Steven C. Parrish (born April 13, 1950) is a C-Suite executive consultant, American lawyer, Chair Safe Horizon, and community volunteer. Until 2008, he was an executive for Altria Group Inc. (formerly Philip Morris Companies, Inc.) where he was a Senior Vice President for Corporate Affairs.
For more than a decade, Steve Parrish supported proposals to grant the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate the tobacco industry. His efforts were documented in network news broadcasts and national publications, including ABC's "Peter Jennings Reporting from the Tobacco File," a New York Times Magazine cover story "If It's Good for Philip Morris, Can It Also Be Good for Public Health?" and the national best-seller, A Question of Intent by former FDA Chairman Dr. David Kessler. [1] [2] After the passage of the landmark bill granting FDA regulatory authority over the tobacco industry, a 2009 New York Times article quoted Parrish as congratulating Dr. Kessler. "Congratulations on the Senate vote today," he wrote. Truly historic and it WILL save lives. You were a pioneer; I only wish I had been there with you in the beginning. Better late than never, I guess." To which Dr. Kessler replied, "Congratulations to you - you were key." [3] [4]
From 1994 to 2008, Parrish led Altria's government relations, communications issues management, corporate philanthropy and corporate compliance. [5] As senior vice president of Altria, Parrish headed the corporation's communications with a range of stakeholders, including public health organizations, civic groups, the media and government. [6] He addressed organizations, including the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, The Conference Board and World Presidents Organization. He has appeared on numerous news programs such as Face the Nation, Meet the Press , Nightline , and The News Hour on PBS. [7] [8] [9]
Prior to joining Philip Morris in 1990 as Vice President and General Counsel, Philip Morris USA, Parrish was a partner at the law firm of Shook, Hardy and Bacon in Kansas City, MO. [10]
After his retirement from Altria in 2008, Parrish founded Steve Parrish Consulting Group, LLC specializing in crisis management, corporate social responsibility, public affairs and communication for senior executives of corporations, law firms, and nonprofit organizations. [11] He has also served as is board chair of Safe Horizon, the nation's leading provider of support for victims of crime and abuse, particularly domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and human trafficking. [12] In 2018, Spectrum News NY1 named Parrish “New Yorker of the Week” for his efforts to assist victims of domestic violence. [13] He also serves on the boards of the Stamford Symphony, Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation, Carleton College Board of Trustees and the League of American Orchestras.
The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies who are engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any warm, moist environment, which means it can be farmed on all continents except Antarctica.
Altria Group, Inc. is an American corporation and one of the world's largest producers and marketers of tobacco, cigarettes, and related products. It operates worldwide and is headquartered in Henrico County, Virginia, just outside the city of Richmond.
Philip Morris USA is the American tobacco division of the American tobacco corporation Altria Group. It has been the leading cigarette manufacturer in the U.S. since the late 20th century. It was incorporated in New York City in 1902 as Philip Morris & Co. Ltd. In 1919 George J. Whelan, along with fellow shareholders Reuben M. Ellis and Leonard B. McKitterick, acquired the American division of the company and created Philip Morris & Co. Ltd., Inc. In the 1950s it introduced innovations such as the flip-top box and filters for cigarettes. In 1972 it became the leading cigarette manufacturer in the United States in terms of sales, a position it continued to hold. Today its major brands include Marlboro, Virginia Slims, Benson & Hedges, Merit, Parliament, and others. In March 2008, Philip Morris International was split from Philip Morris USA.
The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) is a pro-industry advocacy organization founded in 1978 by Elizabeth Whelan with support from the Scaife Foundation and John M. Olin Foundation. ACSH's publications focus on industry advocacy related to food, nutrition, health, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, biology, biotechnology, infectious disease, and the environment. Its critics have accused it of being a front group for anti-science denialism.
Steven J. Milloy is a lawyer, lobbyist, author and former Fox News commentator. Milloy is the founder and editor of the blog junkscience.com.
David Aaron Kessler is an American pediatrician, attorney, author, and administrator serving as Chief Science Officer of the White House COVID-19 Response Team since 2021. Kessler was the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from November 8, 1990, to February 28, 1997. He co-chaired the Biden-Harris transition’s COVID-19 Advisory Board from November 2020 to January 2021 and was the head of Operation Warp Speed, the U.S. government program to accelerate the development of COVID-19 vaccines and other treatments, from January to February 2021.
Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) is an American multinational tobacco company, with products sold in over 180 countries. The most recognized and best selling product of the company is Marlboro. Philip Morris International is often referred to as one of the companies comprising Big Tobacco.
