Philip Morris
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- Type
- REPT, REPORT, OTHER
- BUDG, BUDGET, BUDGET REVIEW
- CHAR, CHART, GRAPH, TABLE, MAPS
- DRAW, DRAWING
- Area
- LEGAL DEPT/CARLSTADT
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- N28
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- DRFT, DRAFT
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- Document File
- 2025047918/2025048206/821004 - 811006 Infotab Baden Baden,
- Germany Meeting
- Master ID
- 2025047954/8117
- 2025047954 Infotab Board of Directors Meeting Baden-Baden 811005 - 811006
- 2025047955-7957 Board of Directors Meeting Baden-Baden, 811005 - 811006 Agenda
- 2025047958 Board of Directors Meeting, 811005 - 811006 Participants
- 2025047959-7960
- 2025047961-7962 National Manufacturers' Associations
- 2025047963 1
- 2025047964 Item 1 Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting, 810330
- 2025047965-7984 Infotab Meeting of the Board of Directors London 810330 Minutes
- 2025047985 2
- 2025048047 3
- 2025048048 Item 3 Re-Assessment of Board's Position Resisting Legislation, Particulary in Connection with Advertising
- 2025048049 4
- 2025048050-8051 Item 4. Infotab Structure and Priorties
- 2025048052 Report and Recommendations to the Board From Meeting of Chairing Company, Committee Chairmen and Secretary General
- 2025048053-8060 Report and Recommendations on: 1) Committee Work Programs 2) Role of Secretariat and Committees - Short and Long Term.
- 2025048061-8062 Report and Recommendations to the Board
- 2025048063-8066
- 2025048067-8068
- 2025048069-8071
- 2025048072
- 2025048073 5
- 2025048074 Item 5. Bat Program on Approach to Some Scientific Issues
- 2025048075 6
- 2025048076
- 2025048077-8088 Developing Countries Group Progress Report Covering Projects and Action Plans Since the Board of Directors Meeting on 810330
- 2025048089-8097 Report to - the - Board-of-Directors - of - Infotab: Activities - of - the - Social-Acceptibility - Working - Party - (Sawp)
- 2025048098-8101 Condensed Version - Economist Intelligence Unit Study
- 2025048102-8105 Defence of Advertising Committee 811000 Report to the Infotab Board
- 2025048106-8108 Report on Ec Task Force
- 2025048109 7
- 2025048110 Item 7. Approval of Total 810000 Revised and 820000 Budgets (Committees and Secretariat) and Members' Contributions
- 2025048111 8
- 2025048112 Item 8. Vote on New Board Members to Fill Vacancies
- 2025048113 9
- 2025048114 Item 9. Arrangements for Next Board Meeting
- 2025048115 10
- 2025048116 Item 10. Any Other Business
- 2025048117
Related Documents:
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ITEM 2
, .{" . . ....
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE SECRETARIAT
2.1 Personnel, Premises and other Administrative Matters
2.1.1 Personnel
As of September 7, 1981, the staff of the Secretariat
comprises:
- Secretary General
- Secretary
- Manager of Administration
- Secretary
- Director of Information
- Secretary
- Regional Coordinator
Services
- Documentalist (Librarian)
- Receptionist/Junior Secretary (clerk typist)
- Junior Secretary (clerk typist)
The Regional Coordinator started his transfer, and
that of his family, to Brussels on September 7,
following affirmative replies from all member
companies to the Secretary General's telex of
August 12 regarding the Coordinator's assignment and
the role of the ad hoc Middle East Group.
The two analysts will join the staff on October 14
and mid-November, respectively.
The search has started for the Deputy Secretary
General and initial candidates will probably be
interviewed by the Secretary General starting in
October.
A third junior secretary/clerk typist will be hired
in January, 1982.
~ .~ia 1(.w JfL
As part of their orientation program, the Director of
Information Services, the Regional Coordinator, two
analysts and the Documentalist will attend the
Tobacco Institute's "College of Tobacco Knowledge",
November 16/17, in Washington, D.C. They will also
attend the NMA Workshop, November 3-5.
Lunch allowances and a very low-cost, supplementary
medical insurance program have been initiated for all
personnel.
