Anne Landman's Collection
Letter from Ford Motor Company to Philip Morris
Abstract
In 1974 the Ford Motor Company started a voluntary program to determine to what extent education could help company employees modify their lifestyles to reduce their risk of cardiac disease. Naturally, most of the at-risk employees participating in the program were smokers, and part of the program included offering employees counseling to help them quit smoking.
Dr. William Dunn, senior scientist at the Philip Morris tobacco company, found out about Ford's program and generously offered to supply Ford with low-tar and low-nicotine cigarettes at a reduced price for smokers in the program who found it hard or impossible to quit.
In this letter, Ford's cardiac intervention program coordinator writes to Philip Morris to refuse the company's "kind offer," saying:
"As to your offer to supply cigarettes to those in the program who find it hard or impossible to quit at reduced prices with varying levels of tar and nicotine, I believe that you have misunderstood the purpose of the program. The intent is not to provide volunteers with alternative ways of maintaining those habits which elevate ones probably risk of heart disease. Our goal is to extinguish such habits."
Fields
- Quotes
Dr. William Dunn Associate Principal Scientist Philip Morris, U.S.A. Research Center 4201 Commerce Road Richmond, Virginia 23234
Dear Dr. Dunn:
I have reviewed my notes concerning our recent conversation and I am enclosing the material promised.
As to your offer to supply cigarettes to those in the program who find it hard or impossible to quit at reduced prices with varying levels of tar and nicotine, I believe that you have misunderstood the purpose of the program. The intent is not to provide volunteers with alternative ways of maintaining those habits which elevate ones probably risk of heart disease. Our goal is to extinguish such habits.
Being a former two pack-a-day smoker, I know that anybody can quit smoking. I further know that had I not quit entirely, I would still be smoking at the same or a greater rate. Therefore, it is felt that we will have to refuse your kind offer and limit any potential avenue of cooperation to possible periodic examination of anti-smoking data.
Thank you again for your kind concern,
Sincerely yours,
Donald I. Beard, Coordinator Cardiovascular Intervention Program
- Company
- Philip Morris
- Author
- Beard, Donald I. (Ford Motor Co. Cardiovascular Intervention Coordinator)
- Recipient
- Dunn, William L., Jr., Ph.D. (PM Smoker Psychology Principal Scientist 1970s-80s)Principal scientist at PM during the 1970s and 1980s, nicknamed the "Nicotine Kid." Supervised Victor DeNoble, Paul Mele, Carolyn Levy and others. Led "smoker psychology" programs for PM.
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