Abstract
In this draft speech, Lee Pollok (Executive Vice President and Assistant General Counsel for Philip Morris International) infers that cigarette smoking aids society's overall mental health by reducing stress:
"As we observe the world today, we note that many of society's problems result from the state of our mental health or, putting it more simply, the mere difficulty of coping... Although I do not mean to suggest that cigarette smoking is any panacea for these problems, does it really make sense to bear down relentlessly on those who choose to relieve the daily stress of life through smoking?"
Pollok also claims that the public health issues around tobacco are "exaggerated," and proceeds to minimize the toll that tobacco takes on human life (and works off an assumption that he himself is unsure of):
"Nor does it help to exaggerate the public health issues involved. If today science were to develop a preventative or cure which would completely eliminate lung cancer, life expectancy would be increased by less than three months. [This fact -- as well as all others -- must be checked.]"
He also disputes the increased medical costs tobacco causes society, and infers that lung cancer is merely a disease of old age:
"And as one recognizes that lung cancer is a disease of older age and that non-smokers also collect social security and incur medical expenses, one recognizes the absurdity of the contention that smoking results in a financial cost to society."
The document also touches on the subjects of advertising bans, the absence of health warnings on packs destined for export, ingredients, public smoking and secondhand smoke. It ends with an unusual invitation for public health advocates to apply to work at Philip Morris, suggesting they could put their ingenuity to work selling Miracle Whip or Crystal Light:
"We never cease to be amazed with the ability of the anti-tobacco activists to come up with something new...We could certainly use such ingenuity at Philip Morris and let me say here and now, we would be glad to receive the resumes of members of the anti-tobacco movement after they become bored with the cigarette and health controversy. Who knows? If they still have a problem with Merit or Parliament, perhaps we could give them a go with Crystal Light or Miracle Whip."
Fields
- Notes
Authorship of this document was determined by searching for the Bates number immediately prior to the first page of this document (2500050402). This search returned a memo which was attached to a draft speech presenting a "balanced corporate view on the various smoking issues." The author of the memo (and subsequent speech) was determined to be Lee Pollak. Recipient was determined in the same manner.
- Quotes
[From Page 4, Bates No. 2500050406]:
As we observe the world today, we note that many of society's problems result from the state of our mental health or, putting it more simply, the mere difficulty of coping. People are healthier and live longer than ever before, but do they live better? The increased rate of crime, of divorce, of homelessness, and the prevalence of mental illness all evidence the fact that we should be paying greater attention to factors which affect one's mental well-being. Although I do not mean to suggest that cigarette smoking is any panacea for these problems, does it really make sense to bear down relentlessly on those who choose to relieve the daily stress of life through smoking?
Nor does it help to exaggerate the public health issues
involved. If today science were to develop a preventative or cure which would completely eliminate lung cancer, life expectancy would be increased by less than three months. [This fact -- as well as all others -- must be checked.]
We all know of the awful new diseases not associated with
smoking -- degenerative diseases of old age such as Alzheimers, but as we listen to the most vocal of the anti-tobacco activists, we get the impression that the person who does not smoke will never go to a hospital, never suffer disease and never die. Or, as one of my colleagues puts it, "those who don't smoke, die in the best of health."
And as one recognizes that lung cancer is a disease of older
age and that non-smokers also collect social security and incur medical expenses, one recognizes the absurdity of the contention that smoking results in a financial cost to society.
[From Page 13, Bates No. 2500050416]
This may surprise you, but I would like to conclude these
remarks by expressing my respect and admiration for the leaders of the anti-tobacco movement, or at least for those in the background who plot their aggressive strategy. In our business we look for people who succeed in developing new products which capture the imagination of the public. We never cease to be amazed with the ability of the anti-tobacco activists to come up with something new. No sooner does common sense destroy one of their assertions, than they are into another line of argument. Who would have
thought that anyone could create congressional concern over use of our familiar Virginia Slims advertising in Japan or create a controversy about a program to celebrate the Bill of Rights?
We could certainly use such ingenuity at Philip Morris and let me say here and now, we would be glad to receive the resumes of members of the anti-tobacco movement after they become bored with the cigarette and health controversy. Who knows? If they still have a problem with Merit or Parliament, perhaps we could give them a go with Crystal Light or Miracle Whip.
Although I speak partly in jest, we really would be pleased
if one of the best and the brightest of the anti-tobacco activists were to join us at Philip Morris. I know that this activist would come to recognize and accept that millions of adults in every part of the world choose to smoke because, quite simply, they enjoy it and that with tolerance and responsibility, the legitimate health issues of today can be resolved.