2
Working conditions are becoming less than satisfactory,
due to overcrowding, but this is a temporary problem
that will be resolved by the move to larger space on
the 7th floor at 10 rue Montoyer.
There was an exchange of correspondence in July and
August between Julian Doyle and the past and present
chairing company and INFOTAB's legal counsel in
Belgium. Legal counsel informed Mr. Doyle that any
additional funds owed him would be tax refunds, that
all appropriate submissions had been given to the
Belgian authorities, and that the matter is now in
their hands. The tax authorities usually act very
slowly in such matters.
2.1.2 Premises
Negotiations for the move to the 7th floor have been
completed satisfactorily. The present tenant on that
floor (the Belgian company Fabelta) will assume
INFOTAB's present space and lease on the lst floor
and INFOTAB will sign a new lease for the 7th floor
at a lower cost per square meter than present space
on the 1st floor. As a result, INFOTAB will obtain
36% more space for a 34% increase in total annual
cost, including rent, common charges and taxes.
In order to free up space for Fabelta's move to the
lst floor, it will be necessary for INFOTAB to move
in two stages and lease part of the 7th floor while
retaining the lst floor office. The Information
Services will move to the 7th floor around the end of
October, and the rest of the staff will move before
the end of the year.
2.1.3 Other Administrative Matters
The revised INFOTAB charter was approved unanimoi!sly
at an Extraordinary General Meeting of INFOTAB on
September 2 in Hamburg. All members were represented.
ITEM 2.2
ACTIVITIES AND DEVELOPMENTS
Not included in this section is Secretariat work mentioned in
committee reports, unless more detail is required.
2.2.1 NMAs
The Secretariat now has direct contact with the industry
in 28 countries. Of these contacts, 23 are known or
believed to be bona fide, registered associations:
Belgium U.S.A. Nigeria
Denmark Canada Zimbabwe
Finland
France Australia Argentina
Germany New Zealand Brazil
Ireland Costa Rica
Netherlands Malaysia Uruguay
Norway Philippines
Switzerland Singapore
U.K.
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There has been no communication, at least since January 1,
1981 from t-e-Philippines and no information from Costa
Rica and Sing ore.
The situation in the other five countries is varied:
Guatemala: agreement to form an industry chamber within
the national business chamber. The Secretariat has been
asked to send information to both affiliates of member
companies.
Hong Kong: all materials are sent to RJR's office,
existence/status of an association is unclear.
India:
all materials are sent to BAT's affiliate, as the r'J
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NMA has
counter some members whose interests are believed to run
to those of INFOTAB members' affiliates.
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Indonesia: all materials are sent to BAT's affiliate. ~
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Pakistan: all materials are sent to BAT's affiliate for ~
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the same reason as India.
2
It should also be noted that the industry in Hong Kong,
India and Pakistan was represented at the last NMA
workshop by people from the companies mentioned above.
One of the first priorities of the Information Services in
the coming months will be to request information from each
of the 28 national contacts, to ascertain their exact
status and their modus operandi.
It is reported that a tobacco industry committee is being
formed in Chile within a national business/industry
association called SOFOFA.
It is also reported that the two INFOTAB member company
affiliates in Venezuela are forming an informal committee
to cooperate on smoking issues.
There have still been no replies from the Greek and
Bangladesh NMAs to whom the Secretary General wrote
earlier this year. A member company of INFOTAB made a
follow-up contact with the Greek NMA and learned that all
activities are at a standstill until the local members
resolve their differences of opinion regarding an industry
position on an EEC matter. The Secretary Ceneral will
contact the NMA again to see if INFOTAB can skirt this
impasse.
2.2.2 NMA Workshop
The workshop will be held in Brussels, November 2-5, 1981.
Representatives from 21 countries have given verbal or
written confirmation of their attendance. The program is
shaping up well.
2.2.3 Monitoring
The Secretariat sent out the first report on EEC affairs
relating to smoking issues on August 18, 1981.
The Secretariat obtained information on the Council of
Europe's meeting of Health Ministers in Madrid, Septem-
ber 22-24. Interest from NMAs and INFOTAB members to this
first mailing was sufficient to warrant monitoring the
meeting.
