Anne Landman's Collection
International Committee on Smoking Issues Working Party on Social Acceptability of Smoking 770727 - 770729
Abstract
This 69-page confidential Philip Morris (PM) document resulted from a meeting held by R.J. Reynolds, Imperial, British-American Tobacco, Gallaher and Philip Morris in 1977 to discuss how the global tobacco industry could reverse the declining social acceptability of smoking. Dennis Durden, Vice President of R.J. Reynolds Industries, Inc., in his introductory speech refers to the "health victory" public authorities had achieved in reducing smoking: "They [public health authorities] feel that their health victory is in hand...it is logical that the anti-smoking forces turn to social acceptability as a key issue. However, they could not make this turn if they did not feel that they had their "health victory." The "health victory" had to come first."
Durden alludes to the industry's efforts to reverse medical conclusions on the health effects of smoking, stating that "the health issue is closed, until there has been sufficient additional medical research to reopen the Surgeon General's report." He further acknowledges that opinion surveys show "more and more of the American public tends to agree with the anti-smoking forces."
Subsequent charts in the document show the effects that public health efforts have had on cigarette sales over the years: A chart shows the negative impact that "Anti-smoking Publicity by Doctors, Scientists and Reader's Digest" had on cigarette sales between 1952 and 1954 (page -5042). Another chart shows a decrease in cigarette sales after the 1964 Surgeon General's report was released. A chart entitled "Actual vs. Potential U.S. Cigarette Consumption" shows the amount of cigarette sales the industry believed it had lost as a result of effective public health efforts. (Page -5049-- a gap of 90 billion cigarettes is described for 1976).
A list of tobacco industry opponents identifies the U.S. Government's National Clearinghouse for Smoking and Health antagonistically as "Chief Anti-Smoking propaganda arm of Government."
The tobacco companies' objectives were to undermine this public health progress by "Develop[ing] strategies to retard or reverse the trend [of declining social acceptability] where feasible or desired" and to "recommend counter-measures."
Toward the end of the paper, Durden says that the industry's only hope is to "counterattack" public health efforts. In the absence of such an attack, he says, "there is virtually no real chance for increasing the social acceptability of smoking":
"More and more citizens and public leaders believe that smoking is a health hazard to non-smokers. As long as this belief grows without being subjected to effective challenge and counterattack, there is virtually no real chance for increasing the social acceptability of smoking." (Page -5086).
This document shows that cigarette makers from around the world conspired to undermine common knowledge that tobacco smoke is harmful to health, and that they actually worked to reverse the progress that public health authorities had made in convincing people not to smoke.
Fields
- Quotes
[From the introductory statement by Dennis Durden, Vice President of R.J. Reynolds Industries, Inc., starting on Page 8, Bates No. 2025025028]:
Conventional wisdom in the U. S. tobacco community says that the "social acceptability" issue has arisen because other issues of anti-smoking forces have failed to curb cigarette consumption. More specifically, failings of the so-called "health" issues are cited as the reasons for a new and much stronger anti-smoking thrust based on social acceptability.
I disagree.
I don't believe that the social acceptabiliity issue is being forced as a replacement for the health issue... Quite the contrary. I think social acceptability is viewed as a logical followup to an assumed victory which is being claimed on the health issue. Anti-smoking forces feel they have achieved this victory and are now ready to make a followup effort.
As far as the tobacco community is concerned there has been no such "health victory." The industry believes that the health indictments of smoking are unproven. The industry feels that more research is needed before there will be enough facts to reach any verdict on the "health" issue.
To me, the anti-smoking forces are saying that more health research is not needed. Instead, what they want to see is more money being spent to spread the knowledge they have already established about the "health" hazards and dangers of smoking. They feel that they have their health victory in hand. They see everyone of our cigarette packages bearing the label "Warning, the Surgeon General has determined that cigarette smoking is dangerous to your health." I believe they now feel the time is right to seek a broader warning, which would ultimately include a phrase such as this: "The Surgeon General has determined that cigarette smoking is very dangerous to your health and to the health of non-smokers."
As I read the opinion surveys, I believe that more and more of the American public tends to agree with the anti-smoking forces. Finally, I think that the health issue is closed until there has been sufficient additional medical research to reopen the Surgeon General's report.
Thus, to me, it is logical that the anti-smoking forces turn to social acceptability as a key issue. However, they could not make this turn if they did not feel that they had their "health victory." The "health victory" had to come first. It is an initial step in isolating smokers and arousing their fears and anxieties.
The health issue and the social acceptability issue are closely intertwined. We treat them separately, but as my opening premise, I hold that no successes could have been achieved in the social acceptability issue if the foes of smoking hadn't been able to assume and, in fact, claim a "victory" on the "health" issue.
- Company
- Philip Morris
- Author
- International Committee on Smoking Issues (ICOSI)
- Working Party on Social Acceptatbility of Smoking (SAWP)
- Recipient
- Presumed recipient, Philip Morris and members of ICOSI
- Region
- Global
- Type
- REPT, REPORT, OTHER
- CHAR, CHART, GRAPH, TABLE, MAPS
- LIST, LIST
- MINU, MINUTES
- OUTL, OUTLINE
- Litigation
- Stmn/Produced
- Named Person
- Banzhaf, John F., III (Exec. Dir. Action of Smoking & Health (ASH))Executive Director of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).Professor of Law at Georgetown. Banzhaf succeeded in using the Fairness Doctrine to get cigarette commercials off television in 1968. See Banzhaf FCC, 405 F, 2d 1082 (D.C. Cir. 1968) (affirming FCC ruling that radio and television stations must devote a significant amount of broadcast time to case against smoking). His telephone number is (202) 659-4310. The big focus in past years has been to force OSHA to enforce smoking bans, per Matt Bars. ASH publishes Smoking and Health Review bulletins. "A leading anti-smoking activist" (Chic. Sun-Times 6/23/93). Action on Smoking and Health is located at 2013 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006. (Castano Expert List) See Action on Smoking a Health, TTLA Almanac - Names.
