Tobacco Documents Online

Promotional material for Smokers Express Airlines; has a picture of a full-size airliner sporting a big "Marlboro" ad on the tail. Lists features of airline: "Real food for real people - Burgers and Subs, No screaming babies (members must be 21), full size ashtrays.

This Philip Morris Europe (PME) interim scientific report shows that PME performed detailed testing to find out the quantities of dangerous and irritating chemicals that smoking of cigarettes puts into ambient air. A special airtight room was created just for the experiments: "Airtightness

It is extremely important that the experimental room be airtight to prevent smoke escaping or air entering during the experiments. Every possible precaution was taken to effectively seal the experimental room. All joints were sealed with silicone glue, the rivet holes were plugged with epoxide glue and a good seal was made at the door."

PME used a smoking machine to smoke beween 5 and 60 cigarettes in the room and then tested the air of the room for carbon monoxide, nicotine, hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, aldehydes, and other dangerous or irritating chemicals. Some of the testing was done using two different methods to verify accuracy, and some tests were done twice.

Charts in the appendix of the document indicate that the amount of carbon dioxide in the air of the experimental room increased almost linearly with the number of cigarettes smoked. The ammonia concentration also increased in almost perfect linear fashion proportional to the number of cigarettes smoked. The same was true with hydrogen cyanide. The report states that the concentration of hydrogen cyanide in the room failed to decrease for over an hour after smoking ceased:

"Five, 15, 30 and 60 cigarettes...were smoked in the experimental room under standard smoking conditions...Measured HCN concentrations were found to be proportional to the number of cigarettes smoked over the investigated range....It was found that HCN concentrations in the room did not decay over a period of one hour."

The report also states,

"In all cases investigated concentrations [of the investigated chemicals] were proportional to the number of cigarettes smoked, all deviations being with the range of experimental errors."

So the more cigarettes that were smoked in an enclosed space, the higher the concentrations of chemicals were put into the air.

All testing was done in overseas labs in Europe.

This 502-page scientific report was done at INBIFO, Philip Morris's biological research lab in Europe, and was sent to Ragnar Rylander, a scientist who worked on contract for PM. It is an extensive report on mouse skin painting tests done to determine the carcinogenicity of secondhand (sidestream or "SS") smoke compared with that of mainstream ("MS") smoke. For the test, solids (or "condensate)" were derived from the particulate matter in both mainstream and sidestream smoke and painted onto the skin of 2,625 mice over an 80-week period to gauge the biological reaction. On page 12, Bates No. 2026051129, under "Condensates," the report states that

"The concentrations of the nitrosamines NNN, NATB, NNK, NAB, NPY, and DMNA were between 0.01 and 1.9 milligrams/liter for [mainstream smoke]and between 0.08 and 6.1 milligrams/liter for [sidestream smoke]. The main differences between [mainstream] and [sidestream smoke] were the higher concentrations: of NNK, NPY, and DMNA for [sidestream]."

It also states that,

"The sum of all PAH [polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons] were 5-fold higher for [sidestream smoke] than for [mainstream smoke]."

and, on page 14, (Bates No. 2026051131) it states that "The number of mice with signs of intoxication was higher in the [sidestream] than in [mainstream] treated groups."

It also states that:

"The comparison of the mortality of [mainstream] and [sidestream] treated mice showed a statistically significantly higher mortality in the [sidestream]treated groups. This is considered to be biologically relevant."

The "Conclusions" section on page 22 (Bates No.2026051139) states that Sidestream Whole Smoke Condensate collected with an impaction trap (SWSC-I) showed 2 to 6 times higher skin tumorigenicity than Mainstream Whole Smoke Condensate collected in the same manner (MWSC-I). Here is the quote:

"SWSC-I assayed for complete tumorigenic activity, i. e., without DMBA pretreatment, showed a 2- to 6-fold higher skin tumorigenicity than MWSC-I."

The section entitled "Mortality" on Page 14 (Bates No. 2026051131) states that,

"The comparison of the mortality of the [mainstream] and [sidestream] treated CD1 and B6C3FI mice showed a statistically significantly higher mortality in the [sidestream] treated groups. This is considered to be biological relevant."

On Page 17 (Bates No. 2026051134), a section entitled "Skin Irritations" states,

"The comparison of skin irritations in [mainstream] and [sidestream] treated CD1 mice showed a statistically significantly higher number of mice with skin irritations in the [sidestream] treated groups. This is considered to be biologically relevant."

