Abstract
This 1985 speech by John Dollisson (Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Philip Morris Asia) demonstrates how PM's efforts to mislead and confuse people (particularly smokers) on the relationship between smoking and disease reached PM's highest executive levels at their corporate offices around the world, even as late as 1985. Viewed through the lens of historical retrospect, a speech like this ought to be a museum piece, as the callous denials of this Philip Morris' executive (even to the point of practically joking) show an astounding lack of sensitivity to the pervasiveness of human suffering and destruction this company alone was causing.
Some passages from Dollisson's speech:
"Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I find it somewhat ironical that I am to talk about smoking and health while next door the Colonial Mutual Life and the Great Eastern Life Insurance companies are discussing smoking life insurance policies!"
"...Statistical associations cannot establish cause and effect...What anti-smokers have done is to turn good data into poor science. They use statistics like the drunkard uses a lamp post-- more for support than illumination; and remember statistics are like a bikini costume--what they reveal is interesting, what they conceal is of vital importance!"
"...One thing you can say about smoking is that it causes statistics...Remember that the vast majority of people die in bed, therefore should you ban sleep?"
"...The medical profession and the scientific community have not been responsible...It is time for some lateral thinking...more attention should be addressed to those smokers who don't get the so-called tobacco related diseases and to non--smokers who do get these diseases."
Fields
- Quotes
Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I find it somewhat
ironical that I am to talk about smoking and health while
next door the Colonial Mutual Life and the Great Eastern
Life Insurance companies are discussing smoking life
insurance policies!...
...As we all know any discussion or debate on tobacco related issues inevitably leads to the smoking and health issue. Smoking and health lies at the base of all issues the
industry faces. The very legitimacy of our business -
selling a product that is alleged to cause harm - is
dependent on presenting our case on smoking and health.
[From Page 6, Bates No. 2501114897]:
The truth is that within the smoking population there is a
small minority of individuals who are at risk to certain
diseases that some have associated with tobacco smoking.
The truth is that we do not know if those individuals.
developed these diseases because they smoked tobacco, or
if they simply are different and are susceptible to a wide
variety of potentially harmful agents in their
environment. Many of these allegations have been tried in
US litigation cases and there has never been an out of
court settlement or a case awarded against the industry.
[From Page 7, Bats No. 2501114898]:
Cancer is, after all, a biological problem and not a
statistical problem...Statistical associations cannot establish cause and effect. They indicate need for clinical and laboratory examinations...What anti-smokers have done is to turn good data into poor science.
They use statistics like the drunkard uses a lamp
post-- more for support than illumination; and remember statistics are like a bikini costume--what they reveal is interesting, what they conceal is of vital importance! No one knows why, or how, a cancerous growth begins, whether it be in the lung, pancreas or bladder. Neither have scientists proven that cigarette smoke or any of its constituents cause diseases.
[From Page 9, Bates No. 2501114900]:
Commonsense tells us that disease causation will not be
discovered by analysing statistics alone, nor found in the
rhetoric or recommendations of a political forum...
If we take as an example a hypothetical situation of a
survey undertaken by the Kuala Lumpur Roads Association that shows a particular motor car has a substantially
higher death rate for its occupants than any other vehicle
in Kuala Lumpur. The results of this survey do not give the medical profession in Kuala Lumpur the right to draw the conclusion that this particular make of car is a death trap that will crush its occupants to death. What it does provide is a set of statistics that indicate
the need for research into the motor vehicle, the people
who drive it and the conditions under which it is
driven. It may be that it is predominantly driven by
young inexperienced drivers. There could be a structural
or engineering problem with the motor vehicle or some
problem with the statistical data. The key message is that more research is needed to identify the real problem. This is exactly the same with the reported statistics that some say associate smoking (or the people who smoke) with disease.
[Handout on causal allegations]
[From Page 11, Bates No. 2501114902]:
One thing you can say about smoking is that it causes
statistics...Remember that the vast majority of people die in bed, therefore should you ban sleep?
[From page 14, Bates No. 2501114905]:
As I said earlier, within the smoking population there is
a small percentage of individuals who are at risk to
certain diseases that have been associated with smoking.
We do not know if those individuals developed these
diseases because they smoked tobacco, or if they simply
are different and are susceptible to a wide variety of
potentially harmful agents in their environment. By not
facing these truths the medical profession and the scientific community have not been responsible. The
focus on tobacco may well have neglected other more
important considerations...Arguments which impeach tobacco in passion will never convict it in fact...More work should be done in investigating the genetic hypothesis... What role do viruses play in carcinogenesis?
