department argued that global regulation emerged from the perception (by NGOs and governments) that the industry could not regulate itself, leading to BAT advocating social alignment and self-regulation to minimise the impact of the FCTC. Most efforts to block or redirect the FCTC failed. Conclusions PM and BAT articulated a global policy-making environment in which NGOs are key, non-state stakeholders, and as a result, internationalised some of their previous national-level strategies. After both companies failed to prevent the FCTC, their strategies began to align. Multinational corporations have continued to successfully employ some of the strategies outlined in this paper at the local and national level while being formally excluded from ongoing FCTC negotiations at the global level. PMID:21636611

“I always thought they were all pure tobacco”: American smokers' perceptions of “natural” cigarettes and tobacco industry advertising strategies

Science.gov (United States)

McDaniel, Patricia A; Malone, Ruth E

2007-01-01

Objective To examine how the US tobacco industry markets cigarettes as “natural” and American smokers' views of the “naturalness” (or unnaturalness) of cigarettes. Methods Internal tobacco industry documents, the Pollay 20th Century Tobacco Ad Collection, and newspaper sources were reviewed, themes and strategies were categorised, and the findings were summarised. Results Cigarette advertisements have used the term “natural” since at least 1910, but it was not until the 1950s that “natural” referred to a core element of brand identity, used to describe specific product attributes (filter, menthol, tobacco leaf). The term “additive‐free”, introduced in the 1980s, is now commonly used to define natural cigarettes. Tobacco company market research, available from 1970 to 1998, consistently revealed that within focus group sessions, smokers initially had difficulty interpreting the term “natural” in relation to cigarettes; however, after discussion of cigarette ingredients, smokers viewed “natural” cigarettes as healthier. Tobacco companies regarded the implied health benefits of natural cigarettes as their key selling point, but hesitated to market them because doing so might raise doubts about the composition of their highly profitable “regular” brands. Conclusion Although our findings support the idea advanced by some tobacco control advocates that informing smokers of conventional cigarettes' chemical ingredients could promote cessation, they also suggest that such a measure could increase the ubiquity and popularity of “natural” cigarettes. A more effective approach may be to “denaturalise” smoking. PMID:18048597

Eliminating child labour in Malawi: a British American Tobacco corporate responsibility project to sidestep tobacco labour exploitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Otañez, M G; Muggli, M E; Hurt, R D; Glantz, S A

2006-06-01

To examine British American Tobacco and other tobacco industry support of the Eliminating Child Labour in Tobacco Growing Foundation. Analyses of internal tobacco industry documents and ethnographic data. British American Tobacco co-founded the Eliminating Child Labour in Tobacco Growing Foundation (ECLT) in October 2000 and launched its pilot project in Malawi. ECLT's initial projects were budgeted at US2.3 million dollars over four years. Labour unions and leaf dealers, through ECLT funds, have undertook modest efforts such as building schools, planting trees, and constructing shallow wells to address the use of child labour in tobacco farming. In stark contrast, the tobacco companies receive nearly US40 million dollars over four years in economic benefit through the use of unpaid child labour in Malawi during the same time. BAT's efforts to combat child labour in Malawi through ECLT was developed to support the company's "corporate social responsibility agenda" rather than accepting responsibility for taking meaningful steps to eradicate child labour in the Malawi tobacco sector. In Malawi, transnational tobacco companies are using child labour projects to enhance corporate reputations and distract public attention from how they profit from low wages and cheap tobacco.

International trade law, plain packaging and tobacco industry political activity: the Trans-Pacific Partnership

Science.gov (United States)

Fooks, Gary; Gilmore, Anna B

2014-01-01

Tobacco companies are increasingly turning to trade and investment agreements to challenge measures aimed at reducing tobacco use. This study examines their efforts to influence the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a major trade and investment agreement which may eventually cover 40% of the world's population; focusing on how these efforts might enhance the industry's power to challenge the introduction of plain packaging. Specifically, the paper discusses the implications for public health regulation of Philip Morris International's interest in using the TPP to: shape the bureaucratic structures and decision-making processes of business regulation at the national level; introduce a higher standard of protection for trademarks than is currently provided under the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights; and expand the coverage of Investor-State Dispute Settlement which empowers corporations to litigate directly against governments where they are deemed to be in breach of investment agreements. The large number of countries involved in the TPP underlines its risk to the development of tobacco regulation globally. PMID:23788606

The human rights responsibilities of multinational tobacco companies

Science.gov (United States)

Crow, M

2005-01-01

This article explores various strategies which could be used to hold the tobacco industry accountable for human rights violations precipitated by its conduct. First, a brief overview of the international human rights regime and the tobacco related jurisprudence issued by human rights treaty bodies is provided. The article then explains how tobacco control advocates could promote more systematic consideration of governments' tobacco related human rights violations by reconceptualising the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in the language of rights. The feasibility of using the existing human rights framework to target the tobacco industry directly is analysed with the conclusion that this approach has serious limitations. Emerging human rights norms, which have greater potential to affect the industry's conduct, are presented. Finally, given the questionable authoritativeness of these norms, alternative ways that they could be employed to hold tobacco companies accountable for the rights related consequences of their activities are proposed. PMID:16046696

Implementation of effective cigarette health warning labels among low and middle income countries: state capacity, path-dependency and tobacco industry activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Hiilamo, Heikki; Glantz, Stanton A

2015-01-01

We investigates the effects of ratifying the WHO Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FTCT), state capacity, path-dependency and tobacco industry activity on the implementation of effective health warning labels (HWL) on cigarette packs among low and middle income countries (LMIC). Using logistic regression in separate analyses for FCTC Article 11 compliant HWLs and graphic HWLs (GHWL), we found that the odds of FCTC compliance increased by a factor of 1.31 for each year after FCTC entered into force in the country (p health regulations require investments in broader state capacity. As the theory of path-dependency predicts voluntary agreements have long lasting influence on the direction of tobacco control in a country. Adopting voluntary HWL policies reduced likelihood of having FCTC compliant HWLs decades later. The fact that voluntary agreements delayed effective tobacco regulations suggests that policymakers must be careful of accepting industry efforts for voluntary agreements in other areas of public health as well, such as alcohol and junk food. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evolving and Combining Facial Composites: Between-Witness and Within-Witness Morphs Compared

Science.gov (United States)

Valentine, Tim; Davis, Josh P.; Thorner, Kate; Solomon, Chris; Gibson, Stuart

2010-01-01

Student participant-witnesses produced 4 composites of unfamiliar faces with a system that uses a genetic algorithm to evolve appearance of artificial faces. Morphs of 4 composites produced by different witnesses (between-witness morphs) were judged better likenesses (Experiment 1) and were more frequently named (Experiment 2) by participants who…

"Gone are the days of mass-media marketing plans and short term customer relationships": tobacco industry direct mail and database marketing strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, M Jane; Ling, Pamela M

2016-07-01

As limitations on traditional marketing tactics and scrutiny by tobacco control have increased, the tobacco industry has benefited from direct mail marketing which transmits marketing messages directly to carefully targeted consumers utilising extensive custom consumer databases. However, research in these areas has been limited. This is the first study to examine the development, purposes and extent of direct mail and customer databases. We examined direct mail and database marketing by RJ Reynolds and Philip Morris utilising internal tobacco industry documents from the Legacy Tobacco Document Library employing standard document research techniques. Direct mail marketing utilising industry databases began in the 1970s and grew from the need for a promotional strategy to deal with declining smoking rates, growing numbers of products and a cluttered media landscape. Both RJ Reynolds and Philip Morris started with existing commercial consumer mailing lists, but subsequently decided to build their own databases of smokers' names, addresses, brand preferences, purchase patterns, interests and activities. By the mid-1990s both RJ Reynolds and Philip Morris databases contained at least 30 million smokers' names each. These companies valued direct mail/database marketing's flexibility, efficiency and unique ability to deliver specific messages to particular groups as well as direct mail's limited visibility to tobacco control, public health and regulators. Database marketing is an important and increasingly sophisticated tobacco marketing strategy. Additional research is needed on the prevalence of receipt and exposure to direct mail items and their influence on receivers' perceptions and smoking behaviours. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

[The tobacco problem in French-speaking Africa and regional perspectives of the French-speaking African tobacco observatory].

Science.gov (United States)

Cherif, Mokhtar Hamdi

2005-01-01

The tobacco problem is one which is both global and political. The epidemic and the growing smoking crisis in Africa is a menace to the health of our continent, with significant socio-economic repercussions to follow in the coming years. Approximately 1.1 billion people around the world smoke, and between now and the year 2025, this number will most likely increase to 1.6 billion. By 2030, 10 million tobacco-related deaths will have occurred, and for the most part those deaths will be concentrated in developing countries. The tobacco industry clearly lies at the heart of the development of the tobacco pandemic in the 20th century. Specifically, cigarettes have made tobacco a massively consumed product, constantly expanding and opening up new markets; the day before yesterday it was men, yesterday it was women and youth, and today it is the developing world. The strategy is identical: increase sales, and do goat a price which puts a heavy burden on the population's health. The industries turn themselves towards developing countries, and namely Africa, in order to compensate for their losses in the markets of the Northern Hemisphere at a time when the demand in these countries is decreasing. The industry's cynical strategy targets Africa as its strongest potential market for development, counting on an estimated increase in consumption of 16% over the next decade, according to WHO's recent World Tobacco Atlas. The illegal importation of cigarettes is a practice which is growing more and more within African countries, with a well-structured African network for smuggling. Smuggled cigarettes are even more toxic with very elevated levels of nicotine and tar. Sponsorship as well as direct and indirect advertising are rapidly developing in all kinds of formats, with a proliferation of aggressive advertising messages targeting African populations with cynicism, manipulation, the complicity of smuggling in broad daylight, and disrespect for the law, while exploiting all of

Current Situations and Countermeasures of Organic Tobacco Development

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2011-01-01

Current situations of organic tobacco development at both home and abroad,indicating that organic tobacco is one of the innovation directions for sustainable,healthy,environmental protection and low carbon development of modern tobacco industry.On the basis of foreign cultivation technical system for organic agriculture,the cultivation technical system for organic tobacco is summed up as follows:first,keep the diversity and continuity of space and time;second,ensure closeness of nutrient cycle;third,improve self-regulatory system and protection ability of crops.Then,the development trend of organic tobacco is analyzed and corresponding measures are put forward:establish production base and assessment system for organic tobacco;establish technical system for production of organic tobacco;establish and perfect evaluation system for management,production and supervision of organic tobacco;strengthen popularization of production and concept of organic tobacco;improve management of organic tobacco purchase,industry commerce handover,and redrying.

"Conclusions about exposure to ETS and health that will be unhelpful to us": how the tobacco industry attempted to delay and discredit the 1997 Australian National Health and Medical Research Council report on passive smoking.

Science.gov (United States)

Trotter, L; Chapman, S

2003-12-01

Major reviews of the health effects of passive smoking have been subjected to tobacco industry campaigns to refute the scientific evidence. Following the 1992 US Environmental Protection Agency review, the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) initiated a review of the health effects of passive smoking. At the time of this review, evidence that environmental tobacco smoke causes disease was being increasingly accepted in courts of law and voluntary adoption of smoking restrictions was rapidly growing. To demonstrate how the tobacco industry attempted to delay and discredit the publication of a report on passive smoking that the tobacco industry anticipated to contain recommendations that would be unfavourable to their business. A search of tobacco industry documents on the Master Settlement Agreement websites was conducted using the terms and acronyms representative of the NHMRC review. The tobacco industry sought to impede the progress of the NHMRC Working Party by launching an intensive campaign to delay and discredit the report. The main strategies used were attempts to criticise the science, extensive use of Freedom of Information provisions to monitor all activity of the group, legal challenges, ad hominem attacks on the credibility of the Working Party members, rallying support from industry allies, and influencing public opinion through the media. The Australian tobacco industry deliberately impeded the NHMRC Working Party's progress and successfully prevented the publication of the report's recommendations. The tobacco industry's motivation and capacity to disrupt the advancement of scientific knowledge and policy in tobacco control should be recognised and anticipated.

