Tobacco Documents Online

PAGE 1 Rank(R) Database Mode R 1 OF 1 STARTRIB Page REPORT: COUNCIL MANIPULATED MEDIA ON SMOKING'S DANGERS STAR TRIBUNE (MS) - Friday, May 27, 1994 By: Associated Press Edition: Metro Edition Section: NEWS Page: 07A Word Count: 350 TEXT: Washington, D.C. - The Council for Tobacco Research may have funded important independent science, but it also manipulated the media to hide the dangers of smoking. A report released Thursday by the House Energy and Cornmerce Health Subcommittee says the Council for Tobacco Research (CTR) conducted a massive public relations campaign that succeeded in shifting national opinion to disregard early science about the dangers of smoking. The council, funded by the tobacco industry, transformed obscure scientific reports favorable to the industry into headline news, blanketed doctors with industry research and even forced some news reports critical of smokin to be rewritten, the report said. Dr. James Glenn, CTR's current chairman, denied,the allegations in a subcommittee hearing. " We are scientists and we seek scientific truth." Government doctors and smoking opponents long have attacked CTR, and last year the Wall Street Journal labeled it " the longest-running misinformation campaign in U.S. business history." But documents released yesterday -- mostly memos written by executives from the Hill & Knowlton public relations firm hired by the tobacco industry -- add fuel to a government drive to stringently regulate tobacco. That, industry supporters said, was the real reason for the hearing. Tobacco companies formed CTR in 1954, months after the first finding that cigarette tar deposited on the skin of mice caused cancer. A CTR panel awarded research funds to independent scientists around the country. Glenn, who joined CTR in 1988, said he never had seen the memos that reported that nearly half CTR's early budget went to public relations and couldn't comment on them. But he insisted public relations is not a function of CTR today. J He insisted that smoking had not been proven a direct cause of cancer, only a risk factor, and he said CTR never tried..to stop researchers from reporting work contrary to that view. Congressional critics disagreed, accusing the council of stifling research. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said CTR's existence " allows the tobacco companies to say 'we don't know and we're still trying to find out' " whether smoking is dangerous, when the government says it kills 400,000 Americans a year. (C) 1995 STAR TRIBUNE ALL RTS. RESERV. . . VulWRIM •.4.0M .. • ~ C TR HN 04 ~~~~

, Report: Council manipulated media on smoking's dangers Associated Press Washington, D.C. The Council for Tobacco Re- search may have funded impor- tant independent science, but it also manipulated the media to hide the dangers of smoking. A report released Thursday by the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee says the Council for Tobacco Research (CTR) conducted a massive pub- lic relations campaign that suc- ceeded in shifting national opin- ion to disregard early science about the dangers of smoking. The council; funded by the tobac- co industry, transformed obscure scientific reports favorable to the industry into headline news, blan- keted doctors with industry re- search and even forced some news reports critical of smoK'ing to be rewritten, the report said.' Dr. James Glenn, CTR's current chairman, denied the allegations in a subcommittee hearing. "We are scientists and we seek scientif- ic truth." S Government doctors and smoking opponents long have attacked • CTR, and last year the Wall Street Journal labeled it "the longest- running misinformation cam- paign in U.S. business history." Tobacco continued on page I OA Totaacco Continued from page 7A But documents released yesterday - mostly memos written by executives from the Hill & Knowlton public relations firm hired by the tobacco. industry - add fuel to a government drive to stringently regulate tobacco. That, industry supporters said, was the real reason for the hearing. Tobacco companies formed CTR in 1954, months after the first finding that cigarette tar deposited on the skin of mice caused cancer. A CTR panel awarded research funds to in-. dependent scientists around the country. Glenn; who joined CTR in 1988, said he never had seen the memos that reported that nearly half CTR's early budget went to public relations and couldn't comment on them. But he insisted public relations is not a function of CTR today. He insisted that smoking had not ', been proven a direct cause of cancer, only a risk factor, and he said CTR never tried to stop researchers from reporting work contrary to that view. Congressional critics disagreed, ac- cusing the council of stifling iesearch. Rep. Henry Waxman,.D-Calif., said CTR's existence "allows the tobacco companies to say 'we don't know and we're still trying to find out"' wheth- er smoking is dangerous, when the government says it kills 400,000 Americans a year. L S ) a-7 1 Ra h IN y- I - _~, - e.:K,4: r C TR M N 0 4 3 '22.~,5