- Company
- Philip Morris Cos., Inc.
- Author
- Pollak, Lee (PMI Exec. VP/Asst. Gen. Counsel)
Lee Pollak was Executive Vice President and Assistant General Counsel for Philip Morris International. Pollak is formerly of Conboy, Hewitt, O'Brien & Boardman. (PMI's Introduction to Privilege Log and Glossary of Names, Estate of Burl Butler v. PMI, et al, April 19, 1996)
- Recipient
- Maxwell, Hamish (PM President c.1984)
Took over at time of Cippolone. Cleaned house. Carried company into a strong defensive position.
RegionUnited States
West Germany
"foreign countries"
Named OrganizationMaxwell House
Miller Beer
Kraft Cheese
Miracle Whip
Jello
Oscar Meyer Hot Dogs
Toberlone Chocolates
Post Toasties
Birdseye Frozen Foods
Philadelphia Cream Cheese
Entenmanns
Velveeta
Crystal Light
Minute Rice
Sanka
Kaffee Hag
Jacobs Coffee
Suchard's Milka Chocolates
Fortune Magazine
New York Times
Harvard University
City University of New York
TypeSPEECH, PRESENTATION
Named PersonJames, King
Koop, C.E., SG
Subjecthealth care cost
health effects
disease
addiction
warning label
advertising
Exports
Ingredients
public awareness
public smoking law
Document Images
Page 1: 2500050403
I'm going to speak to you tonight about Philip Morris ... and
cigarettes.
First, Philip Morris: As you are no doubt aware, today's
Philip Morris is a thriving company making and selling food,
beverage and tobacco products in volumes which exceed those of any
other manufacturer of packaged goods in the world.• Our products
are sold in almost every country and our brands are more well known
than our company itself.
We're proud of these products and we believe they identify the
company as well as the strong financial results which we publish
each quarter. Allow me to name a few: Marlboro, Maxwell House,
Miller Beer, Kraft Cheese, Miracle Whip, Jello, Oscar Meyer Hot
Dogs, Toblerone chocolates, Post Toasties, Birdseye Frozen Foods,
Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Entenmanns, Virginia Slims, Velveeta,
Crystal Light, Minute Rice, Sanka.
There are many more and I should add to the list some brands
which are more familiar abroad than they are here:, products such
as Kaffee Hag, Jacobs Coffee, Muratti cigarettes and Suchard's
Milka chocolates. Each of these products -- here and abroad -- is
a leader in its respective category and this leadership is based
upon a hard-earned reputation for the highest quality.
The sales and profits in all of our businesses are growing at
a rate which exceeds that of other industrial companies. Our
employees and shareholders were particularly proud -- but not
surprised -- when earlier this year a Fortune Magazine survey of
American business leadership voted Philip Morris the second most
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admired company in the United States.
Yet, in spite of all this, we at Philip Morris frequently feel
embattled. In May, we read on the front page of the New York Times
and other newspapers, that two of our most respected universities,
Harvard and the City University of New York, had divested from its
portfolios our shares because, as Harvard later explained, it did
not wish to be associated with a company whose policies and
practices seemed fundamentally in conflict with its own values.
When Philip Morris announced a program celebrating the 200th
anniversary of the Bill of Rights, congressional opponents of
tobacco called hearings to investigate our motives. Our success
in exporting cigarettes has contributed significantly towards
improving the U.S. balance of payments, but has drawn attacks from
critics who somehow expect that Asians and Africans would be
smoking fewer cigarettes if our products were not available.
Although cigarettes have been railed against since the reign
of King James, the intensity of this criticism seems today to be
reaching an all time high. Particularly disturbing to those of us
who work at Philip Morris and to those who share in its ownership,
is the suggestion that there is.something unethical in our offering
the product to the consumer and that Philip Morris as a company
should be regarded as an outcast in the business community. We
find this type of thinking muddled and dangerous in a time when
strong American-based companies should be receiving encouragement
rather than criticism as they seek out a competitive position for
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America in a world where foreign-based companies are advancing
every day.
Let us start by looking at the health controversY itself. We
at Philip Morris recognize the statistical association between
cigarette smoking and certain diseases. Although it is impossible
to look at any case of, say, lung cancer and then identify with
certainty a particular cause for the disease, we recognize
cigarette smoking as a risk factor and no purpose is served by our
suggesting otherwise.