“Gone are the days of mass-media marketing plans and short term customer relationships”: tobacco industry direct mail and database marketing strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, M Jane; Ling, Pamela M

2015-01-01

Background As limitations on traditional marketing tactics and scrutiny by tobacco control have increased, the tobacco industry has benefited from direct mail marketing which transmits marketing messages directly to carefully targeted consumers utilising extensive custom consumer databases. However, research in these areas has been limited. This is the first study to examine the development, purposes and extent of direct mail and customer databases. Methods We examined direct mail and database marketing by RJ Reynolds and Philip Morris utilising internal tobacco industry documents from the Legacy Tobacco Document Library employing standard document research techniques. Results Direct mail marketing utilising industry databases began in the 1970s and grew from the need for a promotional strategy to deal with declining smoking rates, growing numbers of products and a cluttered media landscape. Both RJ Reynolds and Philip Morris started with existing commercial consumer mailing lists, but subsequently decided to build their own databases of smokers’ names, addresses, brand preferences, purchase patterns, interests and activities. By the mid-1990s both RJ Reynolds and Philip Morris databases contained at least 30 million smokers’ names each. These companies valued direct mail/database marketing’s flexibility, efficiency and unique ability to deliver specific messages to particular groups as well as direct mail’s limited visibility to tobacco control, public health and regulators. Conclusions Database marketing is an important and increasingly sophisticated tobacco marketing strategy. Additional research is needed on the prevalence of receipt and exposure to direct mail items and their influence on receivers’ perceptions and smoking behaviours. PMID:26243810

Understanding tobacco control policy at the national level: bridging the gap between public policy and tobacco control advocacy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marc C. Willemsen

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Background While some countries have advanced tobacco control policies, other countries struggle to adopt and implement FCTC's measures. This presentation uncovers the main factors that explain such variations, taking insights from public policy and political science as a starting point for a case study. Methods A case study of tobacco control policy making in the Netherlands, covering the period from the 1960s until the present. The study consisted of a systematic search and analysis of documents and proceedings of parliamentary debates on tobacco policy, supplemented with 22 interviews with key informants from the government, health organisations, politicians, and the tobacco industry. In addition, documents from the Truth Tobacco Industry Documents database, pertaining to the influence of the tobacco industry on Dutch policy making, were analysed. Results The Dutch government started relatively late to regulate tobacco. The choices in tobacco control policy making at the national level and the tempo in which they are made are explained by the interaction of the five main elements of the tobacco control policy making process: Relatively stable context factors (constitutional structures, 'rules of the policy making game', national cultural values Relatively dynamic context factors (regime changes, EU regulation and FCTC guidelines, changing social norms, public support Transfer of ideas (availability and interpretation of scientific evidence Pro and anti-tobacco control networks and coalitions (their organisational and lobby strength Agenda-setting (changes in problem definition, issue framing, media advocacy Conclusions Despite worldwide convergence of tobacco control policies, accelerated by the ratification of the FCTC treaty by most nations, governments develop approaches to tobacco control in line with cultural values, ideological preferences and specific national institutional arrangements. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. The

Tobacco commerce on the internet: a threat to comprehensive tobacco control.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, J E; Sarabia, V; Ashley, M J

2001-12-01

Although internet use continues to increase and e-commerce sales are expected to exceed US$1 trillion by the end of 2001, there have been few assessments in the literature regarding the implications of this medium for tobacco control efforts. This commentary explores the challenges that the internet may pose to the key components of a comprehensive tobacco control strategy, and pinpoints potential approaches for addressing these challenges. Four key challenges that the internet presents for tobacco control are identified: unrestricted sales to minors; cheaper cigarettes through tax avoidance and smuggling; unfettered advertising, marketing and promotion; and continued normalisation of the tobacco industry and its products. Potential strategies for addressing these challenges include international tobacco control agreements, national and state regulation, and legal remedies.

Minimal tomography with entanglement witnesses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Huangjun; Teo Yong Siah; Englert, Berthold-Georg

2010-01-01

We introduce informationally complete measurements whose outcomes are entanglement witnesses and so answer the question of how many witnesses need to be measured to decide whether an arbitrary state is entangled or not: as many as the dimension of the state space. The witnesses can be measured successively; if all of them give an inconclusive result, one exploits their tomographic completeness for a reconstruction of the quantum state and can then determine its entanglement properties by data processing. There are witnesses that are optimal for this purpose. The optimized witness-based measurement can provide exponential improvement with respect to witness efficiency in high-dimensional Hilbert spaces, at the price of a reduction in the tomographic efficiency. We describe a systematic construction and illustrate the matter with the example of two qubits. For the case of two polarization qubits of photons, we show how existing technology can be used to implement the optimized witnesses in a very efficient way. Owing to the details of the implementation, which actually measures the eigenstate basis of the witness rather than solely determining the expectation value of the witness, one does not need to measure more than six witnesses in this example of a 16-dimensional state space.

Minimal tomography with entanglement witnesses

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Huangjun; Teo, Yong Siah; Englert, Berthold-Georg

2010-05-01

We introduce informationally complete measurements whose outcomes are entanglement witnesses and so answer the question of how many witnesses need to be measured to decide whether an arbitrary state is entangled or not: as many as the dimension of the state space. The witnesses can be measured successively; if all of them give an inconclusive result, one exploits their tomographic completeness for a reconstruction of the quantum state and can then determine its entanglement properties by data processing. There are witnesses that are optimal for this purpose. The optimized witness-based measurement can provide exponential improvement with respect to witness efficiency in high-dimensional Hilbert spaces, at the price of a reduction in the tomographic efficiency. We describe a systematic construction and illustrate the matter with the example of two qubits. For the case of two polarization qubits of photons, we show how existing technology can be used to implement the optimized witnesses in a very efficient way. Owing to the details of the implementation, which actually measures the eigenstate basis of the witness rather than solely determining the expectation value of the witness, one does not need to measure more than six witnesses in this example of a 16-dimensional state space.

Swimming Upstream: Tobacco Policy Making in Nevada

OpenAIRE

Tung, Gregory MPH; Glantz, Stanton A. Ph.D.

2008-01-01

The tobacco industry is a major political force in Nevada. The industry dominated state politics through a combination of strategic alliances with the hospitality and gaming industries and campaign contributions. From 1990-2006 the tobacco industry contributed $552,111 to the state political parties and individuals running for state office. In 1975, health groups in Nevada attempted to pass a legislative proposal, AB 17, that would have required smoking and non-smoking sections in al...

Effectiveness of the ban on tobacco industry sponsorship in Brazil: findings from the ITC Brazil Wave 1 to 3 Surveys (2009 to 2016 - 17)

OpenAIRE

Mariana Pinho; Andre Szklo; Cristina Perez; Geoffrey Fong; Lorraine Craig; Grace Li; Mi Yan

2018-01-01

Background In 2000, Brazil implemented a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising (except point-of-sale), promotion, and sponsorship, including sponsorship by tobacco brands of national sporting and arts events, then in 2005 adding international sport events. However, a loophole in the law permits company names for sponsorship. This study examines whether this loophole has been exploited by the industry via Brazilians' awareness of tobacco company sponsorship of ...

International trade agreements: a threat to tobacco control policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaffer, E R; Brenner, J E; Houston, T P

2005-08-01

International covenants establish a role for governments in ensuring the conditions for human health and wellbeing, which has been recognised as a central human right. International trade agreements, conversely, prioritize the rights of corporations over health and human rights. International trade agreements are threatening existing tobacco control policies and restrict the possibility of implementing new controls. This situation is unrecognised by many tobacco control advocates in signatory nations, especially those in developing countries. Recent agreements on eliminating various trade restrictions, including those on tobacco, have expanded far beyond simply international movement of goods to include internal tobacco distribution regulations and intellectual property rules regulating advertising and labelling. Our analysis shows that to the extent trade agreements protect the tobacco industry, in itself a deadly enterprise, they erode human rights principles and contribute to ill health. The tobacco industry has used trade policy to undermine effective barriers to tobacco importation. Trade negotiations provide an unwarranted opportunity for the tobacco industry to assert its interests without public scrutiny. Trade agreements provide the industry with additional tools to obstruct control policies in both developed and developing countries and at every level. The health community should become involved in reversing these trends, and help promote additional measures to protect public health.

Tobacco talk: reflections on corporate power and the legal framing of consumption.

Science.gov (United States)

Benson, Peter

2010-12-01

This article examines how North Carolina tobacco farmers think about the moral ambiguities of tobacco business. Drawing on ethnographic research with tobacco farmers and archival research on the tobacco industry, I specify the core psychological defense mechanisms that tobacco companies have crafted for people associated with the industry. I also document local social, cultural, and economic factors in rural North Carolina that underpin ongoing rural dependence on tobacco despite the negativity that surrounds tobacco and structural adjustments. This article contributes to our knowledge about tobacco farmers and tobacco farming communities, which is important for tobacco-control strategies. I reflect on ethical and economic paradoxes related to the rise of corporate social responsibility in the tobacco industry, where an official legal framing of consumption, focused on informed adult consumer autonomy and health education, is promoted to undermine more robust public health prevention efforts.

Branding the rodeo: a case study of tobacco sports sponsorship.

Science.gov (United States)

Ling, Pamela M; Haber, Lawrence A; Wedl, Stefani

2010-01-01

Rodeo is one of the few sports still sponsored by the tobacco industry, particularly the US Smokeless Tobacco Company. Rodeo is popular in rural communities, where smokeless tobacco use is more prevalent. We used previously secret tobacco industry documents to examine the history and internal motivations for tobacco company rodeo sponsorship. Rodeos allow tobacco companies to reach rural audiences and young people, enhance brand image, conduct market research, and generate positive press. Relationships with athletes and fans were used to fight proposed restrictions on tobacco sports sponsorship. Rodeo sponsorship was intended to enhance tobacco sales, not the sport. Rural communities should question the tradition of tobacco sponsorship of rodeo sports and reject these predatory marketing practices.

Branding the Rodeo: A Case Study of Tobacco Sports Sponsorship

Science.gov (United States)

Haber, Lawrence A.; Wedl, Stefani

2010-01-01

Rodeo is one of the few sports still sponsored by the tobacco industry, particularly the US Smokeless Tobacco Company. Rodeo is popular in rural communities, where smokeless tobacco use is more prevalent. We used previously secret tobacco industry documents to examine the history and internal motivations for tobacco company rodeo sponsorship. Rodeos allow tobacco companies to reach rural audiences and young people, enhance brand image, conduct market research, and generate positive press. Relationships with athletes and fans were used to fight proposed restrictions on tobacco sports sponsorship. Rodeo sponsorship was intended to enhance tobacco sales, not the sport. Rural communities should question the tradition of tobacco sponsorship of rodeo sports and reject these predatory marketing practices. PMID:19910357

Multinational Tobacco Companies and Tobacco Consumption (China)

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Until recently, the Chinese tobacco industry has been run as a state-owned monopoly. It is reported ... New funding opportunity for gender equality and climate change ... IDRC invests in research and knowledge to empower women in India.

Reading culture from tobacco advertisements in Indonesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Nichter, Mimi; Padmawati, S; Danardono, M; Ng, N; Prabandari, Y; Nichter, Mark

2009-04-01

Tobacco advertising in Indonesia is among the most aggressive and innovative in the world, and tobacco advertisements saturate the environment. Tobacco companies are politically and financially powerful in the country because they are one of the largest sources of government revenue. As a result, there are few restrictions on tobacco marketing and advertising. National surveys reveal that 62% of men and 1% to 3% of women are smokers. Over 90% of smokers smoke clove cigarettes (kretek). This paper examines the social and cultural reasons for smoking in Indonesia and discusses how the tobacco industry reads, reproduces and works with culture as a means of selling cigarettes. An analysis is provided of how kretek tobacco companies represent themselves as supporters of Indonesian national identity. This analysis is used to identify strategies to break the chains of positive association that currently support widespread smoking. Between November 2001 and March 2007, tobacco advertisements were collected from a variety of sources, including newspapers and magazines. Frequent photographic documentation was made of adverts on billboards and in magazines. Advertisements were segmented into thematic units to facilitate analysis. In all, 30 interviews were conducted with smokers to explore benefits and risks of smoking, perceptions of advertisements and brand preferences. Focus groups (n = 12) were conducted to explore and pretest counter advertisements. Key themes were identified in tobacco advertisements including control of emotions, smoking to enhance masculinity and smoking as a means to uphold traditional values while simultaneously emphasising modernity and globalisation. Some kretek advertisements are comprised of indirect commentaries inviting the viewer to reflect on the political situation and one's position in society. After identifying key cultural themes in cigarette advertisements, our research group is attempting to engage the tobacco industry on "cultural

Improvement of productivity in low volume production industry layout by using witness simulation software

Science.gov (United States)

Jaffrey, V.; Mohamed, N. M. Z. N.; Rose, A. N. M.

2017-10-01

In almost all manufacturing industry, increased productivity and better efficiency of the production line are the most important goals. Most factories especially small scale factory has less awareness of manufacturing system optimization and lack of knowledge about it and uses the traditional way of management. Problems that are commonly identified in the factory are a high idle time of labour and also small production. This study is done in a Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) low volume production company. Data collection and problems affecting productivity and efficiency are identified. In this study, Witness simulation software is being used to simulate the layout and the output is focusing on the improvement of layout in terms of productivity and efficiency. In this study, the layout is rearranged by reducing the travel time from a workstation to another workstation. Then, the improved layout is modelled and the machine and labour statistic of both, original and improved layout is taken. Productivity and efficiency are calculated for both layout and then being compared.

Witnessing the Future

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elgaard Jensen, Torben

2007-01-01

and the problematic work life elsewhere. Finally, it notes that the manager's strategy enacts a timeworld characterised by dramatic epochal changes, which is radically different from the more stable and knowable time-world that is enacted in ordinary scientific discourses. Key words: actor-network theory, witnessing......Abstract: The paper explores the phenomenon of witnessing the future through a case study of how a Scandinavian new economy firm managed to persuade a number of business journalists that it was "the future". It describes the procedures and rhetorical strategies that the manager deployed to turn...... the journalists into witnesses. It compares the manager's strategy to other cases of effective witnessing in courtrooms and in science. It concludes that the manager's persuasiveness is derived from his ability to articulate a series of pointed contrasts between the attractive working life within the firm...

Tobacco Industry Marketing Practices at Point-of-Sale (Argentina ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Point-of-sale advertising refers to the display of promotional materials where tobacco ... a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship as mandated by ... Asian outlook: New growth dependent on new productivity.

Corporate social responsibility and access to policy élites: an analysis of tobacco industry documents.

Science.gov (United States)

Fooks, Gary J; Gilmore, Anna B; Smith, Katherine E; Collin, Jeff; Holden, Chris; Lee, Kelley

2011-08-01

Recent attempts by large tobacco companies to represent themselves as socially responsible have been widely dismissed as image management. Existing research supports such claims by pointing to the failings and misleading nature of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. However, few studies have focused in depth on what tobacco companies hoped to achieve through CSR or reflected on the extent to which these ambitions have been realised. Iterative searching relating to CSR strategies was undertaken of internal British American Tobacco (BAT) documents, released through litigation in the US. Relevant documents (764) were indexed and qualitatively analysed. In the past decade, BAT has actively developed a wide-ranging CSR programme. Company documents indicate that one of the key aims of this programme was to help the company secure access to policymakers and, thereby, increase the company's chances of influencing policy decisions. Taking the UK as a case study, this paper demonstrates the way in which CSR can be used to renew and maintain dialogue with policymakers, even in ostensibly unreceptive political contexts. In practice, the impact of this political use of CSR is likely to be context specific; depending on factors such as policy élites' understanding of the credibility of companies as a reliable source of information. The findings suggest that tobacco company CSR strategies can enable access to and dialogue with policymakers and provide opportunities for issue definition. CSR should therefore be seen as a form of corporate political activity. This underlines the need for broad implementation of Article 5.3 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Measures are needed to ensure transparency of interactions between all parts of government and the tobacco industry and for policy makers to be made more aware of what companies hope to achieve through CSR.