- Company
- Philip Morris (Altria Group)
- Author
- Dollisson, John A. (PM Asia Corporate Affairs VP (Asia/Australia))
Corporate Affairs, PM USA. Held this position from October 2, 1989 to October 1, 1990, when he resigned.
- Recipient
- Infotab Asian Regional Workshop, 13-15 May 1985
- Tobacco Institute of Austrilia
- Region
- Australia
- Asia
- Named Organization
- Bmj
- Britain Dept of Health + Social Security
- Colonial Mutual Life
- Great Eastern Life Insurance
- International Tobacco Information Inc. (INFOTAB) (Int'l Tobacco Information Clearinghouse for industry, NMAs)
ICOSI (International Commission on Smoking Issues) was formed around 1978. It was reorganized in 1980 or 1981 as INFOTAB. Infotab is an information clearinghouse that collects articles and legislatlve information. Data Is funnelled to Infotab by members of the industry. The founding companies are R.J. Reynolds International, BAT, Philip Morris, Reemtsma, Rothmans, Imperial andGallaher. The last three companies dropped in and out. A company had to give three years' notice to resign. BAT gave its notice to resign in late 1987 in conjunction with B&W's resignation from TI. BAT and B&W's resignations were partially because of the Barclay controversy. The companies pay the Infotab dues, but the beneficiaries include the national manufacturing associations(NMAs) . NMAs worldwide receive newsletters from Infotab. They can call and get information on various topics. G.C. Hargrove of BAT was on Infotab.
- Intl Workshop on Environmental Tobacco S
- Kuala Lumpur Roads Assn
- Lancet
- Rothmans of Pall Mall
- Royal College of Physicians (Monitors the quality of Canadian/U.K. medical education)
- World Health Organization (Concerned with global public health)
International organization concered with public health worldwide
- New Dehli City Council
- Australian Federal Dept of Health
- Litigation
- Stmn/Produced
- Named Person
- Burch
- Cipollone, Rose Defrancesco (Lung Cancer Victim, Plaintiff in Cipollone v. Liggett))
- Furst, Arthur, Ph.D., Sc.D. (Toxicologist, U of CA, San Francisco, Industry Expert)
- Marsh, A.
- Nobel
- Surgeon General
- Taylor, P.
- Wood, T.
- Type
- SPCH, SPEECH, PRESENTATION
- REPT, REPORT, OTHER
- Subject
- health
- health belief
Document Images
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S M 0 K I N G & H E A L T H
"THE SCIENTIFIC CONTROVERSY"
JOHN DOLLISSON
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100
INFOTAB ASIAN REGIONAL WORKSHOP, 13-15 MAY 1985
SMOKING AND HEALTH
TflE SCIENTIFIC CONTROVERSY
J DOLLISSON, TOBACCO INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA, 14 MAY 1985
Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I find it somewhat
ironical that I am to talk about smoking and health while
next door the Colonial'Mutual Life and the Great Eastern
Life Insurance companies are discussing smoking life
insurance policies!
I have the pleasure of delivering the first and easiest
session on smoking and health. I say easiest because once
you understand the allegations and the attitudes on which
they are being based it is easy to debate the issue and
that is exactly what we do in Australia - part of the
public debate, letters to editors, addresses to medical
forums and discussions with governments, etc.
I have no glossy video or slides or overheads so bear with
me. To break up the session I have asked Tony Wood from
Rothmans of Pall Mall (Australia) to talk about how a
couple of the allegations against the industry have grown
out of all proportion, and then hopefully there will be
plenty of time for questions.
Firstly, to the heart of the issue.
As we all know any discussion or debate on tobacco related
issues inevitably leads to the smoking and health issue.
Smoking and health lies at the base of all issues the
industry faces. The very legitimacy of our business -
selling a product that is alleged to cause harm - is
dependent on presenting our case on smoking and health.
Tobacco smoking is alleged to cause cancer of the luna (of
~ bcth smokers and non,-smokers), the oesophagus, larynx,
~ oral cavity, pharynx, pancreas, urinary tract and
~
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101
cervix. It is also alleged to cause heart disease,
bronchitis, emphysema (both non-cancerous lung diseases);
to affect pregnancy outcome and bring on early female
menopause, and work in conjunction with female oral
contraceptives to increase disease rates, cause low birth
weight babies, increased perinatal mortality, increased
spontaneous abortion, congenital malformation or birth
defects, and retard the growth and learning ability of
children and, according to Peter Taylor's latest book,
cause cot deaths, and almost all other medical afflictions
ranging from wrinkles to impotency.
