Abstract
This 1980 R. J. Reynolds document is another progress report on the global tobacco industry's Social Costs/Social Values Project to develop argumentation against the "social costs" claim that smokers cost society more in increased absenteeism, lost productivity, higher medical costs, etc.
Page 5 of the progress report shows that the industry attempted to find data to support their assertions that public health advocates don't really care about public health, but instead fight tobacco because they "have a special agenda to serve their own purposes." The report states,
"It was hoped that a rigorous, scientific analysis of the written material produced by anti-smoking groups would reveal a great deal about their ideologies. At [the World Conference on Tobacco or Health in ] Stockholm, speakers indicated, for example, a clear bias against capitalism, business, and multinational firms in particular. There are other indications that organized anti-smokers are also active in public interest movements relating to air-pollution, nuclear power, health foods, and the like -- all characterized by an aversion to moderate risk, by a utopia of eternal life, and by a disregard for the economic trade-offs which these imply. Such disregard necessarily affects their view of the social costs of smoking, and in turn justifies the distortions of social cost..."
Instead, the industry found no real underlying ideology to indict the public health advocates:
"In fact, analysis of anti-smoking materials revealed very little ideological content. This is in such striking contrast to [industry consultant] Dr. [Peter] Berger's observations at [the World Conference on Tobacco Or Health in] Stockholm that we must speculate that these ideas are suppressed in the anti-smoking media..."
This document shows how the industry sought to cast public health authorities as self-serving, utopian extremists and discredit the credibility of their attempts to reduce tobacco use.
Fields
- Quotes
[From Page 5]:
Chapter III.
The Character of Anti-Smoking Organizations...
Our primary objective in this area was to demonstrate clearly that anti-smoking activists have a special agenda which serves their own purposes, but not necessarily the majority of nonsmokers. That this time we have achieved only partial success toward this objective.
It was hoped that a rigorous, scientific analysis of the
written material produced by anti-smoking groups would reveal a great deal about their ideologies. At Stockholm, speakers indicated, for example, a clear bias against capitalism, business, and multinational firms in particular. There are other indications that organized anti-smokers are also active in public interest movements relating to air-pollution, nuclear power, health foods, and the like -- all characterized by an aversion to moderate risk, by a utopia of eternal life, and
by a disregard for the economic trade-offs which these imply. Such disregard necessarily affects their view of the social costs of smoking, and in turn justifies the distortions of social cost which were addressed in Chapter I.
In fact, analysis of anti-smoking materials revealed very
little ideological content. This is in such striking contrast to Dr. Berger's observations at Stockholm that we must speculate that these ideas are suppressed in the anti-smoking media. Dr. Wildavsky's report speaks of anti-smoking leaders having a "mail-order constituency", i.e., a loosely-knit, largely unkown membership who never really encounter the movement face to face...If this is indeed the case, evidence of a network of ideologies beneath the anti-smoking surface may require a much more direct approach, possibly one which we would not wish to pursue.
Dr. Wildavsky's report does provide insights into the
motivation of anti-smoking leaders; into the origins of such groups, their patterns of development, and their relationships with each other. Differences between the U.K. and U.S. movements are striking, as are some similarities.
- Company
- R. J. Reynolds
- Author
- Presumed author, Social Acceptability Working Party of ICOSI
- Recipient
- Presumed recipient, R.J. Reynolds
RegionUnited States
Named OrganizationSAWP, Social Acceptability Working Party (Subcommittee of ICOSI, Int'l Committe on Smoking Issues)Monitored health groups, developed countermeasures to fight their efforts
Named PersonGrefe, Edward A. (Philip Morris employee, Legal Dept.)
Intl Civics
American Enterprise Institute
Feinhandler, Sherwin J. Ph.D. (Behavioral/Social consultant to tobacco industry)Assisted PM by describing the social benefits of smoking. Work was seminal in
Association of Classroom Teachers
Berger, Peter L., Dr. (TI Consultant; Sociologist, Rutgers Universtiy)
Wildavsky, Aaron (Ran public policy institute, was a suporter of TASSC)Contracted to the tobacco industry
Natl Interagency Council on Smoking
Nozick, Dr. Robert (Professor of Philosophy at Harvard University)Was paid by the industry
Politics Today
Political Review
ACS, American Cancer Society
Operation/ProjectSocial Costs/Social Values Project (Develop of argumentation against the social costs issue)
TypeREPORT
Subjectsocial cost
social influence
industry activity
industry influence
industry response
industry sponsored conference
industry strategy
industry surveillance (Intelligence-gathering on public health forces)
Document Images
Page 1: uhe29d00
SOCIAL COSTS/SOCIAL VALUES
Progress Report
March 17, 1980
,
Page 2: uhe29d00
Chapter I.
