Tobacco Institute

Last updated

The Tobacco Institute, Inc. was a United States tobacco industry trade group, founded in 1958 by the American tobacco industry. [1] : 251  [2] It was dissolved in 1998 as part of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. [3] : 25 

Contents

Founding

The Tobacco Institute was founded in 1958 as a trade association by cigarette manufacturers, who funded it proportionally to each company's sales. It was initially to supplement the work of the Tobacco Industry Research Committee (TIRC), which later became the Council for Tobacco Research. The TIRC work had been limited to attacking scientific studies that put tobacco in a bad light, and the Tobacco Institute had a broader mission to put out good news about tobacco, especially economic news. [4] It also attacked scientific studies, although more by casting doubt on them rather than by rebutting them directly. It also lobbied Congress, although initially at a low level. [5] : 211, 466  Robert Hockett (first scientific director of Sugar Research Foundation, a sugar-equivalent of TIRC) became TIRCs associate scientific director. [6]

Activities

Lobbying and policy work

The Tobacco Institute collected intelligence on attitudes toward smoking, developed strategies, and lobbied legislators. Allan M. Brandt wrote, "The Tobacco Institute, on behalf of the companies, assembled an impressive record of derailing attempts to bring tobacco under any regulatory mandates whatsoever". [1] : 276  By 1978 the Tobacco Institute had 70 lobbyists, and Senator Ted Kennedy said in 1979, "Dollar for dollar they're probably the most effective lobby on Capitol Hill". [5] : 466 

The Tobacco Institute hired the Roper Organization in 1978 to survey public attitudes on environmental tobacco smoke. [7] : 5  Among its findings were "Nearly six out of ten believe that smoking is hazardous to the non-smoker's health, up sharply over the last four years. More than two-thirds of non-smokers believe it, nearly half of all smokers believe it. This we see as the most dangerous development to the viability of the tobacco industry that has yet occurred." A 1985 meeting of the executive committee of the Tobacco Institute outlined plans to broaden the indoor air quality issue. [8] In December 1987 the Tobacco Institute's executive committee discussed creating an industry-based Center for Indoor Air Research, intended to broaden the question of indoor air pollution beyond tobacco smoke. The CIAR was created in March 1988 by Philip Morris, R. J. Reynolds, and Lorillard. [1] : 293–294 

In 1990 the Tobacco Institute opposed federal regulations banning smoking on domestic airline flights. [1] : 305 

Advertising

The Tobacco Institute ran advertisements and issued pamphlets for general readers. One advertisement consisted of facing two-page advertisements titled "A word to smokers (about nonsmokers and anti-smokers)" and "A word to nonsmokers (about smokers)." The ad encourages tolerance of smokers by depicting smoking as a "personal choice" and a "small ritual". There was no mention of any health effects. [9] An example pamphlet is Answers to the Most Asked Questions about Cigarettes. [10]

The institute also published newsletters aimed at physicians and dentists such as Tobacco and Health ( OCLC   48549026) [1] : 196  and a newsletter Tobacco Observer ( OCLC   4556750) that seems to have been aimed at a general audience. Richard Kluger characterized Tobacco Observer as "attack literature." [5] : 466 

White papers

The Tobacco Institute published a large number of lengthy "white papers". Scanned copies of many of these are available in the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library. Many of these papers rebutted scientific reports critical of tobacco. The Tobacco Institute's response to such a report was rapid: a rebuttal was published [11] to the 1979 Surgeon General's report on "Smoking and Health" one day before that report was issued. Another rebuttal [12] was issued to James Repace and Alfred Lowrey's report "A Quantitative Estimate of Nonsmokers' Lung Cancer Risk."

A press release from the Tobacco Institute attacked the 1986 Surgeon General's report on second-hand smoke, [13] saying that the Surgeon General had distorted the evidence and that Health and Human Services was suppressing contrary scientific viewpoints. [14] There was also a longer rebuttal paper. [15]

The Tobacco Institute criticized the United States Environmental Protection Agency's 1993 report declaring tobacco smoke to be a Class A human carcinogen. [1] : 306 

Stealthy techniques

In at least one case the Tobacco Institute paid for an article to be written and placed in a major national magazine while keeping their involvement secret. The article, "To Smoke or Not to Smoke—That is still the Question" [16] by Stanley Frank was published in the January 1968 issue of True magazine. Frank was paid $500 by Brown & Williamson to write the article, [17] : 180  and the Tobacco Institute paid $500,000 to Rosser Reeves to publicize the article and distribute one million copies of it. [1] : 264–265  The story of the Tobacco Institute's involvement was uncovered and published by Consumer Reports . [18]

Demise

By the 1990s the Tobacco Institute had lost its preeminent role in tobacco lobbying to the market leader, Philip Morris, but continued to gather intelligence on anti-smoking sentiment and legislative actions. [5] : 684 

In 1998, as part of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, the Tobacco Institute, the Center for Indoor Air Research, and the Council for Tobacco Research were dissolved. [3] : 25 

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cigarette</span> Small roll of cut tobacco designed to be smoked

A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opposite end. Cigarette smoking is the most common method of tobacco consumption. The term cigarette, as commonly used, refers to a tobacco cigarette, but the word is sometimes used to refer to other substances, such as a cannabis cigarette or an herbal cigarette. A cigarette is distinguished from a cigar by its usually smaller size, use of processed leaf, and paper wrapping, which is typically white. Since the 1920s, cigarettes have been a major source of advertising revenue for the media, of traffic for small stores, and of tax revenue for governments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tobacco smoking</span>

[[File:Smoke (34942422652).jpg|thumb|

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smoking ban</span> Law prohibiting tobacco smoking in a given space