And apart from this, it is said to kill 16,000 plus
Australians prematurely each year, presumably a relative
amount in Malaysia, and it is said to be addictive.
IS ALL OF THIS FACT, FICTION, MIS-STATEMENT, HALF-TRUTHS?
If you believe the media, the anti-smoking groups and the
general response from the public it appears to be true.
However, if this were true, commonsense would suggest that
no one would be smoking.
And if it were true, why has the sale of tobacco not been
banned anywhere in the world?
OF COURSE THIS IS NOT TRUE AND NOR ARE MOST OF THE
ALLEGATIONS.
The truth is, however, that more cigarettes were
manufactured in 1984 than in any other year in our
history!
The social custom of smoking is now some 500 years old and
just as old is the scientific controversy.
4
Lancet, the English medical journal, reportina on a
symposium on smoking and health, said in 1857:
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102
/
"Tobacco is said to act on the mind by producing
inactivity thereof; inabil"ity to think; drowsiness;
irritability ... Onthe respiratory organs, it causes
consumption, haemoptysis, an inflammatory condition of
the mucous memb ar ne of the larynx,"trachaea and
bronchae, ukeeration of the larynx, short irritable
cough, h~irried breathing. The circulating organs are
/
affect,e/d by irritable hea rt'circulation ... ".
The controversy's more recent dimensions came from a media
event, the 1964 release of a report reviewing selected
population and other studies involving smoking and
health. The Surgeon General's Report indicated smoking in
connection with several diseases.
Over the years the composition of the Surgeon General's
Report became reports not to the Surgeon General but of
the Surgeon General. More often than not, through the
years they also became less scientific, less objective,
and less truthful in nature. These reports have become
more a political diatribe against tobacco than an
unbiased, balanced scientific review. Even these reports
use words such as "may be", "possible" and "related". I
urge all of you to read the reports. You might get a
pleasant surprise.
Despite this, they have become folklore and we can see how
exactly the same can happen with passive smoking. By
letting the distortions of the smoking and health
controversy become perpetrated, unanswered by truth, the
tobacco industry has jeopardised its own existence.
What is the truth?
An unemotional examination of the relationship between
smoking and health clearly reveals that this is a matter
of scientific controversy and much more research is
needed. Why?
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103
There are four steps required in research to prove an
agent causes disease:
1. Researchers start with a statistical correlation
between the suspected agent and a disease.
2. The suspected agent is identified and isolated.
3. The agent is applied to laboratory animals and the
illness reproduced as it occurs in human beings.
4. Other researchers are able, independently, to obtain
the same results.
Concerning the smoking issue, research is still at Stage
One. In other words, we are still at the stage of
establishing statistical correlations with suspected
agents. Indeed, in regard to this stage, many eminent
epidemiologists, statisticians and other scientists have
challenged the correlation claimed from the epidemiology
surveys on which the smoking causes disease theory is
based.
These criticisms included that these epidemiology surveys:
- were not randomly selected;
- contained proportionally more smokers than the
population;
were not representative of the population in age
distributicn, education or race;
contracted disease at different rates than the
population;
Page 6: qpd29e00
104
were not representative of the population, consisting
of people from predominantly urban industrialised
areas with little rural presentation;
were interviewed by inexperienced volunteers.
The truth is that within the smoking population there is a
small minority of individuals who are at risk to certain
diseases that some have associated with tobacco smoking.
The truth is that we do not know if those individuals
developed these diseases because they smoked tobacco, or
if they simply are different and are susceptible to a wide
variety of potentially harmful agents in their
environment. Many of these allegations have been tried in
US litigation cases and there has never been an out of
court settlement or_a case awarded against the industry.
Let's look at some of the major claims:
1. "Is the evidence overwhelming that smoking causes
cancer and other diseases?"
No. All that exists are reports of statistical
associations from epidemiological studies. The Surgeon
General in his first report conceded that "statistical
methods cannot establish proof of a causal relationship in
an association". Professor Burch supports this further by
claiming "those epidemiological studies that purport to
show a causal connection between cigarette smoking and
various cancers, but particularly lung cancer, fail when
examined criticallv to establish the causal claim".
A further quote from WHO consultant, Arthur Furst:
"finding that 'cigarette smoking is the number one cause
of lung cancer' implies a scientific certainty that I, as
a scientist, believe to be unwarranted".
Page 7: qpd29e00
105
Cancer is, after all, a biological problem and not a
statistical problem.