The Social Cost of Smoking -- Myth or Reality.
Progress to Date
Manual Chapter has been distributed to SAWP, ICOSI
Secretariat and 15 national manufacturers' associations. ~
Two consultants' reports.have been distributed to SAWP and .
ICOSI. r' ~~
<-
7
Current Activity
Mr. Edward Grefe of International Civics, Inc. has been
asked to develop the technical arguments at a more "intuitively
,
acceptable" level.
The American Enterprise Institu
s
I,-- na
xpressed strong
interes i.n publishi_na a monograph on "Cost-Benefit.Analysis
"
of Consumer Products.
Future Activity
We plan to develop a conference
"Cost-Benefit Issues
~ . iu .
in the sprinq of 1981, on' ~
of Taxation an eau a ori
c u i preci.se subject, wi1TTe-settle
w
a sponsoring organization. Current plans call
or institutional setting, and funding by other
.
De~"fa Ts, in-
en we have located
for an academic
industries as well.
~
.
An in-house study of absenteeism da is_beinu des_igned, to
see whether t~"is a---d ocial cost be eliminated as an
issue.
1 tiv-,Ll .
Page 3: uhe29d00
The Social Role of Smoking.
Progress to Date
A first draft of the Manual Chapter has been reviewed
by the SAWP Project Team. The underlying consultant's report
has been distributed to SAWP and ICOSI Secretariat.
Current Activity
A revised draft of the Manual Chapter is in preparation
for r _ew by SAWP.
We have developed an outline with Dr. Feinhandler, of
a Trainin Pac a e o e p social science consultants in other
coun ries to obtain an ana yzsimi ar ata in manner con-
si nt with the ICO _s tu y. This further research is
expec ed to cost far less, by virtue of the Training Package
and the experience which has already been gained. The Package
will consist of six elements:
--The ICOSI report.
--A training text.
--A video tape which:
-illustrates and discusses social functions
of smoking.
-gives viewers an opportunity to record
actual data.
-tests the reliability of these observations
by comparison with Feinhandler coding of
the same activity.
--Interview formats to help define the settings and
meanings attached to the smoking behavior.
--A format for recording behavior.
--A coding manual.
--Complete statistical methodology.
The objectives of conducting this research elsewhere are
to ain loca cre ibilit and, ultimately, to rocure cross-
cu tural data. Suc data will offer an opportunity to explain
sm- oTc'ing Sehavior in terms of other social variables, rather
than merely describe it.
Future Activity
We are develoj~inq a plan to gain publication of Dr.
Feinhandler's research At present, this plan calls for breaking
the work into two topics, each to be written for two levels of
V
Page 4: uhe29d00
readership:
--Social Functions of Tobacco
-for professional readership.
-for lay readership.
--Smoking Restrictions in Society.
T
Da
History.
ru es an rmal
regulations.
-for prof essional readership.
-for lay readership.
When these four manuscripts have been developed further,
we will work out a list of potential media, and begin sub-
mitting the manuscripts.
.r
N
O
~
Page 5: uhe29d00
The Character of Anti-Smoking Organizations.
Three draft reports have been completed in support of
this chapter.
1. An analysis of "The Political Culture of Anti-
Smoking Groups", by Aaron Wildavsky et al.
2. Observations on the Fourth World Conference on
Smoking and Health, by Peter Berger.
3. A brief report linking the two studies.
Our primar ob'ective in this area was to demonstrate
clearly t anti-smoking activists have a special agenda
whic serves their own purposes, ut not necessarily the
majority o nonsmokers. At this time, we have achieved only
partial success toward this objective.
-
_~
It was hoped that a rigorous, scientific analysis of the
written material produced by anti-smoking groups would reveal
a great deal about their ideologies. At Stockholm, speakers
indicated, for example, a clear bias against capitalism,
business, and multinational firms in particular. There are
other indications that organized anti-smokers are also active
in public interest movements relating to air-pollution, nuclear
power, health foods, and the like -- all characterized by an
aversion to moderate risk, by a utopia of eternal life, and
by a disregard for the economic trade-offs which these imply.