On Page 21 (Bates No. 2026051138) a section describing "Pathological Findings" states that,

"The relative skin tumor rate (b), was statistically significantly higher in

(1) [Sidestream treated mice] without and with DMBA pretreatment than in [mainstream treated mice] without and with DMBA pretreatment...These effects are considered to be biologically relevant."

NOTE: Some of the mice were pre-treated with an "initiator" (DMBA), a chemical that was believed to help tumors start forming, but which does not to promote them once they are formed.

The report, dated 26 October 1987, seems to show that Philip Morris had done biological testing on secondhand smoke and found that secondhand smoke was more biologically active than mainstream smoke.

Buried inside this mostly-dull 195-page Philip Morris (PM) marketing report is some important information that should be noted by public health groups and authorities:

In noting the decline of smoking rates in the U.S., PM lists the major factors that have proven particularly effective at decreasing the demand for cigarettes: "the declining social acceptability of smoking, increased smoking restrictions, particularly in the workplace [and] rising excise taxes and prices..." Confirming that higher cigarette prices effectively decrease smoking rates, the report also says that lower-priced (discount) cigarettes help "keep some consumers in the marketplace" who otherwise would have quit.

The document also describes PM's opposition to fire-safe cigarettes:

"Anti-smoking groups endorse the 'self-extinguishing', or 'Fire Safe', cigarette as a way to...cause all cigarettes to look and taste the same. Such mandates could cripple the competitive advantage of leading brands and intensify the erosion of the overall cigarette market."

PM describes its strategy to fight fire-safe cigarette legislation on Page 150, Bates No. 2051363574:

"ISSUE: Efforts by anti-smoking groups to mandate a 'fire safe' cigarette could destroy the competitiveness of leading brands and increase the cost of manufacturing cigarettes. STRATEGY: ...PM-USA will expand coalitions among the fire prevention community and public policy makers to diffuse support for 'fire-safe' legislation at the state and federal level..."

PM also considered nicotine-replacement therapy aids (like the patch and gum) to be direct competitors. To fight the incursion of these products into the nicotine market, PM planned to develop a "proprietary alternative smoking product" called "Beta," which would "be marketed in direct response to such products as nicotine-releasing skin patches and chewing gum." [Page 37, Bates No. 2051363461]

The report also reveals the extreme importance of smoker databases to cigarette companies' continued ability to promote smoking--something public health authorities have largely ignored. As legal restrictions tighten on advertising and promotions, cigarette companies increasingly turn to huge databases of information that they gather on smokers to continue actively marketing cigarettes to large numbers of people:

"The marketing environment is likely to become more restrictive during the plan period, including additional restrictions on outdoor and event sponsorship. This necessitates creating alternative avenues of reaching the consumer. Developing a smoker name database will enable us to effectively reach a large number of smokers..."

Smoker databases are of such importance as promotional tools that PM girded itself to deflect any legislation that might restrict the company's ability to gather personal information on smokers:

"As the database becomes more critical to our marketing plans, it becomes essential that we protect it from legislated restrictions..." [Page 107, Bates No. 2051363531]

The document also makes it clear that PM fights restrictions on event sponsorship at least in part because these events provide the company with venues in whcih they can gather personal data on smokers (the company refers to gathering smoker information as "name generation.") The says PM should "Increase [the company's] presence at major events and use as source for name generation."

Also of interest to health authorities should be the information on Page 145 (Bates No. 2051363569) that describes PM's strategy to divert health department funds away from tobacco control and towards "support[ing] other health programs (pre-natal care, half-way houses, etc.)" (areas which don't threaten cigarette sales):

"Long Term Goals

• Counter ASSIST Program in 17 states: - Work with grass roots organizations to divert state health department funds, equivalent to the amount of ASSIST funding, to support other health programs (pre-natal care, half-way houses, etc.).

(Note: ASSIST was a widespread public health effort in the early to mid 1990's in the U.S. to reduce smoking rates in 19 states)

PM's plans also included efforts to eliminate public health restrictions on tobacco that were already in place:

"Rollback Program:

- Particularly in localities, introduce legislation to reinstate marketing activities, such as sampling and couponing, that have been banned or restricted.

- Pass state preemption."

The report also refers to African Americans as an "important volume opportunity" while simultaneously describing how to fight the idea that the industry targets minorities in their promotions,

This and much more information within this document shows that far beyond simply making and selling cigarettes, Philip Morris actively worked on a number of fronts to fight efforts to reduce the many public health threats the company poses.