Corporate social responsibility and access to policy élites: an analysis of tobacco industry documents.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gary J Fooks

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Recent attempts by large tobacco companies to represent themselves as socially responsible have been widely dismissed as image management. Existing research supports such claims by pointing to the failings and misleading nature of corporate social responsibility (CSR initiatives. However, few studies have focused in depth on what tobacco companies hoped to achieve through CSR or reflected on the extent to which these ambitions have been realised.Iterative searching relating to CSR strategies was undertaken of internal British American Tobacco (BAT documents, released through litigation in the US. Relevant documents (764 were indexed and qualitatively analysed. In the past decade, BAT has actively developed a wide-ranging CSR programme. Company documents indicate that one of the key aims of this programme was to help the company secure access to policymakers and, thereby, increase the company's chances of influencing policy decisions. Taking the UK as a case study, this paper demonstrates the way in which CSR can be used to renew and maintain dialogue with policymakers, even in ostensibly unreceptive political contexts. In practice, the impact of this political use of CSR is likely to be context specific; depending on factors such as policy élites' understanding of the credibility of companies as a reliable source of information.The findings suggest that tobacco company CSR strategies can enable access to and dialogue with policymakers and provide opportunities for issue definition. CSR should therefore be seen as a form of corporate political activity. This underlines the need for broad implementation of Article 5.3 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Measures are needed to ensure transparency of interactions between all parts of government and the tobacco industry and for policy makers to be made more aware of what companies hope to achieve through CSR.

The road to effective tobacco control in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Gonghuan; Wang, Yu; Wu, Yiqun; Yang, Jie; Wan, Xia

2015-03-14

The non-communicable disease burden in China is enormous, with tobacco use a leading risk factor for the major non-communicable diseases. The prevalence of tobacco use in men is one of the highest in the world, with more than 300 million smokers and 740 million non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke. In the past decade public awareness of the health hazards of tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke has grown, social customs and habits have changed, aggressive tactics used by the tobacco industry have been revealed, and serious tobacco control policies have been actively promoted. In 2014, national legislators in China began actively considering national bans on smoking in public and work places and tobacco advertising. However, tobacco control in China has remained particularly difficult because of interference by the tobacco industry. Changes to the interministerial coordinating mechanism for implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control are now crucial. Progress towards a tobacco-free world will be dependent on more rapid action in China. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Moving East: how the transnational tobacco industry gained entry to the emerging markets of the former Soviet Union-part I: establishing cigarette imports.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilmore, A B; McKee, M

2004-06-01

To identify British American Tobacco's (BAT) reasons for targeting the former Soviet Union following its collapse in 1991 and the initial strategies BAT used to enter the region. Analysis of tobacco industry documents held at the Guildford BAT archive. Desire to expand to new markets was based in part on the decline in old markets. The large population, proximity to China, scope to expand sales to women and, in Central Asia, a young population with high growth rates made the former Soviet Union particularly attractive. High consumption rates and unfilled demand caused by previous shortages offered potential for rapid returns on investment. A series of steps were taken to penetrate the markets with the initial focus on establishing imports. The documents suggest that BAT encouraged the use of aid money and barter trade to fund imports and directed the smuggling of cigarettes which graduated from an opportunistic strategy to a highly organised operation. In establishing a market presence, promotion of BAT's brands and corporate image were paramount, and used synonymously to promote both the cigarettes and the company. The tobacco industry targeted young people and women. It used the allure of western products to promote its brands and brand stretching and corporate imagery to pre-empt future marketing restrictions. BAT used the chaotic conditions in the immediate post-transition period in the former Soviet Union to exploit legislative loopholes and ensure illegal cigarette imports. Governments of countries targeted by the tobacco industry need to be aware of industry tactics and develop adequate tobacco control policies in order to prevent the exploitation of vulnerable populations. Marketing restrictions that focus on advertising without restricting the use of brand or company promotions will have a limited impact.

Local Nordic tobacco interests collaborated with multinational companies to maintain a united front and undermine tobacco control policies.

Science.gov (United States)

Hiilamo, Heikki; Glantz, Stanton A

2013-03-01

To analyse how local tobacco companies in the Nordic countries, individually and through National Manufacturers' Associations, cooperated with British American Tobacco and Philip Morris in denying the health hazards of smoking and undermining tobacco control. Analysis of tobacco control policies in the Nordic countries and tobacco industry documents. Nordic countries were early adopters of tobacco control policies. The multinational tobacco companies recognised this fact and mobilised to oppose these policies, in part because of fear that they would set unfavourable precedents. Since at least 1972, the Nordic tobacco companies were well informed about and willing to participate in the multinational companies activities to obscure the health dangers of smoking and secondhand smoke and to oppose tobacco control policies. Cooperation between multinational companies, Nordic national manufacturer associations and local companies ensured a united front on smoking and health issues in the Nordic area that was consistent with the positions that the multinational companies were taking. This cooperation delayed smoke-free laws and undermined other tobacco control measures. Local tobacco companies worked with multinational companies to undermine tobacco control in distant and small Nordic markets because of concern that pioneering policies initiated in Nordic countries would spread to bigger market areas. Claims by the local Nordic companies that they were not actively involved with the multinationals are not supported by the facts. These results also demonstrate that the industry appreciates the global importance of both positive and negative public health precedents in tobacco control.

Businesses' voluntary pro-health tobacco policies: a review and research agenda.

Science.gov (United States)

McDaniel, Patricia A; Malone, Ruth E

2012-01-01

Research on the role of businesses in tobacco control has focused primarily on retailers, advertising firms and the hospitality industry, all of which have tended to support tobacco industry interests and resist effective tobacco control policies. However, in several countries, businesses have a history of voluntarily adopting tobacco-related policies that may advance tobacco control objectives. These phenomena have received little research attention. Existing literature on businesses ending tobacco sales, instituting voluntary workplace smoking restrictions and establishing non-smoker only hiring policies was reviewed. A research agenda on voluntary business initiatives would enhance and complement research on mandatory tobacco control policies by identifying new advocacy opportunities; suggesting avenues for strengthening or reinforcing existing policy initiatives; laying the groundwork for new mandatory policies; helping to inform ethical debates about contentious voluntary policies; and contributing to a better understanding of how alliances between the tobacco industry and other businesses might be weakened.

Local Nordic tobacco interests collaborated with multinational companies to maintain a united front and undermine tobacco control policies

Science.gov (United States)

Hiilamo, Heikki; Glantz, Stanton A

2012-01-01

Objective To analyse how local tobacco companies in the Nordic countries, individually and through National Manufacturers’ Associations, cooperated with British American Tobacco and Philip Morris in denying the health hazards of smoking and undermining tobacco control. Methods Analysis of tobacco control policies in the Nordic countries and tobacco industry documents. Results Nordic countries were early adopters of tobacco control policies. The multinational tobacco companies recognised this fact and mobilised to oppose these policies, in part because of fear that they would set unfavourable precedents. Since at least 1972, the Nordic tobacco companies were well informed about and willing to participate in the multinational companies activities to obscure the health dangers of smoking and secondhand smoke and to oppose tobacco control policies. Cooperation between multinational companies, Nordic national manufacturer associations and local companies ensured a united front on smoking and health issues in the Nordic area that was consistent with the positions that the multinational companies were taking. This cooperation delayed smoke-free laws and undermined other tobacco control measures. Conclusions Local tobacco companies worked with multinational companies to undermine tobacco control in distant and small Nordic markets because of concern that pioneering policies initiated in Nordic countries would spread to bigger market areas. Claims by the local Nordic companies that they were not actively involved with the multinationals are not supported by the facts. These results also demonstrate that the industry appreciates the global importance of both positive and negative public health precedents in tobacco control. PMID:22199013

Minimal tomography with entanglement witnesses

OpenAIRE

Zhu, Huangjun; Teo, Yong Siah; Englert, Berthold-Georg

2009-01-01

We introduce informationally complete measurements whose outcomes are entanglement witnesses and so answer the question of how many witnesses need to be measured to decide whether an arbitrary state is entangled or not: as many as the dimension of the state space. The optimized witness-based measurement can provide exponential improvement with respect to witness efficiency in high-dimensional Hilbert spaces, at the price of a reduction in the tomographic efficiency. We describe a systematic c...

Waste Inspection Tomography (WIT)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernardi, R.T.

1995-01-01

Waste Inspection Tomography (WIT) provides mobile semi-trailer mounted nondestructive examination (NDE) and assay (NDA) for nuclear waste drum characterization. WIT uses various computed tomography (CT) methods for both NDE and NDA of nuclear waste drums. Low level waste (LLW), transuranic (TRU), and mixed radioactive waste can be inspected and characterized without opening the drums. With externally transmitted x-ray NDE techniques, WIT has the ability to identify high density waste materials like heavy metals, define drum contents in two- and three-dimensional space, quantify free liquid volumes through density and x-ray attenuation coefficient discrimination, and measure drum wall thickness. With waste emitting gamma-ray NDA techniques, WIT can locate gamma emitting radioactive sources in two- and three-dimensional space, identify gamma emitting isotopic species, identify the external activity levels of emitting gamma-ray sources, correct for waste matrix attenuation, provide internal activity approximations, and provide the data needed for waste classification as LLW or TRU. The mobile feature of WIT allows inspection technologies to be brought to the nuclear waste drum storage site without the need to relocate drums for safe, rapid, and cost-effective characterization of regulated nuclear waste. The combination of these WIT characterization modalities provides the inspector with an unprecedented ability to non-invasively characterize the regulated contents of waste drums as large as 110 gallons, weighing up to 1,600 pounds. Any objects that fit within these size and weight restrictions can also be inspected on WIT, such as smaller waste bags and drums that are five and thirty-five gallons

Away with tobacco? On the early understandings of tobacco as a problem and the associated attempts at political regulation of tobacco in Norway 1900–1930

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sæbø Gunnar

2014-12-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND - In the early 1900s, the industrialization of cigarette production rapidly created the first major expansion in tobacco consumption in modern times. AIMS - This article focuses on the “tobacco problem” as it was understood, debated and sought governed in Norway around the time of the First World War. I identify various attempts to define tobacco as a problem, including arguments put forward by the anti-tobacco movement, the medical profession and politicians. How were health, moral-aesthetic and economic conditions articulated and integrated in these arguments? What (if any addictive elements of smoking were in focus? I also discuss the association between perceptions of the tobacco problem and political attempts to regulate it. There were repeated calls for a state tobacco monopoly to be introduced and municipal licensing system for the sale of cigarettes. DATA - The data are sourced from the journals Tobakskampen (The Tobacco Fight, the journal of the norwegian medical association and parliamentary documents. FINDINGS - The findings suggest that a to the extent tobacco was perceived as a social problem, it was a moral one (vice, not a behavioural and dependency problem, which alcohol was perceived to be at the time; b proposals to establish a tobacco monopoly were based on economic arguments only, and lacked any firm connection to social issues, health and morality; and c the anti-tobacco movement was socially marginal and their commitment to the municipal licensing idea resulted in large regional variations in public support, too large in fact for the idea to be effective. Although the government did not introduce regulations in the 1920s, the industrialization of cigarettes and subsequent developments in advertising caused a “moral panic” among tobacco opponents and created the modern climate of opinion regarding tobacco.

Does tobacco industry marketing of 'light' cigarettes give smokers a rationale for postponing quitting?

Science.gov (United States)

Gilpin, Elizabeth A; Emery, Sherry; White, Martha M; Pierce, John P

2002-01-01

The objective of this analysis was to examine further whether tobacco industry marketing using the labels light and ultra-light is perceived by smokers as a health claim. Smokers might view low tar/nicotine brands of cigarettes as a means to reduce the harm to their health from smoking and postpone quitting. Data were from smokers responding to a large, population-based survey of Californians' smoking behavior, conducted in 1996 (8,582 current smokers). Sixty percent of smokers thought the labels light and ultra-light referred to low tar/nicotine cigarettes, or otherwise implied a health claim. This percentage was higher for smokers of low tar/nicotine brands. Among smokers of regular brands, the more highly addicted, those who were trying unsuccessfully to quit, those who had cut consumption or thought about it, and those with health concerns were more likely to have considered switching. While some of these characteristics also were associated with smokers of low tar/nicotine brands, the associations were not as numerous or as strong. We conclude that some smokers appear to view low tar/nicotine brands as one short-term strategy to reduce the harm to their health from smoking without quitting. By implying reduced tar or nicotine exposure, tobacco industry marketing using the labels light and ultra-light is misleading smokers. The use of such labels should be regulated.

Targeting youth and concerned smokers: evidence from Canadian tobacco industry documents

OpenAIRE

Pollay, R.

2000-01-01

OBJECTIVE—To provide an understanding of the targeting strategies of cigarette marketing, and the functions and importance of the advertising images chosen.
METHODS—Analysis of historical corporate documents produced by affiliates of British American Tobacco (BAT) and RJ Reynolds (RJR) in Canadian litigation challenging tobacco advertising regulation, the Tobacco Products Control Act (1987): Imperial Tobacco Limitee & RJR-Macdonald Inc c. Le Procurer General du Canada.
RESULTS—Careful and ext...

Big tobacco "pull out all stops" for a landmark example: The Burswood Casino case.