Such disregard necessarily affects their view of the social
costs of smoking, and in turn justifies the distortions of '
social cost which were addressed in Chapter I.
In fact, analysis of anti-smoking materials revealed very
little ideological content. This is in such striking contrast
to Dr. Berger's observations at Stockholm that we must speculate
that these ideas are suppressed in the anti-smoking media.
Dr. Wildavsky's report speaks of anti-smoking leaders having
a "mail-order constituency", i.e., a loosely-knit, largely
unkown membership who never really encounter the movement face
to face. In this case, it may be very important to avoid issues
which might alienate some members. If this is indeed the case,
evidence of a network of ideologies beneath the anti-smoking
surface may require a much more direct approach, possibly one
which we would not wish to pursue.
Dr. Wildavsky's report does provide insights into the
motivation of anti-smoking leaders; into the origins of such o
groups, their patterns of development, and their relationships Q
-4
0
N
Page 6: uhe29d00
with each other. Differences between the U.K. and U.S. move-
ments are striking, as are some similarities.
Current Activity
re ' ' nin to di est the material we have
receive_d, and to write Chap_ r III o the Manual. Dr. Wildavsky's
report is nearly 300 pages in length.) A first draft of Chapter
III should be ready by the end of May, 1980.
Mr. Edward Grefe, of Civics International, will be asked
to evalua e the material in terms of its use to separate
rganized anti-smokers rom nonsmo ers. e wi i en ify
critica o es in the material for this purpose, and ways
to fill these misssing elements.
Much more can be learned about the flow of funds between
anti-smoking grougs. For example, the American Cancer Society
has funded an anti-smoking education program through the
Association of Classroom Teachers; both are members of the
National Interagency Council on Smoking and Health.
DE
roach with which we
entered this rp oject, we are a so pursuin a ourna istic"
appro Dr. Berger has sugges e co eagues who mig t be
interested in developing our materials into one or more articles
for "upscale" lay media such as Politics Today or Political Review.
One very promising lead has been uncovered. BY intecrating
material from Cha ter II and III on anti-smokinq movements,
we shou e a le to develop some waluable ublications. Firm
commi ents ill be sou~ etween April and June.
Page 7: uhe29d00
Chapter IV.
The Threat to Civil Liberties.
This~re~rt ~~11 incorporate material from Chapters I and
II. It is, therefore, still at an early stage.
Current Activity
By mutual agreement, Dr. Nozick has withdrawn as a
participant in the project. We are making further contacts
now.
Future Activity
Every effort will be made to have a draft chapter ready
by mid-July.
,
Page 8: uhe29d00
Chapter V.
Impact of Smoking Restrictions in the Workplace.
Progress to Date
Data from our laboratory study show that in two of five
basic job tasks, the performance of deprived smokers deterio-
trated after one half hour of deprivation. This tells us that
there is merit in exploring this part of the project further.
Current Activity
Our present task is to design a research project aimed at
evaluating t e cost o res c ing smo ing in t_e wor p ace. We
ar erviewing industria~ engineering consultants now. This
will be followed by selection of support personnel in the social
sciences to round out the team.
Future Activity
We plan to have a detailed project outline completed by
early August.
Page 9: uhe29d00
Information Retrieval
Progress to Date
A
nforma
Ur
copy o e survey report has been sent to the
A preliminary search profile has been used to test the
value of these sources, and to test the search profile itself.
This has narrowed the list of usable information bases consider-
ably.
Current Activity
We are reviewing the test results to improve our search
procedure. A complete search will be ducted onthe most
promisin informa ion bases. This will generate a useful
bi liography on the socia cost of smoking, and on social cost
in general, by the end of April.
Furture Activity
Based on the results of our current activity, we will
or nize a systematic u datin procedure so that current papers
will be roug t to our attention as soon as they are entered
into the public information bases.
We will deve_lQP_ detailed pla_ns and ~st Pstimates for
(a) bLffldi ncr a custom information base for ICOSI and (b) ~
develo_ping an 1nf~T~tinn retrj,PVal svstem around ICOSI
needs, by adapting an existing system. i~
----,
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