ITEM 2.3
INFORMATION SERVICES
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
This report covers :
I. Activities since March 30th, 1981; Annex A. - Prtailings
II. Recommendation to use computer time-share
facilities for storage and retrieval of some
documents at INFOTAB; Annex B.- Equipment
budget compared to CMP estimate.
III. Future plans (time periods)
I. ACTIVITIES SINCE MARCH 30TH, 1981.
During most of the period covered in this report, the
Information Services were staffed only by the Director
with secretarial support. The Secretary General, there-
fore, helped carry some of the workload involved in
collecting, analysing and disseminating information and
will continue to do so to a substantial degree until the
Information Services staff have completed a basic pro-
gramme of orientation to the tobacco industry and INFOTAB
operations.
Activities can be divided into three categories:
1. On-going activities, i.e. dissemination of information,
committee support and industry contacts,
2. Study and redesign of the Information S ystem,
3. Interviewing and selection of personnel.
These activities are described below.
- 2 -
1. On-going activities
1.1. A periodical Information Release has been initiated in
June. This will be built up gradually and its fre-
quency increased.
1.2. Some 50 mailings have been sent out since March on a
variety of specialized subjects and directed to in-
terested parties within industry (they are listed in
Annex A).
1.3. During the same period, some 110 requests have been
received. Since June a record of them has been kept
in line with the planned "Transaction Information
Base". With a few exceptions, these inquiries were
answered. When this was not possible, they were
referred to the relevant sources of information.
1.4. Back-up was given to EIU's world-wide press campaign.
1.5. The Director of Information Services participated in
meetings of working parties and helped with various
aspects of their work.
1.6. She also visited two European and the U.S. NMA, the
U.S. lawyers and the headquarters of five member com-
panies, as well. as the European headquarters of one
member company.
2. Study and redesign of Information System
Following adoption of the recommendation at the last Board
of Directors' meeting, the Secretariat, in its endeavour
to set up an efficient structure and system for its Inform-
ation Services,
- examined the CMP report,
- visited comparable information bases, and
- made an equipment analysis (Enclosure II).
It initiated conseauent actions in terms of
- content
- structure
2.1. Content
The recommendations adopted at the last Board meeting
included four categories of information to be stored
at the Secretariat:
- Basic Facts Information, containing mostly factual
information covering tobacco manufacturers, potential
organizations of various kinds and the status of
tobacco issues legislation in countries,
1
- 3 -
- Issues Information, summarizing environmental issues
of concern to the industr17 and including articles,
abstracts and indexes,
Events Information, e.g. the WHO's Fifth World Con-
ference, or a legislated ban of cigarette advertis-
ing in a certain country, and
Transaction Information, to record
responses.
inquiries and
The build-up of such a system has been started.
The backlog of documents is being screened and missing
information will be pulled in with a view to gradually
reach a comprehensive base with the above data.
Priority is presently given to the following key issues
and events information: "passive" smoking, restrictions
(legislative or voluntary), advertising, international
organizations/events.
Some 350 documents have been referenced and key-worded
since mid-July, and filed manually.
As a first step in drawing in a particular kind of in-
formation, we shall consider the forthcoming NMA workshop :
as an opportunity to hand out a questionnaire referring
to the above mentioned "Basic Facts Information", i.e.
NMAs, their actions and plans.
Possible co-operation with other industry sources is
also being examined in order to avoid unnecessary
duplication and allow for present and future efficient
means of communication of documents and information.
2.2. Structure and equipment
Structure and equipment are closely related items. In
a manual filing system documents or reference cards
have to be established in as many copies as the docu-
ment contains issues, unless the document is referenced
or filed in one subject category and can, therefore, ~
only be found there. ~
In a computerized system, one document can be referenced L~I
under as many key-words as needed and retrieval is simi- ~
larly targetted. -J
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Which system is adopted depends on the use and quantity Z
iof the documents stored. ;
4
As a result of the Secretariat's investigation, it
appears that three kinds of documents are to be stored
at INFOTAB:
i) information which is often used or has to be
up-dated on a regular basis, e.g. mailing lists,
background papers, national restrictions,
committee papers (as long as not finalized),
etc.
ii)
information which is generated internally and
meant for internal use only, e.g. committee
reports, etc.
iii) a bu lk of material from various sources which
will be often used for analytical or comparative
purposes and with the requirement to find the
relevant information quickly, e.g. scientific
literature, articles, economic data, national
restrictions. Many of these documents corres-
pond to a variety of subject-headings.,
Information i) is to be processed on word processing
facilities. Information ii) is clearly to be filed in
a manual system. As for information iii), i.e. all
publicly accessible documents, it appears relevant to
use computer facilities as recommended under II. below.