This Philip Morris marketing document evaluates Marlboro advertising to find ways to make the imagery more appealing to young Saudi Arabian men. The idea was to find out what emotional, psychological and cultural needs and values young male Saudis have, and then determine how PM could exploit these in their cigarette advertising.

Page 39 of the document (Bates No. 2501055413) reports on reactions of Saudi men to a Marlboro ad that depicted three cowboys leaning on a fence and talking. The middle cowboy held coiled up rope in his hand. The report says, "Values disliked [about this ad] were...the ropes, which gave uncomfortable feeling -- ropes are used to bind people and hang them in Saudi Arabia."

The report also generalizes about Saudi men:

"There is a strong thread of violence just below the surface of the Arab personality, linked to ideas of vengeance and the protection of property (including women) but there is at the same time a desire to suppress this in favour of the more acceptable public face of masculinity, which is more calm and controlled."

The report defines values of Saudi men:

"The aspiration for them is very definitely to have friends who have status and wealth - and especially a big car. Belonging to such a peer group, even if you do not personally have the wealth, enables you to enjoy the reflected status. Cigarettes it seems are often shared, and within the peer group there is also pressure to smoke the same brand..."

A brief discussion of smoking and health in the document reveals a belief among Saudi men that certain types of cigarettes are "healthier" than others, and indicates that Saudi smokers may lack key information about smoking and health in general:

"There is ample evidence that smoking is regarded [among Saudis] as harmful, although this was not expressed directly, it was indirectly through the description of the personality of brands...For Marlboro Red smokers, if you smoke a light cigarette, then you are not strong/healthy enough to be able to smoke a strong cigarette. For Marlboro Lights smokers, if you smoke a strong cigarette, then you are stupid, ignorant."

While it is not surprising that a corporation would tailor its advertising to appeal to foreign cultures, by the time this document was written (1993) tobacco use had already long been labeled by authorities worldwide as a major public health problem. Despite this, PM continued to emphasize spreading the use of tobacco in foreign countries (as well as in the U.S.). It is also interesting to see how American cigarette companies scrutinize foreign cultures and pinpoint the emotional and psychological needs and held by people of these cultures to devise ways of better exploiting them.

States how PM has the most to lose from public health successes, saying [Page A-27]: "PM-USA is taking a major role in defending the cigarette industry since our leadership position in terms of market share and profitability implies that we have the most to lose if the industry is radically altered by the aggressive attacks of anti-smoking forces." States [on Page A-28] how the industry used the supposedly independent Center for Indoor Air Research, or CIAR: "We will continue the scientific battle over the effects of ETS through the Center for Indoor Air Research [2055014059]." Also discusses how PM planned to manipulate state legislative processes for corporate advantage: "We will use the legislative process to compel accommodation as opposed to outright bans."

March 1980 Philip Morris newsletter which appears to be aimed at general public to motivate pro-smoking activity. Lists all the people who helped the industry by reporting local tobacco control efforts. Argues against SG report on women and smoking saying its conclusions could stifle further research.. Cites study conducted by industry consultant P.N. Lee saying giving up smoking may have adverse consequences due to stress.

On Page 91 (203084913) describes PM's strategy of "a sustained holding action with agressive counterattacks" against public health efforts. Describes plans to exploit American anti-tax, anti-government interference and pro free-speech sentiments to "maximize industry volume by aggressively blunting attacks" from public health forces. States goal to "improve public perceptions of smoking." States strategy of "going beyond simply defending ourselves" to forming "proactive groups" to "campaign for repeal of anti-smoking legislation" and to "force anti-smoking advocates to defend their gains rather than seeking to expand them." Describes plans to "create local smokers' rights associations throughout the U.S." with a "network of 50,000 'block captains' who will monitor local smoking issues and serve as a grass roots voice for smokers' rights, lans to "create a self-sustaining membership organization similar to the National Rifle Association." Describes Operation Downunder, and its goals,

"Increase the industry's leverage in legislatures by showing a more reasonable approach to the issue..."

"...to compel the accommodation of smoking in all public places."

"...To isolate the anti-smoking forces by making the industry appear reasonable on the issue while they [public health advocates] are irrational in their demands." States Downunder was based on an assumption that "Science has not established a health risk to non-smokers from environmental tobacco smoke."

Presentation about targeting a cigarette brand called "Harley Davidson" to low-income young blue collar males who have have a high school education or less, are outer-directed belongers and "wannabees," and who seek out a macho image. The brand would also be targeted women who have "men's interest."