Science.gov (United States)

Laura, Bond; Julia, Stafford; Mike, Daube

2011-01-01

With the aid of internal tobacco industry documents, this paper provides a chronology of events documenting the role of the Philip Morris tobacco company in the 1993 litigation case against the Burswood International Resort Casino (BIRC). The paper also examines the implications of this case for the regulation of second hand smoke exposure. A systematic keyword search and analysis of internal tobacco industry documents was conducted using documents available on the World Wide Web through the Master Settlement Agreement. The industry documents provide comprehensive evidence that the Philip Morris tobacco company provided assistance to the BIRC in its defence against action by the Western Australian government. The Philip Morris tobacco company, along with others, sought to publicise and promote the outcome as a 'landmark example' to lobby against the implementation of indoor smoking bans. Philip Morris' investment in the BIRC defence demonstrated the industry's recognition of the potential significance of the case beyond Western Australia. Involvement in the BIRC case assisted the wider tobacco industry by helping to prolong smoking at casinos and other Australian hospitality venues. The findings contribute to our understanding of the history of tobacco industry strategies implemented in Western Australia and internationally to slow tobacco control progress, and the preparedness of the tobacco industry to exploit favourable developments originating anywhere in the world.

Should academic journals publish e-cigarette research linked to tobacco companies?

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, David M; Etter, Jean-François; Elger, Bernice S

2016-08-01

Electronic cigarettes are currently polarizing professional opinion. Some public health experts regard them as an effective smoking cessation aid and a vital means of reducing active and passive smoking, while others regard them as another attempt by the tobacco industry to create new customers and addicts. These different attitudes unsurprisingly yield different conclusions regarding both the appropriate regulation of e-cigarettes and the ethical status of research funded by, or conducted in, cooperation with the tobacco industry. This paper examines whether e-cigarette research linked to the tobacco industry should be regarded as an exception to the rule that tobacco industry research is so tainted by conflicts of interest that journals should refuse to publish them, or at the very least treat them as a special case for scrutiny. Despite the fact that e-cigarettes can be used for smoking cessation, most of the conflicts of interest that apply to other tobacco research also apply to e-cigarette research linked to that industry. Journals that currently refuse to publish findings from studies linked to tobacco companies have no reason to make an exception in the case of e-cigarettes. © 2015 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Point-of-sale marketing of tobacco products: taking advantage of the socially disadvantaged?

Science.gov (United States)

John, Robert; Cheney, Marshall K; Azad, M Raihan

2009-05-01

With increasing regulation of tobacco industry marketing practices, point-of-sale advertising has become an important channel for promoting tobacco products. One hundred and ten convenience stores in Oklahoma County were surveyed for tobacco-related advertising. There were significantly more point-of-sale tobacco advertisements in low-income and minority neighborhoods than in better educated, higher-income, predominantly White neighborhoods. Storeowners or managers were also interviewed to determine who has decision-making power regarding store signage and placement, and to elicit perceptions of industry tactics. Contracts with tobacco companies leave storeowners with little or no control over promotion of tobacco products within their store, and many are unaware of the implications of the tobacco industry point-of-sale practices. Local ordinances that regulated outdoor signage reduced outdoor tobacco advertisements, as well as tobacco signage and promotions within the store. Policy change, rather than education targeting storeowners, is recommended as the most effective strategy for reducing point-of-sale tobacco advertising.

Transnational Tobacco Company Influence on Tax Policy During Privatization of a State Monopoly: British American Tobacco and Uzbekistan

Science.gov (United States)

Gilmore, Anna; Collin, Jeff; Townsend, Joy

2007-01-01

Objectives. The International Monetary Fund encourages privatization of state-owned tobacco industries. Privatization tends to lower cigarette prices, which encourages consumption. This could be countered with effective tax policies. We explored how investment by British American Tobacco (BAT) influenced tax policy in Uzbekistan during privatization there. Methods. We obtained internal documents from BAT and analyzed them using a hermeneutic process to create a chronology of events. Results. BAT thoroughly redesigned the tobacco taxation system in Uzbekistan. It secured (1) a reduction of approximately 50% in the excise tax on cigarettes, (2) an excise system to benefit its brands and disadvantage those of its competitors (particularly Philip Morris), and (3) a tax stamp system from which it hoped to be exempted, because this would likely facilitate its established practice of cigarette smuggling and further its competitive advantage.. Conclusions. Privatization can endanger effective tobacco excise policies. The International Monetary Fund should review its approach to privatization and differentiate the privatization of an industry whose product kills from privatization of other industries. PMID:17138915

Can demand-side policies stop the tobacco industry's damage? Lessons from Turkey.

Science.gov (United States)

Gultekin-Karakas, Derya

2015-01-01

Trade and investment liberalisation in the post-1980 period allowed the penetration of transnational tobacco companies into the Turkish market. State control over the market was gradually removed and tobacco farming, manufacturing, trade and consumption were reshaped in line with the needs of transnational tobacco companies. The resultant increase in product proliferation and aggressive marketing strategies led to a dramatic rise in cigarette consumption in the 1990s, making Turkey a market with one of the sharpest consumption increases in the world. While Turkey implemented demand-side tobacco control policies to reduce consumption after 1996, it continued to stimulate manufacturing and trade in a conflicting way. The Turkish case verifies that the liberalisation process facilitated by the state under the auspices of international institutions conflicts with tobacco control. Liberalisation paves the way for market expansions of transnational tobacco companies that resist tobacco control in their drive for profit. Current global tobacco control policies, with no interest in controlling manufacturing, have limited effect on consumption. The Turkish case indicates the necessity of establishing public control over tobacco manufacturing and trade from a public health perspective.

Assessing the tobacco harm reduction (THR debate: a systematic review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yogi Hendlin

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Background Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR has become synonymous with substituting alternative tobacco products for cigarettes. However, there exists much dissension among tobacco control professionals regarding accepting harm reduction methods prolonging nicotine addiction and profiting the tobacco, e-cigarette and pharmaceutical industries. We evaluate the influence of these industries on the academic THR literature and debate. Methods We undertook a comprehensive review of all peer-review papers published on the topic of tobacco harm reduction between 1992 and July 2016. Our initial search yielded 5,172 relevant hits, and after screening, we double-coded 1,067 full-text articles. Codes include the article's stand on THR (weakly or strongly pro-, anti-, or neutral/mixed, major themes, product type, country of author origin, article type (letter/commentary, RTC, longitudinal study, etc., journal quality, and funding source. These results were analyzed in STATA. Results Of the 498 articles we have coded so far, 379 were included. The results show that six percent of all articles are editorials, 36% letters or commentaries, and 21% are non-empirical articles while only 31% are original research and 6% reviews. Thirty-three percent of pro-THR articles disclosed some sort of industry funding. Of these, 30% were funded by the tobacco industry, 22% by the E-cigarette industry and 48% were funded by pharmaceutical industries. Conclusions The THR debate has been influenced by scientists funded by tobacco, electronic-cigarette and surprisingly pharmaceutical industries in the favor of product substitution. Moreover, the majority of this debate is occurring over 'opinion pieces' rather than on the basis of empirical research. Thus, more robust and unbiased scientific evidence is needed to evaluate these alternative products before endorsing them for the public.

Cultivating New Directions: The Changing Role of Tobacco in North Carolina's Economy.

Science.gov (United States)

Mills, Sarah D; Kurtzman, Rachel; Golden, Shelley D; Kong, Amanda Y; Ribisl, Kurt M

2018-01-01

Citing potential economic harm to the state, the tobacco industry has a history of opposing tobacco control efforts in North Carolina. This commentary discusses the changing role of tobacco in North Carolina's economy, argues that tobacco control causes little economic harm to the state, and explores development of alternative industries. ©2018 by the North Carolina Institute of Medicine and The Duke Endowment. All rights reserved.

"A Roadmap for Flue-curing Tobacco Barns: Towards Developing ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Tobacco crop currently provides the best economic return per hectare amongst all the major annual crops grown in Zimbabwe. Tobacco production currently contributes 30 % of the total exports and nearly 10 % of the GDP. According to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board, of the 106 127 number of registered tobacco ...

Tobacco-free economy: A SAM-based multiplier model to quantify the impact of changes in tobacco demand in Bangladesh.

Science.gov (United States)

Husain, Muhammad Jami; Khondker, Bazlul Haque

2016-01-01

In Bangladesh, where tobacco use is pervasive, reducing tobacco use is economically beneficial. This paper uses the latest Bangladesh social accounting matrix (SAM) multiplier model to quantify the economy-wide impact of demand-driven changes in tobacco cultivation, bidi industries, and cigarette industries. First, we compute various income multiplier values (i.e. backward linkages) for all production activities in the economy to quantify the impact of changes in demand for the corresponding products on gross output for 86 activities, demand for 86 commodities, returns to four factors of production, and income for eight household groups. Next, we rank tobacco production activities by income multiplier values relative to other sectors. Finally, we present three hypothetical 'tobacco-free economy' scenarios by diverting demand from tobacco products into other sectors of the economy and quantifying the economy-wide impact. The simulation exercises with three different tobacco-free scenarios show that, compared to the baseline values, total sectoral output increases by 0.92%, 1.3%, and 0.75%. The corresponding increases in the total factor returns (i.e. GDP) are 1.57%, 1.75%, and 1.75%. Similarly, total household income increases by 1.40%, 1.58%, and 1.55%.

Cigarettes Become a Dangerous Product: Tobacco in the Rearview Mirror, 1952–1965

Science.gov (United States)

Cheyne, Andrew; Gottlieb, Mark A.; Mejia, Pamela; Nixon, Laura; Friedman, Lissy C.; Daynard, Richard A.

2014-01-01

Tobacco control’s unparalleled success comes partly from advocates broadening the focus of responsibility beyond the smoker to include industry and government. To learn how this might apply to other issues, we examined how early tobacco control events were framed in news, legislative testimony, and internal tobacco industry documents. Early debate about tobacco is stunning for its absence of the personal responsibility rhetoric prominent today, focused instead on the health harms from cigarettes. The accountability of government, rather than the industry or individual smokers, is mentioned often; solutions focused not on whether government had a responsibility to act, but on how to act. Tobacco lessons can guide advocates fighting the food and beverage industry, but must be reinterpreted in current political contexts. PMID:24228675

Open doorway to truth: legacy of the Minnesota tobacco trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Hurt, Richard D; Ebbert, Jon O; Muggli, Monique E; Lockhart, Nikki J; Robertson, Channing R

2009-05-01

More than a decade has passed since the conclusion of the Minnesota tobacco trial and the signing of the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) by 46 US State Attorneys General and the US tobacco industry. The Minnesota settlement exposed the tobacco industry's long history of deceptive marketing, advertising, and research and ultimately forced the industry to change its business practices. The provisions for public document disclosure that were included in the Minnesota settlement and the MSA have resulted in the release of approximately 70 million pages of documents and nearly 20,000 other media materials. No comparable dynamic, voluminous, and contemporaneous document archive exists. Only a few single events in the history of public health have had as dramatic an effect on tobacco control as the public release of the tobacco industry's previously secret internal documents. This review highlights the genesis of the release of these documents, the history of the document depositories created by the Minnesota settlement, the scientific and policy output based on the documents, and the use of the documents in furthering global public health strategies.

Smokeless tobacco use among working adults - United States, 2005 and 2010.

Science.gov (United States)

Mazurek, Jacek M; Syamlal, Girija; King, Brian A; Castellan, Robert M

2014-06-06

Smokeless tobacco causes cancers of the oral cavity, esophagus, and pancreas. CDC analyzed National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data to estimate the proportion of U.S. working adults who used smokeless tobacco in 2005 and 2010, by industry and occupation. This report describes the results of that analysis, which showed no statistically significant change in the prevalence of smokeless tobacco use among workers from 2005 (2.7%) to 2010 (3.0%). In 2010, smokeless tobacco use was highest among adults aged 25-44 years (3.9%), males (5.6%), non-Hispanic whites (4.0%), those with no more than a high school education (3.9%), and those living in the South (3.9%). By industry, the prevalence of smokeless tobacco use ranged from 1.5% in education services to 18.8% in mining industries, and by occupation from 1.3% in office and administrative support to 10.8% in construction and extraction. These findings highlight opportunities for reducing the health and economic burdens of tobacco use among U.S. workers, especially those in certain industries (e.g., mining) and occupations (e.g., construction and extraction) where use of smokeless tobacco is especially common. CDC recommends best practices for comprehensive tobacco control programs, including effective employer interventions, such as providing employee health insurance coverage for proven cessation treatments, offering easily accessible help for those who want to quit, and establishing and enforcing tobacco-free workplace policies.

Tobacco industry direct mail receipt and coupon use among young adult smokers.

Science.gov (United States)

Jane Lewis, M; Bover Manderski, Michelle T; Delnevo, Cristine D

2015-02-01

To examine young adult smokers' receipt of tobacco industry direct mail and use of coupons to purchase cigarettes. A total of 699 young adults from a 2011 national survey who reported smoking every day/some days provided self-report data on past-six month receipt of direct mail and past-six month use of coupons to purchase cigarettes. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to calculate adjusted odds of direct mail receipt and coupon use. Overall, 25.1% of young adult smokers reported receiving direct mail from a tobacco company and 24.2% had used a coupon to buy cigarettes in the past 6 months. Direct mail receipt and coupon use to purchase cigarettes were significantly higher among females, daily smokers, and whites. Nearly 70% of smokers who received direct mail had also used a coupon to purchase cigarettes in the preceding 6 months. Brand websites were the most commonly reported means of joining a direct mailing list. This study adds to limited research showing receipt of direct mail and use of price reducing coupons by young adults. Also, higher rates of direct mail receipt and coupon use among females suggest that these strategies may be especially effective in encouraging smoking in females. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The International Monetary Fund and tobacco: a product like any other?