An overall classification system has been devised for
the files to be kept manually, as well as for general
correspondence files.
For the filing of the publicly accessible documents
which could eventually be computerized, an input sheet
and a key-word list have been designed. This will
ensure overall consistency, easy subject retrieval and
avoid costly and time-consuming conversion if and when
the decision to computerize is taken.
Finally, various equipments have been analyzed with a
view to simplify the secretarial work.
Two word processors, a new photocopier and a telecopier
have been rented.
3. Personnel
The complete team of the Information Services, as was
decided at the last Board meeting, has now been appointed
namely:
Director of Information Services, Antonietta Corti, who
started mid-March.
Her secretary, Liane Grogg, who started mid-May.
The documentalist, Peter Kettlewell, who started mid-July.
Two junior secretaries, Madeleine Levitt, who started in
May, and Julie Gowanlock, who started mid-August.
Two analysts, Helen Willows, who will start mid-October,
and Roland Corradini, who will start in November.
The team will thus be complete by November 1981. A train-
ing programme in tobacco issues and industry is being pre-
pared for all professional staff.
II. RECOMMENDATION TO USE COMPUTER TIME-SF.ARE FACILITIES
As mentioned above, INFOTAB's documentation unit will always
carry a number of manual files.
For the documents that would be described as publicly accessible,
the Secretariat recommends to reference it on computer time-
share facility.
This recommendation is the result of a thorough investigation
on available equipments and existing systems. Vs)
Experience and literature show that the number of documents
which can efficiently be handled manually is 2,000.
At INFOTAB, this amount of publicly accessible documents will
be reached within a few months.
Other reasons are:
1. Storage and search are incomparably quicker, easier and
the relevance rate higher by computer.
2. The time-share arrangement which is suggested is cost
effective since you pay as you use.
3. IBM's STAIRS is a rcadily available software. It is
users-friendly, flexible and expandable.
~) Enclosures provide more detailed analysis as back-up to
the above recommendation. They are mainly intended for
advisors to Board members and deal with:
Enclosure I Overall concept and consequent equipment
analysis.
Enclosure II Comparative cost and quality analysis:
manual vs. semi-automated information system.
6
4. Automation of an already existing documentation unit
involves costly and time-consuming conversion and
loss of efficiency during the transitional period
(and related loss of credibility) which INFOTAB could
ill-afford.
5. No security problem is involved, as only publicly
accessible material is referenced on computer.
6. The implementation can be done gradually, as it is
possible to start to input batch (off-line) and hook
up to the system for retrieval when a sufficient base
is built up. This transitional period is planned
over a period of 4 months, during which existing
information would remain accessible.
7. Last, but not least, no budget increase is needed
compared to CMP's proposal for 1982, as Annex B shows.
The Secretariat, therefore, recommends to the Board to allow
INFOTAB to make arrangements for documents that could be des-
cribed as "publicly accessible" to be referenced on computer.
In practical terms, this means entering into a time-share
agreement with IBM, starting storage of information as from ~ j
November 1981 and get on-line facilities as from January 1982.
III. FUTURE PLANS
Most of the actions listed below cannot be pinned down into a
precise time schedule but will extend over a period of approxi-
mately one year.
Computerization, if decided, can be implemented within four
months.
The complete information base is estimated to be fully opera-
tional at the end of 1982.
With this gradual process in mind, the following priorities are
suggested:
1. Initiate the build-up of the so-called "Basic Facts Inform-
ation Base" starting with information on NMAs, their actions
and plans. fk.1
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2. Give priority to issues dealt with by committees and task _Ln
forces. Organize back-up support for them. ~
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3. Expand the Information Release project. ~
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4. Organize the training of the professional staff. LM
5. Continue to reply to incoming requests. The number of
requests will no doubt increase as:
