Anne Landman's Collection
Switzerland Long Range Plan 930000 - 950000
Abstract
This 187-page report is primarily a marketing plan, but contains sections that describe strategies Philip Morris (PM) planned to use in Switzerland from 1993-95 to defeat smoking restrictions, bans on cigarette advertising, increased cigarette taxes and more.
PM states its rationale for organizing smokers against public health efforts, stating (page -5910): "Smokers, as a consumer group, are today numerically as well as politically, a minority. Furthermore, they lack efficient and powerful organisation for the defence and preservation of their rights and interests. By consequence, it is mainly up to the industry to play this role."
The document also states PM's objective is to reverse existing public health gains against tobacco use: "stop the decline, and eventually start rebuilding the social acceptability of smokers and smoking in society." Other lofty objectives were to "Lead politicians to reorder their priorities...on and around the S&H [smoking and health] debate," and "Restore and strengthen smokers' confidence." Such corporate objectives were completely at odds with the goals of public health authorities.
PM further had as an ally J.P. Dewalder, a psychology professor at Lausanne University and Director of the Lausanne University Institute of Psychology. Dewalder sent a proposal to PM to do a research project in which he would study "the field of social engineering, mandates for lifestyle modifications...the dynamics of tolerant behaviour in society." PM also planned to use Dewaulder as a seemingly independent third party to organize international symposia and spread PM's corporate views on "socio-political themes like tolerance, freedom of speech, the nanny state, health and lifestyle engineering, etc."
Fields
- Quotes
[Page 2501145910]:
SOCIAL ACCEPTABILITY 1993 - 1995
1. ISSUE DEFINITION
The level of social acceptability of smoking determines to a large extent the success or failure of all types of anti-tobacco proposals and measures, affecting production, marketing, consumption and, overall, market size. Smokers, as a consumer group, are today numerically as well as politically, a minority. Furthermore, they lack efficient and powerful organisation for the defence and preservation of their rights and interests. By consequence, it is mainly up to the industry to play this role.
2. OBJECTIVES -Stop the decline, and eventually start re-building the social acceptability of smokers and smoking in society,
- Lead politicians to reorder their priorities, perspectives and assessments on and around the S&H debate,
--restore and strengthen smokers' confidence.
3. CENTRAL STRAEGY
The central strategy for achieving these objectives is to unveil social engineering, misinformation, vested interests and self-alarming forces, to restore factual communication on the S & H issue and to put it in the wider context of social, economic, ethic and political considerations, facts and requirements. This also means that industry's communication with decision makers, media and public has to emphasise common ground interests and, to a certain extent, it has to become "political".
[Page 2501145917]:
Based on the assumption that smoking is a health hazard (for smokers and non-smokers) and driven by strong vested interests and self-alarming forces, increasing regulatory measures aimed at prohibiting and reducing tobacco consumption in public places (workplace, restaurants) and transportation are proposed and put into public debate by antis, health authorities and politicians.
OBJECTIVE
The objective is to prevent and to defeat all types of legally imposed smoking bans and restrictions at federal and cantonal level. The central strategy is to prevent mis-information on ETS and to rebuild social acceptability of smokers and smoking in society, to promote awareness of solutions to good indoor air quality in general and to favour voluntary, common sense accommodation between smokers and non-smokers.
Scientific communications on ETS and IAQ
-Organise briefing sessions (S&T/PMI) for journalists, occupational safety and health authorities, company and association managers, labour union officials, etc.
- Exploit the outcome of adequate third party organised ETS/IAQ conferences and symposia.
- Disseminate appropriate scientific literature, as far as possible in local languages (German, French, Italian), to relevant people and target groups, in particular to scientific and public libraries.
- Company
- Philip Morris
- Author
- Corporate author, Philip Morris
- Recipient
- Corporate recipient, Philip Morris
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