This Philip Morris document provides insight into the creation of "Dave's" cigarettes, a discount brand targeted at "YAMS" (Young Adult Male Smokers). The idea was to create a discount brand that would make broke YAMS feel as though they were buying by choice, not because they were broke. This presentation, by the advertising firm Young and Rubicam, describes the plight of YAMS and the gap "Dave's" would strive to fill: "Economic reality forces a trade down...Nothing comes close to cigarettes in terms of a degrading trade-down...In a category that is supposed to be a reward and indulgence, a discount cigarette stands for the antithesis of what smoking is all about. Therefore YAMS can't feel good about purchasing discount cigarettes when they have to. In their heart of hearts, they would like to feel that when they buy a discount brand, it's because they choose to -- not because they happen to be cheap, broke or desperate."

Dave's was designed to be that magical brand that would make it okay for YAMS to buy discount cigarettes.

To sell "Dave's," Philip Morris created a fictional cigarette company run by a fictional, independent, honest, hard-working guy named "Dave" who got around in a down-to-earth 1957 yellow pickup truck. Ads for "Dave's" cigarettes touted "Dave" as a youthful renegade who got fed up with the establishment and struck out on his own. There was no hint in the ads that the product was made by Philip Morris.

(One ad read:

"Dave was fed up with cheap, fast burning smokes. Instead of just getting mad, he did something about it. He read some books, cleared twenty acres and got to work. He put a down payment on a tractor and traded his lawn mower for a weather radio. And then it was just a matter of waiting for the final frost of the season and a new moon. In early April, Dave sowed his first seeds. A few sunny days later, Dave's Tobacco Company was born. Word spread about Dave's "different smokes." His tobacco leaves were hand picked, then barn cured and barrel aged for rich taste. And to make sure they burned perfectly, each smoke was packed tight. People started buying these new smokes that didn't burn fast and tasted great. They told their friends..who told their friends. Now Dave works for nobody but himself. And it all started with a few tobacco seeds..and a dream." [See the ad, The tale of Dave's Original Blend Link: http://tobaccodocuments.org/pollay_ads/Dave01.06.html]

Focus group testing showed, though, that if and when YAMS did find out that "Dave's" cigarettes were really made by the Philip Morris Tobacco Company, the felt disappointed and betrayed. PM minimized the importance of this finding, however, and pressed ahead with the marketing brand [see the PM document Dave's Seattle Research (1994) http://tobaccodocuments.org/pm/2045165728.html]

Shortly after "Dave's" hit the market, humor columnist Dave Barry wrote a scathing column ripping "Dave's" cigarettes:

I want to stress that I'm not bitter about what the Philip Morris Corp. is trying to do with the name "Dave." In case you didn't know, Philip Morris is test-marketing a new brand of cigarettes called "Dave's." Over the past year I've seen big billboard advertisements for "Dave's" cigarettes in Seattle and Denver. These are folksy ads; one of them features a tractor. The message is that "Dave's" is a folksy brand of cigarette, produced by a down-to-earth, tractor-driving guy named "Dave" for ordinary people who work hard and make an honest living, at least until they start coughing up big folksy chunks of trachea. .." http://www.s-t.com/daily/07-96/07-28-96/e02li154.htm:

A 1995 Wall Street Journal article also ripped PM's effort to deceive smokers with "Dave":

"Dave's Cigarettes" has become a trend setter in anti-establishment marketing. The promotional literature describes Dave as "an entrepreneur who believes in the value of home made products and the concept of offering folks quality cigarettes at the right price." Dave is such a populist he tells store owners he doesn't even want his folksy cigs to "mix with the 'corporate' cigarettes." Now take a guess as to which $60 billion tobacco giant owns Dave's? If you said Phillip Morris you win a half case of Red Dog beer (also owned by PM). Nowhere does Phillip Morris, in it's self-described effort to "convey cutting edge hipness," acknowledge it's relation to "Dave." Just being "plain folks" I guess. (WSJ 3/2/95)

Today "Dave's" appears to be a failed brand, along with another brand PM proposed to be targeted at young men (but that never made it off the drawing board), "Barking Fish" cigarettes http://tobaccodocuments.org/landman/2041490669-0681.html )

{Page 121] Indicates that the hostile environment towards tobacco companies makes it difficult to attract good employees, keep morale up. Confirms tort reform is an effort by PM.