Science.gov (United States)

Gilmore, Anna; Fooks, Gary; McKee, Martin

2009-01-01

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has promoted the lifting of trade restrictions on tobacco and the privatization of state-owned tobacco industries as part of its loan conditions. Growing evidence shows that tobacco industry privatization stimulates tobacco consumption and smoking prevalence in borrowing countries. Privatized tobacco companies make favorable tobacco control policies a condition of their investment and lobby aggressively against further control measures. This, along with increased efficiency of the private sector, leads to increases in marketing, substantial reductions in excise taxes, drops in cigarette prices, and overall rises in sales of cigarettes. The actions of the IMF have therefore led to substantially greater use of tobacco, a product that kills half of its consumers when used as intended, with little evidence of economic gain.

Corporate social responsibility and the tobacco industry: hope or hype?

Science.gov (United States)

Hirschhorn, N

2004-12-01

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) emerged from a realisation among transnational corporations of the need to account for and redress their adverse impact on society: specifically, on human rights, labour practices, and the environment. Two transnational tobacco companies have recently adopted CSR: Philip Morris, and British American Tobacco. This report explains the origins and theory behind CSR; examines internal company documents from Philip Morris showing the company's deliberations on the matter, and the company's perspective on its own behaviour; and reflects on whether marketing tobacco is antithetical to social responsibility.

Salivary cotinine levels as a biomarker for green tobacco sickness in dry tobacco production among Thai traditional tobacco farmers.

Science.gov (United States)

Saleeon, Thanusin; Siriwong, Wattasit; Maldonado-Pérez, Héctor Luis; Robson, Mark Gregory

2016-01-01

Dry Thai traditional tobacco (Nicotiana Tabacum L.) production involves a unique process: (a) picking tobacco leaves, (b) curing tobacco leaves, (c) removing stems of tobacco leaves, cutting leaves and putting on a bamboo rack, (d) drying in the sun, reversing a rack, spraying a tobacco extract to adjust the tobacco's color, storing dried tobacco and packaging. These processes may lead to adverse health effects caused by dermal absorption of nicotine such as Green Tobacco Sickness (GTS). The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between GTS resulting from dry Thai traditional tobacco production and salivary cotinine levels among Thai traditional tobacco farmers in Nan Province, Thailand. A prospective cohort study was conducted with 20 tobacco farmers and 20 non-tobacco farmers in Praputtabath Sub-District and Phatow Sub-District. The participants were randomly selected and interviewed using in person questionnaires with bi-weekly follow-up for 14 weeks. During each contact, the cotinine concentration was measured by NicAlert(TM) Saliva strip tests (NCTS). Descriptive statistics and Spearman's correlation (Spearman's rho) was used to examine the relationship between the variables at both 0.01 and 0.05 significant probability levels. This study indicated that GTS from dry tobacco production has the potential to be considered a common occupational disease. This study demonstrated the usefulness of salivary cotinine level measurements by NCTS. The levels were well correlated with farmers who were employed in the dry Thai tobacco production industry. Salivary cotinine levels were also significantly correlated with the prevalence of GTS in the group of tobacco farmers at any given time within a crop season. However, the production process of dry Thai traditional tobacco is different from that evaluated in our previous studies where GTS and salivary cotinine level were correlated in workers working in humid conditions. The long-term effects of such exposure

Smoke Rings: Towards a Comprehensive Tobacco Free Policy for the Olympic Games.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kelley; Fooks, Gary; Wander, Nathaniel; Fang, Jennifer

2015-01-01

The tobacco industry has long sought affiliation with major sporting events, including the Olympic Games, for marketing, advertising and promotion purposes. Since 1988, each Olympic Games has adopted a tobacco-free policy. Limited study of the effectiveness of the smoke-free policy has been undertaken to date, with none examining the tobacco industry's involvement with the Olympics or use of the Olympic brand. A comparison of the contents of Olympic tobacco-free policies from 1988 to 2014 was carried out by searching the websites of the IOC and host NOCs. The specific tobacco control measures adopted for each Games were compiled and compared with measures recommended by the WHO Tobacco Free Sports Initiative and Article 13 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). This was supported by semi-structured interviews of key informants involved with the adoption of tobacco-free policies for selected games. To understand the industry's interests in the Olympics, the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) was systematically searched between June 2013 and August 2014. Company websites, secondary sources and media reports were also searched to triangulate the above data sources. This paper finds that, while most direct associations between tobacco and the Olympics have been prohibited since 1988, a variety of indirect associations undermine the Olympic tobacco-free policy. This is due to variation in the scope of tobacco-free policies, limited jurisdiction and continued efforts by the industry to be associated with Olympic ideals. The paper concludes that, compatible with the IOC's commitment to promoting healthy lifestyles, a comprehensive tobacco-free policy with standardized and binding measures should be adopted by the International Olympic Committee and all national Olympic committees.

Tobacco and health in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Rao, V; Chaturvedi, P

2010-07-01

Tobacco is a well-acknowledged social and health evil. The history of tobacco use traces back to the dawn of human civilization and has been deeply entrenched into the human society since time immemorial. The social, economic, and health impact of tobacco has been a subject of intense debate over the recent decades. For India, this problem has been a unique one, with the consumption patterns either largely influenced by the socioeconomic backgrounds or dictated by the cultural diversity. With more than 200 million tobacco consumers in the country at present, it becomes imperative to address this health hazard and stir up strong measures toward damage control. This article addresses the tobacco problem, its evolution, and the factors that have affected the growth of Indian tobacco industry. It also highlights the current legislative measures against tobacco, fiscal gains to the government, and the serious health and economic impact to the consumer, compounded by the increasing cost of private health care in the present era of consumerism.

New Zealand tobacco retailers' attitudes to selling tobacco, point-of-sale display bans and other tobacco control measures: a qualitative analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaine, Richard; Russell, Marie; Edwards, Richard; Thomson, George

2014-06-20

We aimed to explore New Zealand tobacco retailers' views on selling tobacco, the forthcoming 2012 point of sale display ban and two other potential tobacco control interventions in the retail setting: compulsory sales of nicotine replacement therapy and licensing of tobacco retailers. We carried out in-depth interviews with 18 retailers from a variety of store types where tobacco was sold. Stores were selected from a range of locations with varying levels of deprivation. We used thematic analysis to analyse the data. All but four of the retailers were ambivalent about selling tobacco, would rather not sell it, or fell back on a business imperative for justification. Only one retailer was explicitly unconcerned about selling tobacco products. Most participants had few or no concerns about the removal of point-of-sale displays. Issues which were raised were mainly practical and logistical issues with the removal of displays. Only three thought sales would definitely be reduced. The majority of the retailers were not opposed to a possible requirement that nicotine replacement therapy products be made available wherever tobacco products are sold. Ten supported a licensing or registration scheme for tobacco retailers, and only three were opposed. We found widespread ambivalence about selling tobacco. There was considerable support for the licensing of tobacco retailers and other potential tobacco control measures. The retailers' attitudes about potential financial costs and security issues from a tobacco display ban were at odds with the tobacco industry predictions and the views of retailers' organisations. Some retailers appear to be potential allies for tobacco control. This is in contrast to retailer organisations, which may be out of step with many of their members in their strong opposition to retail tobacco control interventions.

Tobacco industry's elaborate attempts to control a global track and trace system and fundamentally undermine the Illicit Trade Protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilmore, Anna B; Gallagher, Allen W A; Rowell, Andy

2018-06-13

The Illicit Trade Protocol (ITP) requires a global track and trace (T&T) system to reduce tobacco smuggling. Given the tobacco industry's (TI) historical involvement in tobacco smuggling, it stipulates that T&T 'shall not be performed by or delegated to the tobacco industry'. This paper explores the rationale for & nature of the TI's effors to influence the ITP & its T&T system. Analysis of leaked TI documents and publicly available data; ,investigation of front groups, trademark and patent ownership. Growing & diverse sources of evidence indicate that the TI remains involved in tobacco smuggling and that TI cigarettes account for around two-thirds of the illicit cigarette market. The TI therefore has a vested interest in controlling the global T&T system aimed to curtail this behaviour. To this end, Philip Morris International (PMI) adapted its pack marker system, Codentify, to meet T&T requirements, licensed it for free to its three major competitors who then collectively promoted it to governments using front groups and third parties including companies claiming to be independent despite clear TI links. PMI also sought to suggest Codentify was independent by selling some parts of its intellectual property on Codentify while retaining others, leaving a complex web of shared interests. In Africa, British American Tobacco used payments to obtain data suggesting its smaller competitor companies were evading taxes and secure influence with tax authorities. Regulatory capture has been enhanced by a public relations effort involving TI funding for conferences, training, research, and international police and anti-corruption organisations. Collectively this has created public messaging and a powerful network of organisations supportive of the TI's misleading postion on illicit. Governments should assume the TI seeks to control T&T systems in order to avoid scrutiny and minimise excise tax payments and that any T&T system based on Codentify, on intellectual property

[Evaluation of Wits appraisal with superimposition method].

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, T; Ahn, J; Baumrind, S

1999-07-01

To compare the conventional Wits appraisal with superimposed Wits appraisal in evaluation of sagittal jaw relationship change between pre and post orthodontic treatment. The sample consists of 48-case pre and post treatment lateral head films. Computerized digitizing is used to get the cephalometric landmarks and measure conventional Wits value, superimposed Wits value and ANB angle. The correlation analysis among these three measures was done by SAS statistical package. The change of ANB angle has higher correlation with the change of superimposed Wits than that of the conventional Wits. The r-value is as high as 0.849 (P < 0.001). The superimposed Wits appraisal reflects the change of sagittal jaw relationship more objectively than the conventional one.

Pilot Mentorship Program for Tobacco Control Researchers | IDRC ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

). Point-of-sale advertising refers to the display of promotional materials where tobacco products are sold. View moreTobacco Industry Marketing Practices at Point-of-Sale (Argentina and Guatemala) ...

Should tobacco and alcohol companies be allowed to influence Australia's National Drug Strategy?

Science.gov (United States)

Freeman, Becky; MacKenzie, Ross; Daube, Mike

2017-04-27

Formation of Australia's National Drug Strategy (NDS) included an extensive consultation process that was open not only to community and public health stakeholders, but also to representatives of the tobacco and alcohol industries. Australia is bound by the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which requires governments to protect tobacco control measures from interference by the tobacco industry. NDS consultation submissions made by these conflicted industries are not publicly available for scrutiny. The NDS goals are at odds with the commercial agenda of industries that support regulatory stagnation, oppose and undermine effective action, ignore and distort evidence, and prioritise profits over health.

Prevalence and correlates of tobacco use among school-going adolescents in Madagascar

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sreenivas P. Veeranki

2015-09-01

Approximately 19% (30.7% males; 10.2% females of adolescents currently smoke cigarettes, and 7% (8.5% males and 5.8% females currently use non-cigarette tobacco products. Regardless of sex, peer smoking behavior was significantly associated with increased tobacco use among adolescents. In addition, exposures to tobacco industry promotions, secondhand smoke (SHS and anti-smoking media messages were associated with tobacco use. The strong gender gap in the use of non-cigarette tobacco products, and the role of peer smoking and industry promotions in adolescent females’ tobacco use should be of major advocacy and policy concern. A comprehensive tobacco control program integrating parental and peer education, creating social norms, and ban on promotions is necessary to reduce adolescents’ tobacco use.

Signed, sealed and delivered: "big tobacco" in Hollywood, 1927-1951.

Science.gov (United States)

Lum, K L; Polansky, J R; Jackler, R K; Glantz, S A

2008-10-01

Smoking in movies is associated with adolescent and young adult smoking initiation. Public health efforts to eliminate smoking from films accessible to youth have been countered by defenders of the status quo, who associate tobacco imagery in "classic" movies with artistry and nostalgia. The present work explores the mutually beneficial commercial collaborations between the tobacco companies and major motion picture studios from the late 1920s through the 1940s. Cigarette endorsement contracts with Hollywood stars and movie studios were obtained from internal tobacco industry documents at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Legacy Tobacco Documents Library and the Jackler advertising collection at Stanford. Cigarette advertising campaigns that included Hollywood endorsements appeared from 1927 to 1951, with major activity in 1931-2 and 1937-8 for American Tobacco Company's Lucky Strike, and in the late 1940s for Liggett & Myers' Chesterfield. Endorsement contracts and communication between American Tobacco and movie stars and studios explicitly reveal the cross-promotional value of the campaigns. American Tobacco paid movie stars who endorsed Lucky Strike cigarettes US$218,750 in 1937-8 (equivalent to US$3.2 million in 2008) for their testimonials. Hollywood endorsements in cigarette advertising afforded motion picture studios nationwide publicity supported by the tobacco industry's multimillion US dollar advertising budgets. Cross-promotion was the incentive that led to a synergistic relationship between the US tobacco and motion picture industries, whose artefacts, including "classic" films with smoking and glamorous publicity images with cigarettes, continue to perpetuate public tolerance of onscreen smoking. Market-based disincentives within the film industry may be a solution to decouple the historical association between Hollywood films and cigarettes.

Waste inspection tomography (WIT)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bernardi, R.T. [Bio-Imaging Research, Inc., Lincolnshire, IL (United States)

1995-10-01

Waste Inspection Tomography (WIT) provides mobile semi-trailer mounted nondestructive examination (NDE) and assay (NDA) for nuclear waste drum characterization. WIT uses various computed tomography (CT) methods for both NDE and NDA of nuclear waste drums. Low level waste (LLW), transuranic (TRU), and mixed radioactive waste can be inspected and characterized without opening the drums. With externally transmitted x-ray NDE techniques, WIT has the ability to identify high density waste materials like heavy metals, define drum contents in two- and three-dimensional space, quantify free liquid volumes through density and x-ray attenuation coefficient discrimination, and measure drum wall thickness. With waste emitting gamma-ray NDA techniques, WIT can locate gamma emitting radioactive sources in two- and three-dimensional space, identify gamma emitting, isotopic species, identify the external activity levels of emitting gamma-ray sources, correct for waste matrix attenuation, provide internal activity approximations, and provide the data needed for waste classification as LLW or TRU.

