Sparber, Peter G.
We estimate the date of this speech to be between 1986 and 1989, based on budget documents that show funding for the Institute's Comprehensive Public Smoking Programs.
This document is the text of a speech by Peter Sparber of the Tobacco Institute discussing the Institute's plans to take a more "aggressive posture" against public health efforts to control tobacco. Sparber discusses "mobilizing smokers" to go "head-to-head against the anti-smokers." He describes the purpose of the Center for Indoor Air Research (to provide science for the industry's scientific witnesses), and plans for a group (headed by a celebrity spokesman) that would portray public health advocates as extreme, anti-social and over-reacting to life's small annoyances: "The coalition would sponsor research demonstrating that over-reactions [to being forced to breathe secondhand smoke] are abnormal and anti-social."
Of this new group, Sparber states, "We like this approach because it does not preach at all to smokers. In fact, it supports smokers by showing that a large, credible group sees the anti-smokers as the true social problem."
Sparber also states, "We will never be able to say that ETS is not harmful...The question is, when will we have solid, credible evidence that concerns about ETS are unfounded?"