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9.1 NATIONAL MANUFACTURERS' ASSOCIATION WORKSHOP - WASHINGTON September 1983 INFORMATION RESOURCES AND SERVICES by Antonietta Corti It is my pleasant duty to speak briefly to you about INFOTAB's information resources and services. I put resources ahead of services, because on the screen you see our most valuable resources - our ep ople. This is the Information Services team - men and women with a wide variety of backgrounds, blending their skills and aptitudes for one common purpose. That purpose is to provide you with a range of services supporting your front-line efforts to defend the industry and promote its freedom to market its products. I will introduce these people to you in just a few minutes. But first, let us look at the services we provide. These services fall into five major categories: Firstly, we gather, prepare and supply reports and intelligence on developments related to smoking issues at the global, regional and national levels. Secondly, to increase the sharing of common experience and stimulation of initiatives we report on actions by NMAs and Lead Companies. Your active partici- pation in this process has made this work possible and we are very grateful for your contribution.

Thirdly, we collate, analyse and write up background and reference material and argumentation on smoking issues. This also includes participation in project teams, who in turn produce material for adaptation and use at the national level. Fourthly, we handle individual requests for tailor-made material, analyses, expert opinion, argumentation and statistics. Last, but not least, we are steadily building a library and documentation centre. This includes catalogues of audio-visual material and of issue-oriented, industry-produced materials; and we are developing a computerized information base which will eventually be electronically accessible to members. Having outlined the broad categories of our acti- vities, let us look into them more closely - in terms of what we can provide for you. First, let us look into the category of reports and intelligence on international and national develop- ments. The key word is "intelligence" ("renseigne- ments", "auskunft", "informazioni", "informe"). In a nutshell, intelligence is based on vigilant surveillance and close monitoring of anti-smoking activities, strategies and plans, as well as national governments' and international organizations' dealings on smoking issues and scientific events. With the close collaboration of National Associations, member companies and consultants, we operate what might be called an intelligence network.

Our surveillance activity covers both written material available to the public and what could be termed informed, "inside" information and opinion. In INFODATE we report - on regional and/or issue-oriented meetings such as the World Health Assembly which takes place yearly in May, the WHO Executive Committee meeting every January; as well as other relevant events like WHO's Expert Committee on less-developed countries' which took place last November; and of course, the great number of regional meetings sponsored by the International Union Against Cancer and scientific conferences. We have expert help in the coverage of these events. But, essentially, we depend on each Association or Lead Company in the country where the event takes place. It is this on-the-spot work which is the key element in our intelligence network. This surveillance and monitoring programme provides the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that we can put together to produce a picture of trends and issues affecting our industry - a picture that often provides us with some lead time to develop pre- emptive strategies instead of doing nothing until the fire alarm sounds. Our monitoring takes in events and trends as well as influential personalities. Thus it was interesting for instance to watch bir. Pertschuk, of the United States Federal Trade Commission here in Washington, participate in a Latin American workshop organized by the Intern- ational Union Against Cancer last year, and to observe Dr. Hirayama's participation in three meetings in a row in the U.S. and Hawaii within a time-span of two months.

It was through such monitoring that we observed that an Inspector General of Labour in an African country - and therefore not directly concerned with the smoking issues - turned out to be a consultant to the World Health Organization on anti-smoking activities. Also, as Hans has pointed out, we were warned at Winnipeg that a series of meetings throughout Latin America will be organized by the International Union Against Cancer. The same applies to Africa. This may be due to the limited turnout from these continents at Winnipeg. It certainly indicates the anti-smoking forces' strategy to exert added influence in these regions. Another aspect of our surveillance activities con- cerns legislative and regulatory matters around the world, which make up the Smoking Issues Status Book. Y7ith the active input you provide, and through publications, press articles and a variety of con- tacts we aim to keep you up-dated on new restrictions and - alas, more rarely! - on the lifting of restrictions. Eight up-dates were sent out so far this year, including information on 76 countries. Here are major developments in this field: In Belgium, there was a modification of legislation resulting in lifting the poster ban, but also new severe restrictions on sponsorship, to go into effect at a later date. In Norway, introduction of 12 rotational warnings. In Uruguay, new warning labels.

In Hong Kong, tar and nicotine information and warning labels on packs and in adver- tising, restrictions on advertising and curbs on smoking on public transport. In the United Kingdom, a new voluntary code. In Greece, a proposal for severe restric- tions on media advertising. There was some good news: In Mauritius, a ban on TV and radio adver- tising was lifted. In Denmark, a smoking ban in cinemas was cancelled. Finally, we report as fully as we can on smoking- related literature through our monthly INFOTOPICS. Over the past year, 306 articles were selected for INFOTOPICS out of 1,000 studied. These covered information from 48 countries. An index, published every six months and organized by issues, countries and authors, allows for quick reference and overview of how press coverage of topics develops. Articles on public smoking and scientific research took up most press coverage lately. A major piece of information, and much discussed, are the results of the various intervention trials for the prevention of coronary heart disease on which Dr. Schafer thoroughly briefed us yesterday.