Waste inspection tomography (WIT)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernardi, R.T.

1995-01-01

Waste Inspection Tomography (WIT) provides mobile semi-trailer mounted nondestructive examination (NDE) and assay (NDA) for nuclear waste drum characterization. WIT uses various computed tomography (CT) methods for both NDE and NDA of nuclear waste drums. Low level waste (LLW), transuranic (TRU), and mixed radioactive waste can be inspected and characterized without opening the drums. With externally transmitted x-ray NDE techniques, WIT has the ability to identify high density waste materials like heavy metals, define drum contents in two- and three-dimensional space, quantify free liquid volumes through density and x-ray attenuation coefficient discrimination, and measure drum wall thickness. With waste emitting gamma-ray NDA techniques, WIT can locate gamma emitting radioactive sources in two- and three-dimensional space, identify gamma emitting, isotopic species, identify the external activity levels of emitting gamma-ray sources, correct for waste matrix attenuation, provide internal activity approximations, and provide the data needed for waste classification as LLW or TRU

Global health governance and the commercial sector: a documentary analysis of tobacco company strategies to influence the WHO framework convention on tobacco control.

Science.gov (United States)

Weishaar, Heide; Collin, Jeff; Smith, Katherine; Grüning, Thilo; Mandal, Sema; Gilmore, Anna

2012-01-01

In successfully negotiating the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the World Health Organization (WHO) has led a significant innovation in global health governance, helping to transform international tobacco control. This article provides the first comprehensive review of the diverse campaign initiated by transnational tobacco corporations (TTCs) to try to undermine the proposed convention. The article is primarily based on an analysis of internal tobacco industry documents made public through litigation, triangulated with data from official documentation relating to the FCTC process and websites of relevant organisations. It is also informed by a comprehensive review of previous studies concerning tobacco industry efforts to influence the FCTC. The findings demonstrate that the industry's strategic response to the proposed WHO convention was two-fold. First, arguments and frames were developed to challenge the FCTC, including: claiming there would be damaging economic consequences; depicting tobacco control as an agenda promoted by high-income countries; alleging the treaty conflicted with trade agreements, "good governance," and national sovereignty; questioning WHO's mandate; claiming the FCTC would set a precedent for issues beyond tobacco; and presenting corporate social responsibility (CSR) as an alternative. Second, multiple tactics were employed to promote and increase the impact of these arguments, including: directly targeting FCTC delegations and relevant political actors, enlisting diverse allies (e.g., mass media outlets and scientists), and using stakeholder consultation to delay decisions and secure industry participation. TTCs' efforts to undermine the FCTC were comprehensive, demonstrating the global application of tactics that TTCs have previously been found to have employed nationally and further included arguments against the FCTC as a key initiative in global health governance. Awareness of these strategies can help guard against

Global health governance and the commercial sector: a documentary analysis of tobacco company strategies to influence the WHO framework convention on tobacco control.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heide Weishaar

Full Text Available In successfully negotiating the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC, the World Health Organization (WHO has led a significant innovation in global health governance, helping to transform international tobacco control. This article provides the first comprehensive review of the diverse campaign initiated by transnational tobacco corporations (TTCs to try to undermine the proposed convention.The article is primarily based on an analysis of internal tobacco industry documents made public through litigation, triangulated with data from official documentation relating to the FCTC process and websites of relevant organisations. It is also informed by a comprehensive review of previous studies concerning tobacco industry efforts to influence the FCTC. The findings demonstrate that the industry's strategic response to the proposed WHO convention was two-fold. First, arguments and frames were developed to challenge the FCTC, including: claiming there would be damaging economic consequences; depicting tobacco control as an agenda promoted by high-income countries; alleging the treaty conflicted with trade agreements, "good governance," and national sovereignty; questioning WHO's mandate; claiming the FCTC would set a precedent for issues beyond tobacco; and presenting corporate social responsibility (CSR as an alternative. Second, multiple tactics were employed to promote and increase the impact of these arguments, including: directly targeting FCTC delegations and relevant political actors, enlisting diverse allies (e.g., mass media outlets and scientists, and using stakeholder consultation to delay decisions and secure industry participation.TTCs' efforts to undermine the FCTC were comprehensive, demonstrating the global application of tactics that TTCs have previously been found to have employed nationally and further included arguments against the FCTC as a key initiative in global health governance. Awareness of these strategies can help

Tobacco point-of-sale displays in England: a snapshot survey of current practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Rooke, Catriona; Cheeseman, Hazel; Dockrell, Martin; Millward, Deborah; Sandford, Amanda

2010-08-01

Tobacco displays at the point of sale (PoS) are an important means for the tobacco industry to communicate with consumers. With regulations prohibiting PoS displays recently having come into force in Ireland, passed into law in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and some Australian states, and being considered in New Zealand, Finland and Brazil, this is an increasingly important issue. This study explores the nature of displays, the extent to which they are tobacco industry funded, and the relation between the tobacco companies and retailers. Three areas were chosen to gain a snapshot of PoS displays in England. Over 100 retailers were visited, with interviews taking place on site. Information was gathered on the type and size of tobacco display, who was paying for the display, requirements and incentives, and visits by industry representatives. The majority of retailers had gantries provided by tobacco companies. A minority of these were fitted with automated dispensers called retail vending machines. Attractive lighting and colour were often used to highlight particular products. Most retailers were being visited by industry representatives who checked displays. Some retailers also reported incentives offered to them for displaying products. The results suggest that the tobacco industry presence and control in the retail environment is significant. Tobacco companies overwhelmingly provided tobacco gantries in the shops surveyed and influenced displays through a combination of requirements and incentives. The extensive involvement of tobacco companies in providing and monitoring retail displays suggests the importance of implementing policies to end this form of advertising.

Analysis of the tobacco industry’s interference in the enforcement of health warnings on tobacco products in Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristina de Abreu Perez

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract: This article aims to analyze the relationship between the Brazilian government’s adoption of a regulatory measure with a strong impact on the population and the opposition by invested interest groups. The methodology involves the analysis of official documents on the enforcement of health warnings on tobacco products sold in Brazil. In parallel, a search was conducted for publicly available tobacco industry documents resulting from lawsuits, with the aim of identifying the industry’s reactions to this process. The findings suggest that various government acts were affected by direct interference from the tobacco industry. In some cases the interventions were explicit and in others they were indirect or difficult to identify. In light of the study’s theoretical framework, the article provides original information on the Brazilian process that can be useful for government policymakers in the strategic identification of tobacco control policies.

The organizational implications of smokeless tobacco use in the lumber mill industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Donaldson, S I; Dent, C W; Sussman, S; Stoddard, J L; Severson, H H

1996-01-01

Although much is known about the characteristics of employees who smoke cigarettes, very little is known about workers who use smokeless tobacco. The current study was designed to understand the characteristics of smokeless tobacco users in relation to their performance at work and compare them with smokers and former tobacco users. Data were collected via interviews and questionnaires from a random sample of employees working at Pacific Lumber Company (N = 146), the largest single-site lumber mill in California. A total of 63 smokeless tobacco users (21 of whom also smoked cigarettes), 43 cigarette smokers, and 40 employees who had successfully quit using tobacco (34 of whom previously used cigarettes only) provided information about their health behavior, quality of work life, and performance at work. Analyses revealed that smokeless tobacco users reported less healthful sleep patterns, drank alcohol more often, were intoxicated more often, reported less job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and reported that both chewers and smokers do not work as hard and take more breaks than do tobacco-free employees (quitters). Specific differences among chewers-only, smokers-only, smokers-and-chewers, and quitters are presented. Results suggest the organizational value of developing worksite cessation programs for smokeless tobacco users.

Tracking investments by financial institutions in tobacco companies (2007-2016 - what tobacco control advocates need to know and do about it?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pranay Lal

2018-03-01

Definition of socially responsible investments within the perspective of screening tobacco investments is perceived variably by financial institutions. Also in the absence of a watchdog institution and few disincentives for truant behaviour, investors continue to invest tobacco companies. Tobacco control advocates need to monitor investments made by large lending banks and financial institutions in tobacco industry and ensure that banks which have committed to SRI codes conform to them.

British American Tobacco's failure in Turkey.

Science.gov (United States)

Lawrence, S

2009-02-01

Transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) considered Turkey an important, potential investment market because of its high consumption rates and domestic commitment to tobacco. This paper outlines how British American Tobacco (BAT) attempted to establish a joint venture with the government monopoly TEKEL, while waiting for privatisation and a private tender. Analysis of tobacco industry documents from the Guildford Depository and online tobacco document sources. BAT failed to establish a market share in Turkey until 2000 despite repeated attempts to form a joint venture with Turkey's tobacco monopoly, TEKEL, once the market liberalised in the mid 1980s. BAT's failure in the Turkish market was due to a misguided investment strategy focused solely on acquiring TEKEL and is contrasted with Philip Morris success in Turkey despite both TTCs working within Turkey's unstable and corrupt investing climate.

The cigarette manufacturers' efforts to promote tobacco to the U.S. military.

Science.gov (United States)

Joseph, Anne M; Muggli, Monique; Pearson, Kathryn C; Lando, Harry

2005-10-01

This article describes findings from review of tobacco industry documents regarding promotion of tobacco to the military, and efforts to influence Department of Defense policies regarding the use and sale of tobacco products. The documents reveal that the industry has targeted the military for decades for reasons including: (1) the volume of worldwide military personnel; (2) the opportunity to attract young men who fit a specific socioeconomic and cultural profile; (3) potential carryover of profits to civilian markets; and (4) the unusual price structure of commissaries and exchanges. The industry used distinctive promotion methods such as in-store merchandising, sponsorships, and even brand development to target the military, both in the United States and abroad during times of conflict. Legislative activity to protect tobacco promotion to this vulnerable population was carried out in response to smoking policy changes proposed by the Department of Defense. The tobacco industry has contributed to the high prevalence of smoking in the military and among veterans.

Adult Smokers' Responses to “Corrective Statements” Regarding Tobacco Industry Deception

Science.gov (United States)

Kollath-Cattano, Christy L.; Abad-Vivero, Erika N.; Thrasher, James F.; Bansal-Travers, Maansi; O'Connor, Richard J.; Krugman, Dean M.; Berg, Carla J.; Hardin, James W.

2014-01-01

Background To inform consumers, U.S. Federal Courts have ordered the tobacco industry to disseminate “corrective statements” (CSs) about their deception regarding five topics: smoker health effects, nonsmoker health effects, cigarette addictiveness, design of cigarettes to increase addiction, and relative safety of light cigarettes. Purpose To determine how smokers from diverse backgrounds respond to the final, court-mandated wording of these CSs. Methods Data were analyzed from an online consumer panel of 1,404 adult smokers who evaluated one of five CS topics (n=280–281) by reporting novelty, relevance, anger at the industry, and motivation to quit because of the CS. Logistic and linear regression models assessed main and interactive effects of race/ethnicity, gender, education, and CS topic on these responses. Data were collected in January 2013 and analyzed in March 2013. Results Thirty percent to 54% of participants reported that each CS provided novel information, and novelty was associated with greater relevance, anger at the industry, and motivation to quit because of the message. African Americans and Latinos were more likely than non-Hispanic whites to report that CSs were novel, and they had stronger responses to CSs across all indicators. Compared to men, women reported that CSs were more relevant and motivated them to quit. Conclusions This study suggests that smokers would value and respond to CSs, particularly smokers from groups that suffer from tobacco–related health disparities. PMID:24746372

Not so sweet refrain: sugar-sweetened beverage taxes, industry opposition and harnessing the lessons learned from tobacco control legal challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

George, Anita

2018-05-21

As a growing number of countries implement, or announce plans to introduce, a sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax, this paper explores the public health rationale for such a tax and provides an overview of the international normative and policy instruments supporting the introduction of fiscal measures on sugary drinks. After examining parallels between the legal arguments raised by the food and beverage industry in opposition to SSB taxes and those raised by the tobacco industry in response to tobacco control measures, this paper draws four key lessons that will assist countries to design effective and robust SSB tax measures and counter food and beverage industry opposition: regulatory distinctions in tax coverage should be based on bona fide, evidence-based reasoning; evidence-based measures need to be tailored to a country's public health objectives as part of a comprehensive strategy to address unhealthy diet consumption; procedural requirements and due process should be observed in the drafting and implementation of the measure; and regulatory space exists within domestic constitutions, laws and international trade and investment agreements recognising the sovereign right of states to regulate in the interests of public health.

41 CFR 105-70.033 - Witnesses.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Witnesses. 105-70.033 Section 105-70.033 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Property Management Regulations System... may proceed by leading questions only if the witness is a hostile witness, an adverse party, or a...

PROTECTION OF THREATENED WITNESSES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nadia Claudia CANTEMIR-STOICA

2016-05-01

Full Text Available First, I wish to make a presentation of historically institution and subsequently parallels between past and current regulators to expose whether the legislature has reached desire - namely ensuring effective protection of witnesses threatened and vulnerable. Also, I decided to analyze the topic from the perspective of the criminal procedural provisions of Law 682/2002 and witness protection, which are republished to expose the conditions and criteria by which to ensure this status. I also want to present besides theoretical and practical ways in which the National Office for Witness Protection gives effective legal provisions. Not least, I will bring criticism of current regulation and not by law ferenda proposals.

Should tobacco and alcohol companies be allowed to influence Australia’s National Drug Strategy?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Becky Freeman

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Formation of Australia’s National Drug Strategy (NDS included an extensive consultation process that was open not only to community and public health stakeholders, but also to representatives of the tobacco and alcohol industries. Australia is bound by the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which requires governments to protect tobacco control measures from interference by the tobacco industry. NDS consultation submissions made by these conflicted industries are not publicly available for scrutiny. The NDS goals are at odds with the commercial agenda of industries that support regulatory stagnation, oppose and undermine effective action, ignore and distort evidence, and prioritise profits over health.