- Durden, C. Dennis (VP of RJR Industries, 1984, TI Communications)Director of RJR Corporate Public Affairs, 1975, Dir. of Public Affairs Council, 1977, VP of R.J. Reynolds Industries, 1984. Served on the Communications Committee for the Tobacco Institute, 1977 (while an RJR employee).TI Communications
- Haddon, Richard (BAT Public Relations Manager, Tobacco Division)London
- Herter, Ulrich Georg Volker (BAT Tobacco Managing Director & Board of Directors Member)New Business Development
- Hind, James F. (RJR Director 1979-80, VP of Planning, RJR c.1978)
- Landry, John T. (VP of PM 1970-76. Sr. VP '77-83, Dir. of Marketing '84)Vice President for Philip Morris, Inc. from 1970-76. Became a Senior Vice President in 1977 and held that position until 1983. Was named Senior Vice President and Director of Marketing in 1984 and served on PM's Board of Directors from 1973-84. Served as memer of the Social Acceptability Working Party of ICOSI, c. 1978
- Nader, Ralph (Consumer Activist)Consumer activist long renowned for a career of exposing corporate deception and wrongdoing that result in human harm.
- Reid, Andrew (ITC Ass't Managing Director (late 1970s))Commercial Director, Imperial Tobacco, Bristol, England, c 1978
- Stern, E.
- Surgeon General
- Vogel, C.
- Murray
- Whist, Andrew (PM External Affairs Sr. VP)Served as Senior Vice President of External Affairs for Philip Morris, Inc. in 1986 and again from 1992 to 1993.
- Witt, S.
- Operation/Project
- Undermining Common Knowledge (Efforts by the global tobacco companies to undermine common)The global tobacco industry carried out multi-faceted plans and programs aimed at reversing declining smoking trends, keeping the smoking and health issue "an open question" and restoring and maintaining smoking as a socially acceptable behavior
- Named Organization
- Alliance of Nonsmokers
- AMA, American Medical Association
- American Cancer Society
- American Heart Assn
- American Lung Assn
- American Public Health Association (Public health organization)Professional organization for people working in public health
- Action on Smoking and Health, USPlaintiff
- Assn for Nonsmokers Rights
- BAT, British American Tobacco
- Bureau of Consumer Protection
- Citizens Against Public Smoking
- Civil Aeronautics Board
- Clean Air Now
- Congress
- *EPA ( use United States Environmental Protection Agency)
- Federal Aviation Administration (Ruled on smoking on U.S. flights)
- Federal Communications Commission
- Federal Drug Administration
- Federal Employees for Non Smokers Rights
- Fresh Air for Non Smokers
- Federal Trade Commission (Enforcement agency for laws against deceptive advertising)Enforces laws against false and deceptive advertising, including ads for tobacco products. Ensures proper display of health warnings in ads and on tobacco products;collects and reports to Congress information concerning cigarette and smokeless tobacco advertising, sales expenditures, and the tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide content of cigarettes.
- Gallaher
- Group Against Smokers Pollution
- Health Research Group
- United States Department of Health, Education & Welfare (Branch of U.S. Government concerned with public health)
- International Committee on Smoking Issues (ICOSI)Was formed to address and reverse the global decline in social acceptability of smoking occurring in the 1970s Consisted of the major tobacco manufacturers worldwide, was created to deal with the global decline in social acceptability of smoking. ICOSI was created
- Imperial Tobacco
- Interstate Commerce Commission
- Martin Brinkmann AG (in Germany)
- Maxwell Report
- Natl Clearinghouse for Smoking + Health
- Natl Interagency Council on Smoking + He
- NCI, Natl Cancer Inst
- Nonsmoking Miami Single Campers
- Readers Digest
- Reemtsma
- RJR, R.J.Reynolds
- Royal College of Physicians (Monitors the quality of Canadian/U.K. medical education)
- Society to Humiliate Aggravate Mortify +
- State Dept
- TTC, Tobacco Tax Council
- United Nations
- Usda, U.S. Dept of Agriculture
- World Health Organization (Concerned with global public health)International organization concered with public health worldwide
- Womens Christian Temperance Union
- Working Party on Social Acceptability of Smoking
- 7th Day Adventists
- *American Health Foundation (Use American Health Foundation (IFCP)) (Health Research)1993 American Health Foundation - Directed by the late Dr. Ernst Wynder. Took funds from PM and Kraft for research relating to dietary and lifestyle causes of lung cancer.
- Subject
- industry activity
- industry influence
- industry response
- industry strategy
- industry surveillance (Intelligence-gathering on public health forces)
- CountermeasuresStrategies & tactics the industry used to counter public health efforts to control tobacco
- Social Acceptability (Social acceptability of smoking)The industry fought the decline in social acceptability of smoking through public relations campaigns, legislation, etc.
- social influence
- Passive Smoking
- Health warnings
- Undermining common knowledge
- Increasing smoking rates
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