But now we come to the second important point where, I
believe, those who see an ethical problem become confused. Every
package of cigarettes sold in this country bears a warning and has
done so since 1966. Our advertisements also include a warning.
Even before the date of legally required package warnings, there
existed a high awareness of the risks associated with smoking. We
know this from the evidence adduced in our product liability cases
where juries and judges have repeatedly absolved the industry
because of this general state of awareness.
Accordingly, there is no ethical issue involved with our
offering cigarettes to the public. Individuals choose to smoke or
not to smoke, making a mature and adult decision with full
knowledge of the risks. These risks are not all that different
from other risks related to one's choice of lifestyle or of diet.
Why do people choose to smoke?
The original Surgeon General's Report of 1964, referred to the
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fundamental nature of man and his search for contentment. This same
Report, the landmark study celebrated by Surgeon General Koop only
last year, recognized, and I quote, "the significant beneficial
effects of smoking, primarily in the area of mental health".
As we observe the world today, we note that many of society's
problems result from the state of our mental health or, putting it
more simply, the mere difficulty of coping. People are healthier
and live longer than ever before, but do they live better? The
increased rate of crime, of divorce, of homelessness, and the
prevalence of mental illness all evidence the fact that we should
be paying greater attention to factors which affect one's mental
well-being. Although I do not mean to suggest that cigarette
smoking is any panacea for these problems, does it really make
sense to bear down relentlessly on those who choose to relieve the
daily stress of life through smoking?
Nor does it help to exaggerate the public health issues
involved. If today science were to develop a preventative or cure
which would completely eliminate lung cancer, life eXpectancy would
be increased by less than three months. [This fact -- as well as
all others -- must be checked.]
We all know of the awful new diseases not associated with
smoking -- degenerative diseases of old age such as Alzheimers, but
as we listen to the most vocal of the anti-tobacco activists, we
get the impression that the person who does not smoke will never
go to a hospital, never suffer disease and never die. Or, as one
of my colleagues puts it, "those who don't smoke, die in the best
of health."
O
Page 5: 2500050407
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And as one recognizes that lung cancer is a disease of older
age and that non-smokers also collect social security and incur
medical expenses, one recognizes the absurdity of the contention
that smoking results in a financial cost to society.
I would like to say a few words about the issue of addiction.
The landmark 1964 Surgeon General's report, classified cigarette
smoking as a habit, explicitly rejecting the label, addiction. In
May of 1988 Surgeon General Koop taking the opposite view, declared
tobacco to be addictive and continuing, in a statement which was
not only foolish, but irresponsible, compared .cigarettes to
narcotics. In fact, scientific knowledge about the nature of
smoking is essentially the same today as it was in 1964. The
difference is that years of misuse of the word, as typified by
Koop's statement, has changed the meaning of "addiction". We speak
today, for instance, about addiction to food, to television and
even to exercise.
No one can deny that it is difficult for many people to stop
smoking. But the anti-tobacco activists undermine their purpose
by exaggerating this difficulty. As Surgeon General Koop, himself
has stated, more than 40 million Americans have stopped smoking and
over 90 per cent have done it on their own, without professional
assistance. In short, people smoke and, if motivated, stop smoking
as they so choose.
I suppose that we will never see an end to the debate about
smoking, but we do hope, in time, that our critics will take a more
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balanced view, recognizing that adults are free to make their own
decision on smoking without harassment from an intolerant minority
which seems to feel itself qualified to make the choice as to how
others should live.
Looking now at the tobacco industry, I believe we must be
responsive to those legitimate issues which have been raised by the
other side, evolving our position to meet current concerns.
We have, as an industry, been responsive over the years. In
the 1950's the industry introduced the modern filter cigarette and
in more recent years, cigarette makers have launched low and ultra
low tar cigarettes. Meanwhile the tar and nicotine yields of the
full flavor cigarettes have been reduced to a point where the
brands in this category are a totally different product from that
which existed twenty-five years ago.
Looking at our marketing practices, you may recall that it was
the cigarette companies, themselves, which voluntarily withdrew
from television advertising in the early 1970's and which have
imposed upon themselves other significant controls over the years.
Still, we believe there is more we can do today to respond to
health concerns and I would like to share with you some of our
plans for addressing current issues, indicating in each instance,
the criticism and our response.
First, regarding warnings, on exports, critics argue that our
U.S. factories put a caution notice on cigarettes sold in the
United States, but omit any warning on cigarettes exported to
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countries in the third world. In fact, a warning is required in
more than XY countries abroad and warnings have been proposed and
are working their way through the legislative or administrative
process in many of the other countries.