The role of sensory perception in the development and targeting of tobacco products.

Science.gov (United States)

Carpenter, Carrie M; Wayne, Geoffrey Ferris; Connolly, Gregory N

2007-01-01

To examine tobacco industry research on smoking-related sensory effects, including differences in sensory perception across smoker groups, and to determine whether this research informed targeted product development and impacted the development of commercial tobacco products. We searched previously secret internal tobacco industry documents available online through document databases housed at Tobacco Documents Online, the British American Tobacco Document Archive and the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library. We identified relevant documents using a snowball sampling method to first search the databases using an initial set of key words and to then establish further search terms. Sensory research is a priority within the tobacco industry directly impacting commercial markets both in the United States and internationally. Sensory factors contribute to smoker satisfaction and product acceptance, and play an important role in controlling puffing behavior. Cigarette manufacturers have capitalized on distinct sensory preferences across gender, age and ethnic groups by tailoring products for specific populations. Regulation of tobacco products is needed to address product changes that are used to reinforce or contribute to tobacco dependence; for instance, the incorporation of additives that target attributes such as smoothness, harshness and aftertaste. Greater understanding of the role of sensory effects on smoking behavior may also help to inform the development of tobacco treatment options that support long-term tobacco abstinence.

47 CFR 1.339 - Witness fees.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Witness fees. 1.339 Section 1.339....339 Witness fees. Witnesses who are subpenaed and respond thereto are entitled to the same fees, including mileage, as are paid for like service in the courts of the United States. Fees shall be paid by...

"If you know you exist, it's just marketing poison": meanings of tobacco industry targeting in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Elizabeth A; Thomson, Katherine; Offen, Naphtali; Malone, Ruth E

2008-06-01

In the public health literature, it is generally assumed that the perception of "targeting" as positive or negative by the targeted audience depends on the product or message being promoted. Smoking prevalence rates are high among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals, but little is known about how they perceive tobacco industry targeting. We conducted focus groups with LGBT individuals in 4 US cities to explore their perceptions. Our findings indicated that focus group participants often responded positively to tobacco company targeting. Targeting connoted community visibility, legitimacy, and economic viability. Participants did not view tobacco as a gay health issue. Targeting is a key aspect of corporate-community interaction. A better understanding of targeting may aid public health efforts to counter corporate disease promotion.

Enacting tobacco taxes by direct popular vote in the United States: lessons from 20 years of experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Lum, K L; Barnes, R L; Glantz, S A

2009-10-01

Tobacco tax increases reduce tobacco use, can provide funds for tobacco prevention and enjoy broad public support. Because of tobacco industry influence in legislatures, US public health advocates have shifted the venue for tobacco tax policymaking to direct popular vote 22 times since 1988. We combined case studies of individual state campaigns with tobacco industry documents to identify strategies related to outcome. The tobacco industry developed a voter segmentation model to determine which tobacco tax increases it could defeat. Two industry arguments arising from this model often were raised in losing campaigns-the tax increase did not dedicate enough to tobacco control and hospitals and health maintenance organisations would profit. The industry effectively influenced early voters. Success was associated with building a strong base of public support before the campaign, dedicating sufficient funds to tobacco control, avoiding proposals largely devoted to financing hospitals and other medical service providers, effectively engaging grassroots and framing the campaign with clear justifications for cigarette tax increases. Tobacco tax ballot measures commonly allocated substantial funds to medical services; tobacco companies are becoming more successful in making this use of funds an issue. Proponents' campaigns should be timed to account for the trend to voting well before election day. Ballot measures to increase tobacco taxes with a substantial fraction of the money devoted to tobacco control activities will probably fare better than ones that give priority to funding medical services.

Waterpipe industry products and marketing strategies: analysis of an industry trade exhibition.

Science.gov (United States)

Jawad, Mohammed; Nakkash, Rima T; Hawkins, Ben; Akl, Elie A

2015-12-01

Understanding product development and marketing strategies of transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) has been of vital importance in developing an effective tobacco control policy. However, comparatively little is known of the waterpipe tobacco industry, which TTCs have recently entered. This study aimed to gain an understanding of waterpipe tobacco products and marketing strategies by visiting a waterpipe trade exhibition. In April 2014, the first author attended an international waterpipe trade exhibition, recording descriptions of products and collecting all available marketing items. We described the purpose and function of all products, and performed a thematic analysis of messages in marketing material. We classified waterpipe products into four categories and noted product variation within categories. Electronic waterpipe products (which mimic electronic cigarettes) rarely appeared on waterpipe tobacco marketing material, but were displayed just as widely. Claims of reduced harm, safety and quality were paramount on marketing materials, regardless of whether they were promoting consumption products (tobacco, tobacco substitutes), electronic waterpipes or accessories. Waterpipe products are diverse in nature and are marketed as healthy and safe products. Furthermore, the development of electronic waterpipe products appears to be closely connected with the electronic cigarette industry, rather than the waterpipe tobacco manufacturers. Tobacco control policy must evolve to take account of the vast and expanding array of waterpipe products, and potentially also charcoal products developed for waterpipe smokers. We recommend that tobacco substitutes be classified as tobacco products. Continued surveillance of the waterpipe industry is warranted. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

ETHIOPIAN WITNESS PROTECTION SYSTEM: COMPARATIVE ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

witness protection involves social cohesion of the protected person. Scholars ..... interests' need to balance an accused right to know and confront prosecution ..... was reduced to 2.5 years through the fast tracking of witness protection cases.

Tobacco Use Among Working Adults - United States, 2014-2016.

Science.gov (United States)

Syamlal, Girija; King, Brian A; Mazurek, Jacek M

2017-10-27

Cigarette smoking has declined considerably among U.S. adults over several decades (1); however, increases have occurred in the use of noncigarette tobacco products in recent years, and the use of multiple tobacco products has become common among current users of noncigarette tobacco products (2,3). Differences in tobacco use have also been observed across population subgroups, including among working adults (2,4). CDC analyzed National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data for 2014-2016 to describe the most recent prevalence estimates of current (every day or some days) tobacco product use among working U.S. adults by industry and occupation. Among working adults, 22.1% (32.7 million) currently used any form of tobacco; 15.4% used cigarettes, 5.8% used other combustible tobacco (cigars, pipes, water pipes or hookahs, very small cigars, and bidis), 3.0% used smokeless tobacco, and 3.6% used electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes); 4.6% (6.9 million) reported current use of two or more tobacco products. By industry, any tobacco use ranged from 11.0% among education services to 34.3% among construction workers; current use of two or more tobacco products was highest among construction workers (7.1%). By occupation, any tobacco use ranged from 9.3% among life, physical, and social science workers to 37.2% among installation, maintenance, and repair workers; current use of two or more tobacco products was highest among installation, maintenance, and repair workers (10.1%). Proven interventions to prevent and reduce tobacco product use, including current use of multiple products, among working adults are important (5,6). Workplace tobacco-control interventions have been especially effective in reducing cigarette smoking prevalence (7).

Policy coherence, integration, and proportionality in tobacco control: Should tobacco sales be limited to government outlets?

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Elizabeth A; McDaniel, Patricia A; Hiilamo, Heikki; Malone, Ruth E

2017-08-01

Multiple factors, including marijuana decriminalization/legalization, tobacco endgame discourse, and alcohol industry pressures, suggest that the retail regulatory environment for psychoactive or addictive substances is a dynamic one in which new options may be considered. In most countries, the regulation of tobacco, marijuana, and alcohol is neither coherent, nor integrated, nor proportional to the potential harms caused by these substances. We review the possible consequences of restricting tobacco sales to outlets run by government-operated alcohol retail monopolies, as well as the likely obstacles to such a policy. Such a move would allow governments more options for regulating tobacco sales, and increase coherence, integration, and proportionality of substance regulation. It might also serve as an incremental step toward an endgame goal of eliminating sales of commercial combustible tobacco.

From Tobacco to Food Production : Consolidation, Dissemination ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

An earlier IDRC-supported project, 103435 From Tobacco to Food Production : Constraints and Transition Strategies (Bangladesh), provided a detailed understanding of the constraints tobacco farmers face and ... How are public health actors working with the food and drinks industry to prevent diet-related disease? A new ...

Improving the delivery of global tobacco control.

Science.gov (United States)

Bitton, Asaf; Green, Carol; Colbert, James

2011-01-01

Tobacco control must remain a critical global health priority given the growing burden of tobacco-induced disease in the developing world. Insights from the emerging field of global health delivery suggest that tobacco control could be improved through a systematic, granular analysis of the processes through which it is promoted, implemented, and combated. Using this framework, a critical bottleneck to the delivery of proven health promotion emerges in the role that the tobacco industry plays in promoting tobacco use and blocking effective tobacco-control policies. This "corporate bottleneck" can also be understood as a root cause of massive disease and suffering upon vulnerable populations worldwide, for the goal of maximizing corporate profit. Naming, understanding, and responding to this corporate bottleneck is crucial to the success of tobacco-control policies. Three case studies of tobacco-control policy--South Africa, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and Uruguay--are presented to explore and understand the implications of this analysis. © 2011 Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

Tobacco product prices before and after a statewide tobacco tax increase.

Science.gov (United States)

Brock, Betsy; Choi, Kelvin; Boyle, Raymond G; Moilanen, Molly; Schillo, Barbara A

2016-03-01

In 2013, the State of Minnesota Legislature passed a tobacco tax increase that increased the combined cigarette excise and sales tax by US$1.75 (from US$1.60 to US$3.35) and increased the tax on non-cigarette tobacco products from 70% to 95% of the wholesale price. The current study explores the change in tobacco prices in retail locations and whether the tax increase was fully passed to consumers. An observational study of tobacco retail prices was performed in a sample of 61 convenience stores in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Six rounds of data were collected between May 2013 and January 2014. In each round, purchases were made at the same stores for the same four tobacco products (Camel Blue cigarettes, Marlboro Gold cigarettes, Grizzly Wintergreen moist smokeless tobacco and Copenhagen Wintergreen moist smokeless tobacco). For all studied tobacco products, prices in Minnesota increased significantly after the tax increase (Round 1-Round 6). After controlling for price changes in neighbouring states, the average price difference in Minnesota for the two cigarette brands increased by US$1.89 and US$1.81, which are both more than the US$1.75 tax increase. For moist smokeless, the average price difference increased by US$0.90 and US$0.94. Significant price changes were not observed in the comparison states. After the introduction of the minimum moist smokeless tax, a significantly higher proportion of Minnesota stores offered price promotions on smokeless tobacco. A large tobacco tax resulted in an average retail cigarette price exceeding the tax, suggesting the industry over-shifted the cigarette tax increase to consumers in Minnesota. The findings support the known public health benefit of tobacco tax increases while highlighting the need for additional information about how, or if, tobacco companies use price promotions to blunt the impact of tax increases. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not

Witness sample preparation for measuring antireflection coatings.

Science.gov (United States)

Willey, Ronald R

2014-02-01

Measurement of antireflection coating of witness samples from across the worldwide industry has been shown to have excess variability from a sampling taken for the OSA Topical Meeting on Optical Interference Coatings: Measurement Problem. Various sample preparation techniques have been discussed with their limitations, and a preferred technique is recommended with its justification, calibration procedures, and limitations. The common practice of grinding the second side to reduce its reflection is less than satisfactory. One recommended practice is to paint the polished second side, which reduces its reflection to almost zero. A method to evaluate the suitability of given paints is also described.

Holding Government Accountable: Tobacco Policy Making in California, 1995-1997

OpenAIRE

Balbach, Edith D. Ph.D.; Monardi, Fred M. Ph.D.; Fox, Brion J. J.D.; Glantz, Stanton A. Ph.D.

1997-01-01

January 1, 1996 through May 31, 1997 was an active period for tobacco policy making in California. The fight in Spring, 1996, over the allocation of Proposition 99 revenues was more public and aggressive than it had been in the past, an increased level of public scrutiny was brought to bear on the implementation of the media campaign, the state of California’s failure to sue the tobacco industry for recovery of medical costs became a political issue, and the tobacco industry continued to give...

Caring for the Jehovah's Witness Parturient.

Science.gov (United States)

Mason, C LaToya; Tran, Connie K

2015-12-01

Caring for the Jehovah's Witness parturient is a complex task that presents a number of ethical, medical, and legal concerns because many Jehovah's Witnesses refuse allogeneic blood transfusion. Childbirth and its surrounding events may be associated with significant blood loss. Given their significant role in the intraoperative administration of blood products, anesthesia providers should be familiar with factors that must be considered in the perioperative care of Jehovah's Witness parturients. Several pharmacologic therapies, anesthetic techniques, and operative interventions aimed at blood conservation may be useful in the care of such patients. Aside from their refusal of transfusion, each Witness makes a personal decision on the acceptability of derivatives of plasma or cellular blood components and autologous blood management. Therefore, the patient-physician relationship must ensure that the individual patient's desires are accurately communicated, respected, and documented in the patient's medical record. The Perioperative Surgical Home model is appropriate for use in caring for Jehovah's Witness patients because it allows for the early and continuing coordination of care and communication between the patient and a multidisciplinary team. In this article, we present a focused review of concepts important to the provision of anesthetic care of parturients who are Jehovah's Witnesses and introduce an algorithmic perioperative approach that may be applied to the care of the Jehovah's Witness parturient undergoing an operative procedure.