Legislation also received quite some coverage, with the Waxman hearings in the U.S., the Dadour bill in Australia and the ordinance on San Francisco governing smoking in offices, as well as attempts to have it repealed. And now let us move on to the important area of industry action. Last year, as part of the long-term communications project, we distributed "the Industry in Action" binder. Because of the obviously sensitive nature of some of the information it contains, the binder was only distributed by hand. It is a kind of a stock exchange of actions. Although circumstances differ from one country or region to another, some elements of how members deal with an issue may suggest action elsewhere. The case histories are sent out as INFOGRAMS. Over the past 12 months, 32 new actions were received. They are now printed for inclusion in the binder. We have up-dated the matrices to help you spot at a glance which countries have been involved in any issue area. This allows you to select the cases most comparable to your own. You will note that seven new countries have shared their experiences with us. At this point, I want to reassure you that we make every effort to ascertain that the information in INFOGRAM is accurate. We do this by formatting and completing the case histories you have supplied and then verifying them with you to make sure that the information - like certain wines - has travelled well.

As I noted a moment ago, we have had 32 new case histories. There are eight instances where you have dealt with public - or "passive" - smoking. There are two case histories on taxation, seven on advertising, five on economic impact - ten on industry communications, one on smoking and health, and one on tar/nicotine yields. Two associations have set up communication networks. If we were to divide last year's reported industry actions into reactive and pre-emptive categories, I am pleased to report that 22 - almost 70 per cent - of the new actions were pre-emptive, and only ten were reactive. Last year, the score was 50/50, so the present rate is encouraging. We are also a production centre and clearing house for background and reference material. We receive a steady flow of requests for easily retrievable argumentation or authoritative statements on various issues. Three major reference tools which we were able to distribute over the past year are part of our continuous concern to address this need. In producing them, we were greatly helped by experts, especially insofar as' heaith-related issues were concerned. Two binders contained quotations from testimonies at the Waxman and Hatch/Packwood hearings in the U.S. Quotations cover thirty issues and can be used for easy reference in public or private discussions. We know of at least one association who has used them as the basis for a publication.

"Be Prepared", the Boy Scout motto, could be the watchword for our entire industry and INFOTAB, as we try to anticipate moves of the anti-smoking forces and government regulators. We did prepare for the Winnipeg conference. Prior to the meeting, one of our analysts, as a member of the monitoring team, worked with a number of consultants to prepare a series of papers on the major issues listed on the Winnipeg agenda. This collection of counter-arguments was sent to you in a binder. The material should not only be of use in direct response to anti-smoking articles growing out of the Winnipeg conference, but it will also provide the basis to deal with the subjects in a variety of other circumstances. Speaking of Winnipeg, I want to mention a special contribution to the industry made by a Latin American Association. They condensed and translated into Spanish the daily telex reports and were thoughtful enough to share these with us so that we could let other Spanish-speaking Associations and Lead Companies benefit from this. And now to the category of specific requests. This is an area in which the skills of our people are especially brought into play. The requests are for material, information, analysis of particular issues, the industry's posture on a difficult subject, and statistical data or argumentation. Each request must be filled on a custom-tailored basis to meet what we understand to be the exact needs of the member. We estimate that 40 per cent of three analysts' and their secretaries' time is devoted to providing this specialized service. We received 265 such requests over.the past year, as against 189 the previous year.

This increase in the number of requests does more than merely indicate INFOTAB's utility to the members. It coincides with a parallel increase in carefully-planned, pre-emptive actions carried out by our industry in the public affairs field and this is encouraging. The bulk of the requests concern three areas - legislation, taxation and statistics on consumption and leaf. Next come requests concerning the public- smoking issue, usually related to a looming legis- lative proposal which requires the industry's reaction, or a flow of one-sided press coverage to which members wish to respond. I have selected three examples of how requests are handled, since they may provide you with some idea o= the services you can expect from us. Case No. 1: In this country, legislation had been proposed to introduce rotational warnings and the Association was involved in the hearings. The legislative committee wanted to examine the per capita cigarette con- sumption in Scandinavian countries, because Norway and Sweden already have rotational warnings and that region is often pointed to by the anti-smoking lobby as an example. The NMA needcd the consumption figures for its testimony. We were able to provide these data. We believe, however, that if this information could possibly have been obtained without our help, another more important role INFOTAB played was to establish direct contact between the Association and a Scandinavian Association, which was then a not yet full member of the network.

