Anne Landman's Collection
890000 2nd Revised Forecast Presentation - Corporate Affairs John Dollisson 000615 - New York
Abstract
In this 1989 Corporate Affairs speech, John Dollisson of Philip Morris (PM) warns that the Asian-Pacific anti-tobacco league has just been formed and discusses how this threatens PM's business in the region. Dollisson outlines the strategies and resources that PM will use to defeat the efforts of this group and successfully continue pushing its products into Asian-Pacific countries. Dollisson warns that
"Asia is now the priority target for the world anti-tobacco movement. We should remember that as U.S. cigarette exports to Asia account for close to 70% of our volume and 97% of our profits....The implications for our business...should this league be successful, are significant."
[Italicized emphasis added.]
Dollisson outlines strategies to help PM gain more influence in the region with governments and the public. He also reveals that several other tobacco companies joined with PM to fund an expansion of PM's successful "Whitecoat Project" into Asia. The purpose of the Whitecoat project was to recruit and train scientists who would help PM (and other tobacco companies) foster and preserve confusion on the health issues associated with secondhand smoke:
"PM, RJR and B&W agreed to fund a network of ETS scientists in Asia. Candidates have been identified in Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines and Thailand. JTI's support is being sought to expand the program to Japan...At the end of a training session [by late June] we will have a core of 10 scientists who are fully trained on the issues, ready and prepared to make a contribution by way of writing articles, briefing government officials and so forth. Their first task will be a press conference in Hong Kong."
Dollisson also reveals the use sports sponsorships to build allies and gain influence in the Asian region, and boasts about how PM has already been successful at staving off public health measures in several Asian-Pacific countries:
"...To date the region has been successful at fighting off anti-tobacco proposals. It is essential that we defeat or substantially water down the [Council on Smoking and Health] Proposals in Hong Kong to ensure that it is not used as a precedent for the region."
User-Contributed Notes
- 111. Industry analysis of Asia anti tobacco campaign.
Fields
- Notes
Some of the text in this document was hand-written in, some was lined out (but still legible) and some was completely obliterated. I included as much as I could of the handwritten and lined-out changes, because they seemed significant. These passages are noted in [brackets].
- Quotes
1989 2ND REVISED FORECAST PRESENTATION - CORPORATE AFFAIRS -- --JOHN DOLLISSON-- JUNE 15 - NEW YORK
LAST WEEKEND THE ASIA-PACIFIC ANTI-TOBACCO LEAGUE WAS FOUNDED AT A MEETING IN TAIWAN. THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THE LEAGUE IS TO ORGANISE ANTI-SMOKING GROUPS IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION TO WORK WITH ANTI-SMOKING ACTIVISTS IN THE U.S. ...TO FORCE THE U.S. GOVERNMENT TO GIVE UP ITS POLICY OF PROMOTING CIGARETTE SALES TO ASIAN COUNTRIES. THE MEETING WAS ATTENDED BY A NUMBER OF U.S. ANTI-SMOKERS ALSO IN ATTENDANCE WERE MOST OF ASIA'S ANTI-TOBACCO PROPONENTS [INCLUDING JUCITH MCKAY].
THIS EVENT IS SIGNIFICANT TO ASIA FOR TWO REASONS. FIRSTLY, IT PLACES MUCH GREATER PRESSURE ON U.S. CIGARETTE EXPORTS AND SECONDLY, IT MARKS THE START OF A MUCH MORE CO-ORDINATED, INTERNATIONALLY DRIVEN ANTI-SMOKING CAMPAIGN IN ASIA. ASIA IS NOW THE PRIORITY TARGET FOR THE WORLD ANTI-TOBACCO MOVEMENT. WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT U.S. CIGARETTE EXPORTS TO ASIA ACCOUNT FOR CLOSE TO 70% OF OUR VOLUME AND 97% OF OUR PROFITS. FUTHERMORE, FUTURE GROWTH IS LIKELY TO COME FROM EXPORT MARKETS SUCH AS JAPAN, TAIWAN, KOREA AND THAILAND. THE IMPLICATIONS FOR OUR BUSINESS BE IT EXPORTS OR LICENSEE SHOULD THIS LEAGUE BE SUCCESSFUL, ARE SIGNIFICANT. AWARE THAT ASIA WOULD RECEIVE INCREASED ATTENTION BY THE ANTI-SMOKERS WE AGREED AT THE BOCA RATON CORPORATE AFFAIRS CONFERENCE LAST YEAR, TO IMPLEMENT A NUMBER OF KEY STRATEGIES TO BOTH DEFEND THE INDUSTRY AND JUST AS IMPORTANT, TO TAKE THE OFFENSIVE. THESE KEY STRATEGIES ARE :
* TO RECRUIT, TRAIN AND PLACE CORPORATE AFFAIRS SPECIALISTS. TO STRENGTHEN THE REGIONAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS BASE AS A STRATEGY, CONTSULTANCY AND INFORMATICN CENTRE.
* TO ESTABLISH AND STRENGTHEN LOCAL TOBACCO ASSOCIATIONS.