Our position up to now has been to leave the decision as to
warnings -- what they should say and where they should appear --
to this governmental process, but I should add that the process is
sometimes slow and there remain a number of developing countries
where cigarettes are sold without a caution notice. Accordingly,
we will now be placing the U.S. caution notice on all cigarette
packages shipped from our American factories to markets which today
do not require a health warning.
Second, regarding our marketing practices in third world
countries, critics argue that we market our cigarettes in a manner
which is overly aggressive and exploitive. In some of this
criticism there is a tone of arrogance and condescension, which
seems to assume, incorrectly, that no one in the developing world
is aware of the risks associated with smoking and that people there
are unable to make a free choice as to whether or not to smoke.
In these countries, as was the case with the warning labels,
we have, up to now, regulated our marketing practices looking
principally at the rules adopted by those in authority, and, quite
frankly, in these poorer countries where many of the diseases
statistically associated with smoking hardly exist, the smoking
controversy is of low priority and marketing restrictions are
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sometimes less stringent.
At the same time, we have always recognized that our
fundamental policies must apply across the board as they relate to
certain issues, such as marketing to youth. Accordingly, we will
be adopting a worldwide Code of Ethical Marketing Practices
codifying our existing practices so that every one of our managers
in every country in the world, will know and be responsible for
complying with the same high ~tandards. The Code will set forth
certain general principles and some specific practices which will
be applicable for our managers whether or not they are mandated by
the local legislation.
To a certain extent, the question of whether a particular
advertisement, promotion or marketing practice is directed towards
minors, involves a subjective judgment, but analogizing to the
Supreme Court test on obscenity, there are certain youth targeted
marketing practices which "you know when you see them." We will
not tolerate these practices at Philip Morris and we intend to use
our Code to ensure awareness and compliance with our policy.
Third, critics of the industry have complained that we do not
fully disclose which ingredients are added to our cigarettes and
that, therefore, meaningful research is impaired, in fact, no one
has ever been able to point to any particular ingredient known to
be added to the tobacco in cigarettes and conclude that the
addition of the ingredient poses a particular health risk.
Still, we can see a possible benefit in our making available
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to the scientific community a complete list of our ingredients.
Our problem up to now is that we have not wanted to disclose to our
competitors what is distinctly proprietary information. We are now
satisfied that there is a way to disclose to the public, completely
and accurately, those flavorants and other ingredients which are
added to cigarettes without compromising our competitive position
and we will make this disclosure before the end of the year.
Fourth, critics complain that the tobacco industry stubbornly
refuses to accept the allegations regarding the risks associated
with smoking. As you will have noted from the earlier part of my
talk, this is not the situation with Philip Morris and I should add
that my comments on statistical association and risk factor have
been made a number of times before.
I must add, however, that we continue to note a number of
anomalies which are ignored all too frequently by those opposed to
tobacco. For instance, the incidence of smoking among Japanese men
is extremely high, relative to other countries, yet the Japanese
have a relatively low rate of lung cancer. The nature of each of
the diseases associated with smoking is complex and clearly other
factors, such as genetics, industrial pollution and stress are
involved. Accordingly, we will continue to raise those points
which we deem relevant within the scientific community while
recognizing in the public arena the statistical association
referred to earlier.
This leads to my fifth point, which is the need for research
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and our plans at Philip Morris to increase substantially those
contributions which we make to educational and scientific
institutions. Philip Morris and other tobacco companies have been
funding medical research for more than twenty-five years but we
feel that we can do more in this area. In the coming months, we
will be identifying specific projects which can benefit from our
funding and which are directed towards determining the root causes
and cures for those diseases which are statistically associated
with tobacco.
Sixth, our position on public smoking: right now there is a
controversy over whether one person's cigarette smoke affects the
health of another. There are no fewer than 24 studies involving
smoking in a home where there are both smokers and non-smokers,
and, interestingly, 19 of them have failed to find a statistically
significant increase in lung Cancer for the non-smoker. In the
four similar studies where smoking in the work place was analyzed,
no such significant increase was shown in any of the studies.
Still, there are many people who sincerely believe that other
people's smoke may do harm.
There will obviously be more discussion and research on the
scientific issue, but I think frankly, that much of this analysis
tends to miss the point. There can be no question that many people
find another's cigarette smoke to be an annoyance and smokers must
respect this fact by being considerate as to when and where they
smoke. In this country the issue has been resolved by regulations
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