Case No. 2: There was sizeable press coverage on the public-smoking issue, with particular reference to smoking in the workplace, in another country. There were also indications pointing to a possible future legislation banning smoking at work. The Association, which had taken part in the debate through letters to the press, asked us for additional background material to support its case. Their representative came to Brussels. We prepared an intensive briefing session and supplied him with documentation and exhibits related to the issue - including films and case histories. Although there will probably be recommendations by the health authorities and the labour unions to ban smoking in the workplace, the threat of an immediate legislative ban has apparently evaporated. Furthermore, the industry representative should now be in a much better position to deal with the issue. Case No. 3: In another country, a local bill had been introduced to ban cigarette advertising. The Association suspected the bill to be similar to one introduced in Singapore in 1972, even though the bill's proponent claimed it had been newly prepared by an expert committee which had worked on it for 18 months. Together with the Singapore bill, we supplied the Association with a series of relevant consumption statistics covering the extended period. The Association presented a dossier to members of parliament and referred to results of independent studies showing that advertising neither affects consumption nor induces people to smoke. It also pointed out the similarities with the Singapore bill

and the fact that 12 years of enforcement of the ban in Singapore had brought no reduction whatsoever in smoking in that country. The bill was defeated. And now, the fifth and final category of our work. It concerns the library, catalogues and - increas- ingly important - the computerized data base. Following our recent mailing of the first catalogue of audio-visual material, we received a number of requests for films and cassettes. This is one illustration of how useful the cross-communication - the intermeshin - of action and material can be. Imminently you will be receiving an up-dated version of the audio-visual catalogue, as well as a catalogue of printed material available at INFOTAB. We hope, of course, that this will prompt some Associations to produce their own material. With the same objective in mind, we sent you recently the brochure, "Cigarette Smoke and the Non-Smoker", produced by one NMA, with our offer to supply copies either in English or in translation. Sixteen associations took up this offer. A Spanish and an Arab version were produced. Our library now contains 750 books. We subscribe to, and scan, 80 periodicals and between ten and fifteen digests of economic and scientific literature. The computerized information base will fully cover the priority issues we tackle by the middle of next year. * * * * *

I want to close with a glance into the future. First, we expect the flow of requests to continue at least at its present rate, and therefore we place importance on building up our documentation base, since this is often the repository of the raw material we work from. With statistical data in increasing demand and, with the Winnipeg recommendations in mind, we are also examining the possibility of building up a data base on con- sumption and taxation statistics. INFOTOPICS will be restyled into a more fileable format. As far as surveillance of up-coming events is concerned, our present calendar for the coming year lists at least 30 meetings likely to carry smoking or associated topics on their agenda, including meetings in Latin America and Africa announced at Winnipeg. We have written to the Associations of the host countries and very much hope that they will be able to assist in monitoring them. During the•second part of 1984, several members may ask for direct electronic access to the computerized data base. We already know of two such interested parties. Our experience has shown - and most of you know this better than we do - that this process must be carefully prepared. Each person plugging into our data base must be thoroughly familiar with its keyword system and how information is processed.

One of the most difficult parts of our Information Services' work seems to be to be to find a balance between drowning you in a sea of paper and keeping you adequately informed on relevant issues. Have we found this balance? Or are we sending out too much material? Do let us know. To get your views, we have inserted a short questionnaire into your Workshop wallet, which we would like you to fill in and leave at the reception desk, if you have not yet done so. Before I introduce my colleagues to you, let me once more emphasize how important your thinking INFOTAB and communicating with us on developments and industry action is, for us to serve our common purpose. Now, let me introduce my colleagues - you know many of their names, but perhaps not the faces. And, as I said at the outset, our greatest resource is people. (slide sequence of individuals) This is Roland Corradini, an economist by training. He deals with requests related to economic/taxation matters, is in charge of the regular legislative data and up-date and also gives support to project work. Helen Willows is a biochemist and has developed considerable expertise in the advertising and public smoking areas, and usually deals with requests in these fields. and normally leaves us end She, however, ally to the studies. She was a member of the Winnipeg team tackles specific requests. Helen of September, to our greatest regret. assures us that she will remain an industry while taking up medical

Helen is presently training Esther Maquet to take over her job. And Esther, from Hawaii, with an economic background has also worked in health policy research. She is already actively involved in our activities, although she only joined the team mid-August. Catharine Browne is sitting among us. She is the author of INFOTOPICS, INFOGRAM and INFODATE and it is not unusual to find her at her desk buried beneath a stack of documents which she expertly condenses down to a more digestible size for us all. Peter Kettlewell is our documentalist and very much our intermediate computer - if this did not sound so inhuman. His excellent memory has saved many of us hours of search, especially before the information was properly stored. Verna Hartinger is our information analyst. She scans, reads, abstracts, and keywords documents which are selected to go on computer. Her greatest concern is to feed in in such a manner that the people accessing the data base will find the highest possible level of relevance in their search. And these are our secretaries, giving the team efficient, well-organized and reliable assistance. Suzanne Osborne Geraldine Valdez Nicola Fadda Natalie Dommett Nicole van den Mosselaer (missing)

On behalf of the Information Services team you have just seen on the screen, I want to close with a word of admiration to our industry in all parts of the world, as represented by all of you today. You are on the firing line in defending our industry. You are dedicated to building its prosperity and enhancing its role in the economic community of your country or region. We, in Information Services, will do everything we can to provide assistance. Please call on us. Thank you. A. CORTI/SJO/4 September 28, 1983