* TO BUILD A NETWORK OF ALLIES INCLUDING MONOPOLIES. AN EFFECTIVE CORPORATE AFFAIRS PROGRAM BY PM IN THE REGION IS ESSENTIAL; AS TOBACCO TRADE ASSOCIATIONS EITHER DO NOT EXIST OR ARE IN EARLY STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT. ALSO, OUR COMPETITORS DO NOT APPEAR TO PLACE MUCH EMPHASIS ON CORPORATE AFFAIRS. RJR HAS TWO CORPORATE AFFAIRS STAFF FOR ASIA-PACIFIC AND BAT/B&W HAS ONLY ONE IN ASIA. OVER THE LAST 6 MONTHS [deleted] OUR PROGRESS AGAINST THESE STRATEGIES IS AS FOLLOWS :
* ON RECRUITING, TRAINING AND PLACING STAFF; WE HAVE ADDED AN ADDITIONAL MANAGER IN HONG KONG. THIS GIVES US AN ESTABLISHMENT OF 6 FULL TIME AND 2 PART TIME, IN THE REGION. WE ARE ALSO SEARCHING FOR AN ADDITIONAL SENIOR STAFF MEMBER FOR HONG KONG GIVEN THE RECENT INCREASE IN ACTIVITIES ESPECIALLY WITH RESPECT TO U.S. EXPORTS. TO ENABLE CORPORATE AFFAIRS STAFF AND APPROPRIATE COUNTRY MANAGERS TO ADDRESS ISSUES, WE UNDERTOOK A PLANNING WORKSHOP IN MARCH, AN ISSUES TRAINING WORKSHOP IN APRIL, AND PRESENTED GENERAL INFORMATION KITS ON EACH ISSUE. MEDIA TRAINING COURSES ARE PLANNED FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THIS YEAR. TO MAXIMISE THE POTENTIAL OF OUR CORPORATE AFFAIRS STAFF AND COUNTRY MANAGERS, THE HONG KONG REGIONAL OFFICE ALSO PROVIDES STRATEGIC ADVICE, CONSULTANCY SUPPORT INFORMATION RESOURCES. A MAJOR PROGRAM TO ENHANCE INFORMATION QUALITY, QUANTITY AND ACCESS IS BEING UNDERTAKEN WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF INFOTAB AND SHOOK, HARDY AND BACON. WE ARE ALSO PREPARING PACKAGED INFORMATION, CONSISTING OF AN ASIAN TAILORED SPOKESPERSON'S MANUAL, A TWO-PAGE SUMMARY OF EACH KEY ISSUE~ TOGETHER WITH A MORE DETAILED SUBMISSION ON EACH ISSUE FOR EACH COUNTRY. CORPORATE AFFAIRS STAFF IN HONG KONG HAVE BEEN SET UP TO ACT AS CONSULTANTS FOR THE REGION - CAPABLE OF FLYING IN TO ADDRESS ISSUES, BE THEY SUBMISSION DRAFTING OR MEETINGS ON THE SINGAPORE HEALTH WARNINGS, ADDRESSING THE MEDIA AS WE DID LAST WEEKEND IN TAIWAN OR ASSISTING WITH A PROMOTION SUCH AS "SUPERBAND" IN KOREA. WE HAVE ALSO COMMENCED PREPARATION FOR DOCUMENT RETENTION AND MADE AN ASSESSMENT OF LOCAL LAW FIRMS TO ASSIST ON PRODUCT LIABILITY. THERE ARE ALREADY TWO LEGAL CASES IN THE PHILIPPINES INVOLVING THE INDUSTRY AND NO DOUBT MORE WILL OCCUR. THE HONG KONG OFFICE IS ALSO CO-ORDINATING INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS INCLUDING : VISITS TO THE NEW YORK SOCIETY (THAILAND, PHILIPPINES, KOREA, AND TAIWAN ARE ON THE AGENDA FOR THIS YEAR). OUR FIRST LIBERTAD CONFERENCE IN HONG KONG ON JULY 18 TITLED "CAPITALISM, DEMOCRACY AND 1997". JOURNALISTS' VISITS TO THE U.S. (JAPAN JOURNALISTS NEXT WEEK AND KOREA JOURNALISTS IN DECEMBER)...
...WHILE THE TASK OF BUILDING LOCAL ALLIES WITHIN THE MEDIA [deleted], GOVERNMENT ETC. IS LEFT WITH THE COUNTRY STAFF, REGIONAL ALLIES ARE ALSO REQUIRED. ON THE HEALTH ISSUE, WE ARE ASSESSING THE LITERATURE ON ASIAN POPULATIONS LOOKING FOR POTENTIAL SPECIALISTS. THE COMPARISON BETWEEN ASIAN AND CAUCASIAN POPULATIONS PRESENT INTERESTING POSITIVE EVIDENCE ON THE SMOKING AND HEALTH CONTROVERSY. [--FOR EXAMPLE, JAPAN WITH ONE OF THE HIGHEST INCIDENCE OF SMOKING, HAS ONE OF THE LOWEST INCIDENCE OF LUNG CANCER AND LONGEST LIFE EXPECTANCIES--]. DR. AVIADO'S EVIDENCE BEFORE THE PHILIPPINES CONGRESSIONAL ENQUIRIES WAS PARTICULARLY INFLUENTIAL ON DISCOURAGING UNNECESSARY ANTI-TOBCCO LEGISLATION.
