The interoffice memo from Steve Parrish to all PM employees that served as the cover page for the analysts' comments can be seen here:
Title: ANALYSTS' COMMENTS ON PM21
Organization Authors: PHILIP MORRIS COMPANIES INC
Person Authors: PARRISH,S
Document Date: 19991015
Document Type: MEMO, MEMORANDUM
Bates Number: 2071041506
Page Count: 1
Collection: Philip Morris
URL: http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/znm32c00
The article discussed the testimony of PM Chief Executive Officer Michael E. Szymanczyk in the ongoing U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) civil racketeering lawsuit. U.S. Attorney Sharon Eubanks asked Mr. Szymanczyk about Philip Morris' corporate makeover program, "PM-21," which has been made visible to the public through the company's youth smoking prevention television commercials, the publicizing of PM's support for domestic violence shelters and feeding the hungry, and the cutting of some cigarette advertising from youth-oriented publications. Szymanczyk told the court that PM started the PM-21 program to bring the company into alignment with society's expectations of a responsible company and thus boost the company's stock value.
U.S. attorney Sharon Eubanks questioned whether the PM-21 program wasn't actually publicity ploy instead, aimed at mitigating public anger at the company and minimizing the potential for large jury awards in court cases. To back this up, Ms. Eubanks presented a 1999 memo written by Steve Parrish, (Vice President and General Counsel for PM) and sent to all PM employees. In the memo, Mr. Parrish introduced 11 pages of comments from financial analysts about the newly launched PM-21 program. Many of the comments focused on the effect the PM-21 program was expected to have on potential jury awards:
"In the long term, we feel that a campaign such as this will help mitigate the need on the part of juries to further punish tobacco companies for past behavior..." [Page 2065572428]
"We believe that over time the [PM21] program should (1) moderate public anger against the company and the tobacco industry; (2) reduce the risk of large-scale punitive damage awards in individual smokers claims..." [Page 2065572429]
"We reiterate our initial assessment of the image campaign as a long-term positive for the company based on its ability to mitigate 'jury anger." [Page 2065572435]
"...we feel that the company's 'admission', particularly over time, will actually strengthen the company's legal defense and reduce the risk of large scale punitive damage awards in individual smoker cases..." [2065572437]
"Leaving the 'flat-earth' society should moderate juror anger, a key factor in the juries' willingness to punish Philip Morris...The company's revised position, in our opinion, will be viewed as far more reasonable and will likely help moderate potential juror anger." [2065572437]
The analysts also praised PM for avoiding offering an apology to the public for the company's decades of wrongdoing, for carefully wording its public statements to preserve its current liability defenses, and for continuing to sidestep any direct admission about the link between smoking and disease.