Why has not the Nobel Prize been awarded for finding
the cause of cancer, etc?
Statistical associations cannot establish cause and
effect. They indicate need for clinical and
laboratory examinations.
History is littered with misuses and abuses of
statistical data:
- malaria and low marshy ground;
- some in science blamed tuberculosis on smoking
until the infectious nature of that disease became
known.
What anti-smokers have done is to turn good data into
poor science.
- they use statistics like the drunkard uses a lamp
post - more for support than illumination;
- and remember statistics are like a bikini costume
what they reveal is interesting, what they conceal
is of vital importance!
No one knows why, or how, a cancerous growth begins,
whether it be in the lung, pancreas or bladder,
Neither have scientists proven that cigarette smoke or
any of its constituents cause diseases.
Neither the Surgeon General nor the Royal College of
Physicians have demonstrated cause. What has not been
done is to demonstrate the biological pathway or
mechanism through which smoking supposedly causes the
diseases.
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Page 8: qpd29e00
41
106
If smoking causes these diseases then why are there so
many unexplained anomalies in the smoking and health
debate, such as:
Why do non-smokers fall victim to heart disease, lung
and other diseases frequently associated with smokers?
What proof is available that those smokers who fall
victim to these diseases would not have done so had
they not smoked?
Why is it that the vast majority of "heavy" smokers
never develop the disease?
Why do Chinese women in Hong Kong have one of the
highest rates of lung cancer in the world, when
45 percent of those contracting the disease have never
smoked tobacco in any form?
Why hasn't independent scientific research been able
to identify any one or combination of the thousands of
components as found in cigarette smoke as the cause of
any particular disease?
Why in more than 30 years of extensive research hasn't
anyone been able to reproduce the type of lung cancer
associated with smokina, through smoke inhalation in
laboratory animals?
Why do Japanese males, who have one of the highest
,incidences of smoking in the world, have one of the
lowest incidences of lung cancer?
Why can't the substantial difference in disease rates
between Caucasian and Asian, race, sex, urban rather
than rural groups be explained?
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107
Why, in the two major intervention trials, the
Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial and the
British Civil Servants Trial, the only two randomised
trials ever conducted, did the intervention group, ie.
those who were stopped from smoking, experience an
increase in overall mortality over the control group?
Commonsense tells us that disease causation will not be
discovered by analysing statistics alone, nor found in the
rhetoric or recommendations of a political forum.
If we take as an example a hypothetical situation of a
t. G t~
/(/ I ti. f., C, f, h- ~ .,. rvi *~ , o-
survey undertaken by the uA~umpur R4ads--A-ss-ociat-ron
that shows a particular motor car has a substantially
higher death.,rate for its occupants than any other vehicle
.
i n uua r~-utrp:ur.
The results of this.survey do not give the medical
r. . , ~.z
profession in-Kua-la-Lumpur the right to draw the
conclusion that this particular make of car is a death
trap that will crush its occupants to death.
What it does provide is a set of statistics that indicate
the need for research into the motor vehicle, the people
who drive it and the conditions under which it is
driven. It may be that it is predominantly driven by
young inexperienced drivers. There could be a structural
or engineering problem with the motor vehicle or some
problem with the statistical data.
The key message is that more research is needed
identify the real problem. This is exactly the
the reported statistics that some say associate
(or the people who smoke) with disease.
to
same with
smoking
[Handout on causal allegations]
Page 10: qpd29e00
108
,
1 ~~,-J ~t.c(^ )
2. "But,'the Australian Federal Department of Health says
ki lls 16, 000 people prematurely each year?"
~
. No, they don't. All they say is that of the 110,000
deaths per annum in Australia, 16,000 are
statistically linked to tobacco related diseases.
They go on to say a statistical association is not
proof of cause..
This data is quite misleading and our questioning of
this data has caused embarrassment for the Federal
Health Department.
. This data shows that smokers supposedly dying from
tobacco-related diseases die at an older age than
those dying from all other causes - ie. not
prematurely but diseases of old age.
. Where does this data come from:-
1.
x
It is based on death certificate data which the
Royal College of Physicians in the BMJ (14 October
1974) admitted were subject to major errors - up
to 29 percent. A series of UK studies of death
certificates were compared with results of
autopsies - the error ranged from 45-51 percent.
(Remember there is no cause of death called dying
of old age.)
The smoking mortality attribution rates come from
epidemiology surveys refined to cater for the US
and UK in 1960. Not representative of US
population in 1960, or 1980 and certainly not
representative of Australian population.