PM, RJR AND B&W AGREED TO FUND A NETWORK OF ETS SCIENTISTS IN ASIA. CANDIDATES HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED IN KOREA, TAIWAN, HONG KONG, PHILIPPINES AND THAILAND. JTI'S SUPPORT IS BEING SOUGHT TO EXPAND THE PROGRAM TO JAPAN. [A TRAINING SESSION IS BEING SOUGHT TO EXPAND THE PROGRAM TO JAPAN]. AT THE END OF A TRAINING SESSION, [BY LATE JUNE] WE WILL HAVE A CORE OF 10 SCIENTISTS WHO ARE FULLY TRAINED ON THE ISSUES, READY AND PREPARED TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION BY WAY OF WRITING ARTICLES, BRIEFING GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND SO FORTH. THEIR FIRST TASK WILL BE A PRESS CONFERENCE IN HONG KONG.
[CONCERNING ADVERTISING] PM IS COMMISSIONING LOCAL RESEARCH ON ADVERTISING AND CONSUMPTION TO ADD TO THE LIMITED BODY OF DATA IN THE REGION. [WHILST THE RESEARCH IS USEFUL, ITS AUTHORS PROVIDE CREDIBLE NON-TOBACCO SPOKESPEOPLE.]
[TO IMPROVE OUR SPORTS ALLIES WE SPONSORED] THE ASIA PACIFIC AND OCEANA SPORT ASSEMBLY...[AND] HAVE [SINCE] ESTABLISHED A RELATIONSHIP WITH ITS PRESIDENT TO REVIEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR SPONSORSHIP AND TO IDENTIFY KEY SPORTING CONTACTS BY COUNTRY. RECENLTY THIS ASSOCIATION PROVIDED ACCESS TO KOREA'S PEAK SPORTING ASSOCIATIONS. [KEY TO OUR SUCCESS IN ASIA IS] ENHANCING RELATIONS WITH MONOPOLIES...WILL NOT ONLY IMPROVE OUR BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP, BUT ALSO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TRADE ASSOCIATIONS AND THE INDUSTRY'S ABILITY TO INFLUENCE NATIONAL POLIC8IES. [--OUR ASSOCIATION WITH THE JTI AND THE SUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATION TO MAINTAIN BROADCAST ADVERTISING IN JAPAN IS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF THIS--]...
...IN HONG KONG - WE ARE FIGHTING THE [unintelligible][SMOKING AND HEALTH] COSH PROPOSALS COVERING EVERYTHING FROM AN ADVERTISING AND SPONSORSHIP BAN, PUBLIC SMOKING RESTRICTIONS, HEALTH WARNINGS AND CONSTITUENT LABELLING TO A TAX TO BUY OUT SPONSORSHIP. A SELF REGULATORY APPROACH IS BEING ENCOURAGED.
IN KOREA - WE ARE LOBBYING TO CHANGE THE [WAY THE] EXCISE TAX IS ALLOCATED AND TO STOP ONGOING HARASSMENT BY THE MONOPOLY.
IN THE PHILIPPINES - WE HAVE SUCCESSFULLY DELAYED THE PASSAGE OF NATIONAL LEGISLATION AND MORE RECENTLY LOCAL LEGISLATION. PM IS ALSO LOBBYING FOR TAX REFORM TO STOP DISCRIMINATION OF FOREIGN OWNED TRADEMARKS AND MOVE TO A SPECIFIC TAX STRUCTURE. [A PROGRAM ON ETS IS ALSO PLANNED]...
...TO DATE THE REGION HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL AT FIGHTING OFF ANTI-TOBACCO PROPOSALS. IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT WE DEFEAT OF SUBSTANIALLY WATER DOWN THE [COUNCIL ON SMOKING AND HEALTH] PROPOSALS IN HONG KONG TO ENSURE THAT IT IS NOT USED AS A PRECEDENT FOR TEH REGION.
THESE PROPOSALS AND THEIR PROPOSER DR. JUDITH MACKAY ARE RECEIVING AMPLE ATTENTION AND THE INDUSTRY HAS TAKEN A HIGH PUBLIC PROFILE INCLUDING A NUMBER OF DEBATES ON RADIO AND TELEVISION.
RECENT EVENTS SUGGEST THAT GREATER TIME AND ATTENTION WILL HAVE TO BE GIVEN TO THE U.S. EXPORTS ISSUE AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS GENERALLY IN THE REGION. WE ARE CONFIDENT THAT PM'S STRATEGIES AND RESOURCES, PARTICULARLY ITS STAFF CAN ADDRESS THE CHALLENGES AHEAD.
- Company
- Philip Morris
- Author
- *Dollison, John (use Dollisson, John) (PM Corporate Affairs Dept., circa 1988-90)Philip Morris Corporate Affairs Department, 1988-90
- Recipient
- N/A
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