Global Health Governance and the Commercial Sector: A Documentary Analysis of Tobacco Company Strategies to Influence the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Science.gov (United States)

Weishaar, Heide; Collin, Jeff; Smith, Katherine; Grüning, Thilo; Mandal, Sema; Gilmore, Anna

2012-01-01

Background In successfully negotiating the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the World Health Organization (WHO) has led a significant innovation in global health governance, helping to transform international tobacco control. This article provides the first comprehensive review of the diverse campaign initiated by transnational tobacco corporations (TTCs) to try to undermine the proposed convention. Methods and Findings The article is primarily based on an analysis of internal tobacco industry documents made public through litigation, triangulated with data from official documentation relating to the FCTC process and websites of relevant organisations. It is also informed by a comprehensive review of previous studies concerning tobacco industry efforts to influence the FCTC. The findings demonstrate that the industry's strategic response to the proposed WHO convention was two-fold. First, arguments and frames were developed to challenge the FCTC, including: claiming there would be damaging economic consequences; depicting tobacco control as an agenda promoted by high-income countries; alleging the treaty conflicted with trade agreements, “good governance,” and national sovereignty; questioning WHO's mandate; claiming the FCTC would set a precedent for issues beyond tobacco; and presenting corporate social responsibility (CSR) as an alternative. Second, multiple tactics were employed to promote and increase the impact of these arguments, including: directly targeting FCTC delegations and relevant political actors, enlisting diverse allies (e.g., mass media outlets and scientists), and using stakeholder consultation to delay decisions and secure industry participation. Conclusions TTCs' efforts to undermine the FCTC were comprehensive, demonstrating the global application of tactics that TTCs have previously been found to have employed nationally and further included arguments against the FCTC as a key initiative in global health governance

Tobacco Control in Africa

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Manufactured tobacco production in Cameroon (tons) ... Africa has a responsibility to resist the carrot of industrial temptation. ...... parliamentary systems, unitary versus federal designs and the relative development and influence of the judicial ...

Economics of tobacco control research initiative: Operating costs for ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Economics of tobacco control research initiative: Operating costs for capacity building ... (but misinformed) beliefs about the economic benefits of the tobacco industry ... Nutrition, health policy, and ethics in the age of public-private partnerships.

The Tax Burden on Tobacco Volume 51, 1970-2016

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — 1970-2016. Orzechowski and Walker. Tax Burden on Tobacco. Tax burden data was obtained from the annual compendium on tobacco revenue and industry statistics, The Tax...

Current challenges in tobacco control.

Science.gov (United States)

Slama, K

2004-10-01

Tobacco is the world's biggest preventable killer, but the circumstances of its history, the power and influence of its commerce and the nature of addiction make it a very difficult public health issue. Determinants of smoking are both individual and environmental. Genetics and environment influence to varying degrees all of the steps in a smoker's career. Persistence of use, degree of addiction to nicotine and difficulty in stopping are influenced by inherited traits and nicotine susceptibility, whereas the social environment and the individual's cognitions are the key factors in starting smoking and successfully stopping smoking. The tools available to tobacco control include influencing the social and cultural norms concerning tobacco; legislative and regulatory measures to protect the population and to limit tobacco industry marketing tactics, now encapsulated in the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control; and programmes to enhance the chance of not starting and successfully stopping. Strategies for tobacco control must work at both societal and individual levels, and directions are being taken that include genetic, pharmacological, behavioural, socio-cultural and international approaches.

"Working the system"--British American tobacco's influence on the European union treaty and its implications for policy: an analysis of internal tobacco industry documents.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katherine E Smith

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Impact assessment (IA of all major European Union (EU policies is now mandatory. The form of IA used has been criticised for favouring corporate interests by overemphasising economic impacts and failing to adequately assess health impacts. Our study sought to assess how, why, and in what ways corporations, and particularly the tobacco industry, influenced the EU's approach to IA.In order to identify whether industry played a role in promoting this system of IA within the EU, we analysed internal documents from British American Tobacco (BAT that were disclosed following a series of litigation cases in the United States. We combined this analysis with one of related literature and interviews with key informants. Our analysis demonstrates that from 1995 onwards BAT actively worked with other corporate actors to successfully promote a business-oriented form of IA that favoured large corporations. It appears that BAT favoured this form of IA because it could advance the company's European interests by establishing ground rules for policymaking that would: (i provide an economic framework for evaluating all policy decisions, implicitly prioritising costs to businesses; (ii secure early corporate involvement in policy discussions; (iii bestow the corporate sector with a long-term advantage over other actors by increasing policymakers' dependence on information they supplied; and (iv provide businesses with a persuasive means of challenging potential and existing legislation. The data reveal that an ensuing lobbying campaign, largely driven by BAT, helped secure binding changes to the EU Treaty via the Treaty of Amsterdam that required EU policymakers to minimise legislative burdens on businesses. Efforts subsequently focused on ensuring that these Treaty changes were translated into the application of a business orientated form of IA (cost-benefit analysis [CBA] within EU policymaking procedures. Both the tobacco and chemical industries have since

The cigarette pack as image: new evidence from tobacco industry documents.

Science.gov (United States)

Wakefield, M; Morley, C; Horan, J K; Cummings, K M

2002-03-01

To gain an understanding of the role of pack design in tobacco marketing. A search of tobacco company document sites using a list of specified search terms was undertaken during November 2000 to July 2001. Documents show that, especially in the context of tighter restrictions on conventional avenues for tobacco marketing, tobacco companies view cigarette packaging as an integral component of marketing strategy and a vehicle for (a) creating significant in-store presence at the point of purchase, and (b) communicating brand image. Market testing results indicate that such imagery is so strong as to influence smoker's taste ratings of the same cigarettes when packaged differently. Documents also reveal the careful balancing act that companies have employed in using pack design and colour to communicate the impression of lower tar or milder cigarettes, while preserving perceived taste and "satisfaction". Systematic and extensive research is carried out by tobacco companies to ensure that cigarette packaging appeals to selected target groups, including young adults and women. Cigarette pack design is an important communication device for cigarette brands and acts as an advertising medium. Many smokers are misled by pack design into thinking that cigarettes may be "safer". There is a need to consider regulation of cigarette packaging.

Assessment of tobacco control measures and smuggling in Panama

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

This project aims to describe the evolution of the demand for tobacco in Panama from ... informal market may benefit the tobacco industry. The research team also ... public service establishments (such as bars, restaurants, casinos, and hotels).

Leveraging public finance to achieve endgame for tobacco - possible national and global strategies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pranay Lal

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Background Calls for institutional investors to divest (sell off tobacco stocks threaten the industry´s share values, publicise its bad behaviour, and label it as a politically unacceptable ally. The rise of the socially responsible investment movement, increasing litigation against major tobacco companies, and an increasing emphasis on tobacco industry delegitimisation as a tobacco control strategy created a climate within which tobacco divestment was open for serious discussion. Methods This survey enquired from 19 environment (including groups working against GHGs, asbestos and Big Oil, social and development sectors (groups working on IFC exclusion criteria on the role of public finance, and the arguments to support divestment from "sin" or exclusion sectors. Results In general the respondents to this survey presented the the following arguments which support divestment: • Global obligations to the WHO´s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and the other global treaties like the SDG. •\tEthical argument: Governments and their agencies that hold public funds can no longer support tobacco control and tobacco industry. •\tFiscal argument: high costs of national and global litigations make companies, public funded organisations and governments prone to heavy litigation costs and potential costs for damages •\tPublic health argument: Because tobacco industry continue to hold important policy positions, they block and interfere tobacco control efforts. Conclusions To begin a campaign for divestment would require preliminary work by civil society institutions which includes: • Tracking and monitoring institutions and investments • Collaborating with organisations which advocate for ethical or socially responsible investments. • Developing a policy research and advocacy roadmap with stakeholders towards and end date for divestment

20 CFR 258.2 - Witnesses.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Witnesses. 258.2 Section 258.2 Employees' Benefits RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD REGULATIONS UNDER THE RAILROAD RETIREMENT ACT HEARINGS BEFORE THE BOARD... a delegation of authority to such examiner to require and compel the attendance of witnesses and the...

29 CFR 1921.18 - Witnesses and fees.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 7 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Witnesses and fees. 1921.18 Section 1921.18 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR... WORKERS' COMPENSATION ACT Miscellaneous § 1921.18 Witnesses and fees. Witnesses subpoenaed by any party...

32 CFR 724.213 - Attendance of witnesses.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... BOARD Authority/Policy for Departmental Discharge Review § 724.213 Attendance of witnesses. Arrangement for attendance of witnesses testifying in behalf of the applicant at discharge review hearings is the... 32 National Defense 5 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Attendance of witnesses. 724.213 Section 724.213...

Does tobacco marketing undermine the influence of recommended parenting in discouraging adolescents from smoking?

Science.gov (United States)

Pierce, John P; Distefan, Janet M; Jackson, Christine; White, Martha M; Gilpin, Elizabeth A

2002-08-01

The tobacco industry contends that parenting practices, not marketing practices, are critical to youth smoking. Our objective was to examine whether tobacco-industry marketing practices undermine the protective effect of recommended authoritative parenting against adolescent smoking. Receptivity to tobacco advertising and promotions was assessed in 1996 from a representative sample of California adolescent never-smokers aged 12 to 14 years. A follow-up survey of 1641 of these adolescents was conducted in 1999 that included measures of the key components of authoritative parenting: parental responsiveness, monitoring, and limit setting. Smoking initiation in adolescents. Adolescents in families with more-authoritative parents were half as likely to smoke by follow-up as adolescents in families with less-authoritative parents (20% vs 41%, p parents, adolescents who were highly receptive to tobacco-industry advertising and promotions were significantly more likely to smoke (odds ratio=3.52, 95% confidence interval =1.10-11.23), compared to those who were minimally receptive. This effect was not significant in adolescents in families with less-authoritative parents. The overall attributable risk (adjusted for exposure to peer smokers) of smoking from tobacco-industry advertising and promotions was 25%. However, an estimated 40% of adolescent smoking in families with more-authoritative parents was attributable to tobacco-industry advertising and promotions; this was five times the attributable risk seen in families with less-authoritative parents (8%). The promotion of smoking by the tobacco industry appears to undermine the capability of authoritative parenting to prevent adolescents from starting to smoke.

32 CFR 516.54 - Witnesses for the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Witnesses for the United States. 516.54 Section..., Travel, and Expenses of Witnesses § 516.54 Witnesses for the United States. (a) Status of witness. A military member authorized to appear as a witness for the United States, including those authorized to...

A comparison of US and Norwegian regulation of coumarin in tobacco products

Science.gov (United States)

Givel, M

2003-01-01

Objective: This paper examines policy processes regarding why the USA and Norway have not regulated coumarin in tobacco. Design: A qualitative analysis of all tobacco industry documents regarding coumarin since the 1950s from the 1998 US Master Settlement Agreement and subsequent legal settlements. Additional data were collected from newspaper reports, general internet search engines, journal articles, scholarly reports, court cases, statutes, regulations, and informal correspondence with tobacco control experts in Norway. Main outcome measure: An overview, summary, and analysis of all documents related to coumarin. Results: In the USA from 1954 until 1985 when coumarin was reportedly removed from domestic cigarettes, but not from pipe tobacco until 1996, and not at all from imported Indian bidi cigarettes, regulatory efforts were stymied. In Norway, from 1973 to the present, the tobacco industry has never disclosed whether its tobacco products contain coumarin. In both the USA and Norway, the extreme delay and lack of vigorous evidence gathering and significant remedies were caused by tobacco industry assertions that revealing tobacco additives was a violation of trade secrets, and by weak regulatory authority and efforts to regulate coumarin. Conclusion: Vigorous and expeditious regulatory investigations and remedies for harmful additives in tobacco, such as coumarin, can protect the public health. Astute insider and outsider political advocacy by health advocates is required to hold elected officials and civil servants publicly accountable for failing to enact disclosure laws and to engage in effective regulatory efforts. PMID:14660776

Expert Witness

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Adele

formal rules of evidence apply) to help it understand the issues of a case and ... statements on medical expert witness by professional representative bodies in .... determining the size of the financial settlement that may have to be made to the.

12 CFR 512.5 - Rights of witnesses.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... has given. During the taking of the testimony of a witness, such attorney may make summary notes... before, during, and after the taking of his testimony and may briefly question the witness, on the record... permitted to be present during the taking of testimony of any other witness called in such proceeding...

Cigarette company trade secrets are not secret: an analysis of reverse engineering reports in internal tobacco industry documents released as a result of litigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Velicer, Clayton; Lempert, Lauren K; Glantz, Stanton

2015-09-01

Use previously secret tobacco industry documents to assess tobacco companies' routine claims of trade secret protection for information on cigarette ingredients, additives and construction made to regulatory agencies, as well as the companies' refusal to publicly disclose this information. We analysed previously secret tobacco industry documents available at (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) to identify 100 examples of seven major tobacco companies' reverse engineering of their competitors' brands between 1937 and 2001. These reverse engineering reports contain detailed data for 142 different measurements for at least two companies, including physical parameters of the cigarettes, tobacco types, humectants, additives, flavourings, and smoke constituents of competitors' cigarettes. These 100 documents were distributed to 564 employees, including top managers in domestic and foreign offices across multiple departments, including executive leadership, research and design, product development, marketing and legal. These documents reported new competitors' products, measured ingredient changes over time, and informed companies' decisions regarding ingredients in their own products. Because cigarette companies routinely analyse their competitors' cigarettes in great detail, this information is neither secret nor commercially valuable and, thus, does not meet the legal definition of a 'trade secret.' This information is only being kept 'secret' from the people consuming cigarettes and the scientific community. Public agencies should release this detailed information because it would provide valuable information about how ingredients affect addictiveness and toxicity, and would help the public health community and consumers better understand the impact of cigarette design on human health. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

27 CFR 19.608 - Cases of industrial alcohol.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Cases of industrial alcohol. 19.608 Section 19.608 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE... Cases of industrial alcohol. (a) Mandatory marks. Each case, including encased containers, of alcohol...