Anne Landman's Collection
Audience Testing of "Smoking & Health: the Need to Know"
Abstract
The Doc-Alert posting from July 29, 2003 revealed an idea by the Tobacco Institute to produce a documentary film for the lay public that would help obscure the link between smoking and health. A Doc-Alert subscriber wrote to say that he believed the film was actually produced, and that the title was "Smoking & Health: The Need to Know, The Answers We Seek." A search of that title revealed that the Tobacco Institute actually did make and distribute such a film. Today's document is a memo about the film that was used as a Trial Exhibit in Minnesota's case.
In a 1973 memo, Anne Duffin (Vice President and Special Projects Director of the Tobacco Institute) wrote to William Kloepfer (President of the Institute) to inform Mr. Kloepfer that test showings of the Institute's documentary film, Smoking & Health: The Need to Know, "generated large and statistically significant shifts in attitudes favorable to the tobacco industry" among audiences, and the film reduced by 17.8% the number of people who agreed with the statement "cigarette smoking causes lung cancer."
Duffin also reported that, after viewing the film, significantly more audience members agreed with the statements: "the Surgeon General could be wrong about the dangers of smoking cigarettes," and "reports have overemphasized the dangers of smoking cigarettes."
A different Institute memo (by Mr. Kloepfer dated October 1, 1973, Bates No. TIMN 0078203) reveals that by 1 October 1973, the film had been shown to "37,000 in community audiences...including 18,000 men, 9,600 women, 5,400 boys and 3,200 girls..."
A 1977 report by the film's distributor (Modern Talking Picture Service) says that by 1977 the film had been shown to 294,891 people, including "35,751 boys" and "24,518 girls." (Bates No. TINY 0013656/3660).
Fields
- Notes
A rough chronology of the film's production and distribution (Bates Numbers included as much as possible):
1968 - Idea for film first proposed: (TIMN00709440) 1970-71 - Production of script: 1970-71 (TI16590355) 1972 - Production of film & premier showings to industry empolyees 1972 - Art Stevens (VP/Gen Counsel, Lorillard) in a memo to Kloepfer suggests showing film to "Kiwanis, Rotary, Elks and the like." (TIMN00783550) 1973 - Film was offered free to public (via press release, "Free film for adult audiences" (TIMN0078313) http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/cgi/getdoc?tid=acu92f00&fmt=pdf&ref=results 1973 - film was mailed to 21,000 men's clubs and 5,100 "adult groups" throughout the country (TIMN0078229) 1975 - "Cut down" version of film produced (cut from 30 minutes to 15 minutes) Oct. 1979 - New York Hospital Department of Social Work employee writes letter protesting film. 1984 - Film pulled from distribution.
- Quotes
The film generated large and statistically significant shifts in attitudes favorable to the Tobacco Industry.
Of six statements rated, four showed significant favorable shifts between viewers and nonviewers:
"cigarette smoking causes lung cancer" (57.1% vs. 74.9%)
"The Surgeon General could be wrong about the dangers of smoking cigarettes" (40.9% vs. 29.1%)
..."reports have overemphasized the dangers of smoking cigarettes" (37.9% vs. 27.5%)...
[From Page 3]:
The film was successful in influencing viewers on the smoking and health controversy. The exposed/unexposed check list items clearly showed that viewers of the film agreed, to a significantly greater extent than non-viewers, that:
The Surgeon General could be wrong about the dangers of smoking, (2.94 vs. 2.48 on a high score of 5);
Reports have overemphasized the dangers of smoking cigarettes, (2.69 vs. 2.33);
...Viewers were significantly less prone to feel that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer (3.42 vs. 4.02).
...These were the main (volunteered) ideas viewers got from the film:
Smoking may not be harmful; may or may not be harmful; further research is needed to prove connection between smoking and diseases,
Smoking maynot be the cause of lung cancer/relation between smoking and cancer not known; and
Smoking may not cause heart disease/they are undediced about the connection between smoking and heart disease.
...Therefore, on the basis of the differences observed in unexposed and exposed test audiences, the film appears to be capably of moderating some of the extreme views respondents may have regarding smoking and health.
- Company
- Tobacco Institute
- Author
- Duffin, Anne Hetfield (TI Vice President, Special Projects Director)Helped set up the Institute's "Helping Youth Decide" PR program; sought groups of educators to endorse the program to help bolster the program's crediblity with legislators.
- Recipient
- Kloepfer, William J., Jr. (TI Public Affairs VP, c. 1988)Senior Vice President of Public Affairs Relations for the Tobacco Institute
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