George Weissman was an American businessman and former chairman and CEO of Philip Morris.
National Empowerment Television (NET), later known as America's Voice and eventually The Renaissance Network, was a cable TV network designed to rapidly mobilize politically conservative individuals for grassroots lobbying on behalf of the movement's policy aims. It was created by Paul Weyrich, a veteran strategist for the paleoconservative movement. At its peak, NET claimed to reach more than 11 million homes on selected cable systems or, in some markets, low-powered television stations. It accompanied the contemporaneous explosion of the popularity of talk radio, practically all of which was dedicated to propagating conservative political positions, on numerous issues in the United States during the 1990s.
A menthol cigarette is a cigarette infused with the compound menthol which imparts a “minty” flavor to the smoke. Menthol also decreases irritant sensations from nicotine by desensitizing receptors, making smoking feel less harsh compared to regular cigarettes. Some studies have suggested that they are more addictive. Menthol cigarettes are just as hard to quit and are just as harmful as regular cigarettes.
Tobacco politics refers to the politics surrounding the use and distribution of tobacco.
Sue Desmond-Hellmann is an American oncologist and biotechnology leader who served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation from 2014 to 2020. She was previously Chancellor of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), the first woman to hold the position, and Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Distinguished Professor, and before that president of product development at Genentech, where she played a role in the development of the first gene-targeted cancer drugs, Avastin and Herceptin.
Andrew McGuire is an American trauma prevention specialist and grassroots campaigner. He was the first Executive Director of Action Against Burns, founder and Executive Director of the Burn Council, which was renamed the Trauma Foundation, in 1981. He is currently the Executive Director of California OneCare, a campaign to establish a "Medicare for All" type health insurance for all residents of California.
Regulation of tobacco by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration began in 2009 with the passage of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act by the United States Congress. With this statute, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was given the ability to regulate tobacco products.
Safe Horizon, formerly the Victim Services Agency, is the largest victim services nonprofit organization in the United States, providing social services for victims of abuse and violent crime. Operating at 57 locations throughout the five boroughs of New York City. Safe Horizon provides social services to over 250,000 victims of violent crime and abuse and their families per year. It has over 800 employees, and has programs for victims of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, and human trafficking, as well as homeless youth and the families of homicide victims. Safe Horizon's website has been accessible for the Spanish-speaking population since 2012. Safe Horizon has an annual budget of over $63 million.
Juul Labs, Inc. is an American electronic cigarette company that spun off from Pax Labs in 2017. Juul Labs makes the Juul electronic cigarette, which atomizes nicotine salts derived from tobacco supplied by one-time use cartridges.
The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Truth Tobacco Industry Documents is a digital archive of tobacco industry documents, funded by Truth Initiative and created and maintained by the University of California, San Francisco. The Library is a part of the larger UCSF Industry Documents Library which also includes the Drug Industry Document Archive, the Food Industry Documents Archive and the Chemical Industry Documents Archive. TTID contains over 14 million documents produced by major tobacco companies and organizations, many of them internal strategic memoranda made public as a consequence of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. The documents deal with the tobacco industry's advertising, manufacturing, marketing, sales, and scientific research activities for the last century. Researchers, journalists, students, and activists interested in tobacco control issues and public health policies use the Library extensively to investigate tobacco industry strategies. Research in this archive revealed the tobacco industry playbook and its parallels with techniques linked to climate change denial.
United States v. Philip Morris USA, Inc. was a case in which the United States District Court for the District of Columbia held several major tobacco companies liable for violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act by engaging in numerous acts of fraud to further a conspiracy to deceive the American public about nicotine addiction and the health effects of cigarettes and environmental tobacco smoke.
Iqos is a line of heated tobacco and electronic cigarette products manufactured by Philip Morris International (PMI). It was first introduced in November 2014 in Japan and Italy. Most of the IQOS products are devices that heat tobacco without burning it.
The tobacco industry playbook, tobacco strategy or simply disinformation playbook describes a strategy devised by the tobacco industry in the 1950s to protect revenues in the face of mounting evidence of links between tobacco smoke and serious illnesses, primarily cancer. Much of the playbook is known from industry documents made public by whistleblowers or as a result of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. These documents are now curated by the UCSF Truth Tobacco Industry Documents project and are a primary source for much commentary on both the tobacco playbook and its similarities to the tactics used by other industries, notably the fossil fuel industry. It is possible that the playbook may even have originated with the oil industry.
