Tobacco Documents Online

This brief memo from Helmut Wakeham (head of Research and Development at Philip Morris) to Clifford Goldsmith (Chief of Operations at PM USA) shows that by 1969 PM was aware of medical consensus that smoking causes pregnant women to produce smaller babies, and that "smaller babies suffer detrimental effects all through life." Ray Fagan's analyses of the studies (mentioned in the memo) can be seen at http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/cgi/getdoc?tid=wou74e00&fmt=pdf&ref=results It states,

"All the investigations of this type agree that smoking mothers have babies of lower birth weight than non-smoking mothers, and that these lower weight babies are more likely to experience problems later in life. Whether the mechanism is that of a 'slight poison' as suggested by Russell et al or whether the mechanism is through the reduced appetite of the mother (and hence poor nutrition) is yet to be decided."

In this 1971 Face the Nation Television interview, Morton Mintz of the Washington Post confronts Joseph Cullman, III (then Chairman of the Board of Philip Morris) with information about a massive study done in the United Kingdom that showed that babies of smoking mothers had a greater incidence of low birth weight than non-smoking mothers, and that babies of smoking mothers had an increased risk of stillbirth and death within 28 days of birth. Cullman acknowledged that he was aware of the study and its results. His response:

"Some women would prefer having smaller babies."

When Mintz asked Cullman "What about the higher rate of death?" Cullman replied, "I'm not familiar with that."

Many of the questions asked of Cullman in this interview are still pertinent today, such as why Philip Morris continues to promote smoking among women, while they are also aware that smoking can hurt fetuses of pregnant women.

The passages of interest are on Pages14-15 of the transcript. Interviewers are: George Herman, CBS News, Morton Mintz, The Washington Post, Earl Ubell, Science Editor, WCBS-TV News.

In this 1971 Face the Nation Television interview, Morton Mintz of the Washington Post confronts Joseph Cullman, III (then Chairman of the Board of Philip Morris) with information about a massive study done in the United Kingdom that showed that babies of smoking mothers had a greater incidence of low birth weight than non-smoking mothers, and that babies of smoking mothers had an increased risk of stillbirth and death within 28 days of birth. Cullman acknowledged that he was aware of the study and its results. His response:

"Some women would prefer having smaller babies."

When Mintz asked Cullman "What about the higher rate of death?" Cullman replied, "I'm not familiar with that."

Many of the questions asked of Cullman in this interview are still pertinent today, such as why Philip Morris continues to promote smoking among women, while they are also aware that smoking can hurt fetuses of pregnant women.

The passages of interest are on Pages14-15 of the transcript. Interviewers are: George Herman, CBS News, Morton Mintz, The Washington Post, Earl Ubell, Science Editor, WCBS-TV News.