Smoking bans, or smoke-free laws, are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, that prohibit tobacco smoking in certain spaces. The spaces most commonly affected by smoking bans are indoor workplaces and buildings open to the public such as restaurants, bars, office buildings, schools, retail stores, hospitals, libraries, transport facilities, and government buildings, in addition to public transport vehicles such as aircraft, buses, watercraft, and trains. However, laws may also prohibit smoking in outdoor areas such as parks, beaches, pedestrian plazas, college and hospital campuses, and within a certain distance from the entrance to a building, and in some cases, private vehicles and multi-unit residences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Passive smoking</span> Inhalation of tobacco smoke by persons other than the intended active smoker

Passive smoking is the inhalation of tobacco smoke, commonly called secondhand smoke (SHS) or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), by individuals other than the active smoker. It occurs when tobacco smoke diffuses into the surrounding atmosphere as an aerosol pollutant, which leads to its inhalation by nearby bystanders within the same environment. Exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke causes many of the same diseases caused by active tobacco smoking, although to a lower prevalence due to the reduced concentration of smoke that enters the airway. The health risks of secondhand smoke are a matter of scientific consensus, and have been a major motivation for anti-smoking laws in workplaces and indoor venues, including smoke-free restaurants, bars and night clubs, as well as some open public spaces.

FOREST is a United Kingdom smokers' rights group primarily funded by the tobacco industry which campaigns against what it sees as "excessive regulation" of smoking and tobacco products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicotine marketing</span> Marketing technique

Nicotine marketing is the marketing of nicotine-containing products or use. Traditionally, the tobacco industry markets cigarette smoking, but it is increasingly marketing other products, such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products. Products are marketed through social media, stealth marketing, mass media, and sponsorship. Expenditures on nicotine marketing are in the tens of billions a year; in the US alone, spending was over US$1 million per hour in 2016; in 2003, per-capita marketing spending was $290 per adult smoker, or $45 per inhabitant. Nicotine marketing is increasingly regulated; some forms of nicotine advertising are banned in many countries. The World Health Organization recommends a complete tobacco advertising ban.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health effects of tobacco</span> Circumstances, mechanisms, and factors of tobacco consumption on human health

Tobacco products, especially when smoked or used orally, have negative effects on human health, and concerns about these effects have existed for a long time. Research has focused primarily on cigarette smoking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smoking</span> Practice of inhaling a burnt substance for psychoactive effects

Smoking is a practice in which a substance is combusted and the resulting smoke is typically inhaled to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream of a person. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have been rolled with a small rectangle of paper into an elongated cylinder called a cigarette. Other forms of smoking include the use of a smoking pipe or a bong.

Stanton Arnold Glantz is an American professor, author, and tobacco control activist. Glantz is a faculty member at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine, where he is a Professor of Medicine (retired) in the Division of Cardiology, the American Legacy Foundation Distinguished Professor of Tobacco Control, and former director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education. Glantz's research focused on the health effects of tobacco smoking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ventilated cigarette</span> Cigarette that delivers a lower concentration of chemicals than regular cigarettes

Ventilated cigarettes are considered to have a milder flavor than regular cigarettes. These cigarette brands may be listed as having lower levels of tar ("low-tar"), nicotine, or other chemicals as "inhaled" by a "smoking machine". However, the scientific evidence is that switching from regular to light or low-tar cigarettes does not reduce the health risks of smoking or lower the smoker's exposure to the nicotine, tar, and carcinogens present in cigarette smoke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Frank Statement</span> Tobacco advertisement

A Frank Statement to Cigarette Smokers was a historic first advertisement in a campaign run by major American tobacco companies on January 4, 1954, to create doubt by disputing recent scientific studies linking smoking cigarettes to lung cancer and other dangerous health effects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smoking in New Zealand</span> Overview of smoking in New Zealand

The use of tobacco for smoking in New Zealand has been subjected to government regulation for a number of decades. On 10 December 2004, New Zealand became the third country in the world to make all indoor workplaces including bars and restaurants smoke-free.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tobacco politics</span> Politics surrounding the use and distribution of tobacco

Tobacco politics refers to the politics surrounding the use and distribution of tobacco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tobacco control</span> Field of health science

Tobacco control is a field of international public health science, policy and practice dedicated to addressing tobacco use and thereby reducing the morbidity and mortality it causes. Since most cigarettes and cigars and hookahs contain/use tobacco, tobacco control also concerns these. E-cigarettes do not contain tobacco itself, but (often) do contain nicotine. Tobacco control is a priority area for the World Health Organization (WHO), through the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. References to a tobacco control movement may have either positive or negative connotations, depending upon the commentator.

Smoking in China is prevalent, as the People's Republic of China is the world's largest consumer and producer of tobacco. As of 2022, there are around 300 million Chinese smokers, and 2.4 trillion cigarettes are sold there every year, 46% of the world total.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cigarette smoking for weight loss</span> Weight control method

Cigarette smoking for weight loss is a weight control method whereby one consumes tobacco, often in the form of cigarettes, to decrease one's appetite. The practice dates to early knowledge of nicotine as an appetite suppressant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smoking in Egypt</span> Overview of smoking in Egypt

The use of tobacco products in Egypt is widespread. It is estimated that approximately twenty percent of the population uses tobacco products daily. Cigarettes are the most common form of tobacco consumption in Egypt, with an estimated twenty billion cigarettes smoked annually in the country. After cigarettes, shisha water-pipes are the most common form of tobacco consumption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smoking in the United States military</span> History, culture, legality and prevalence of smoking in the U.S. military

Smoking in the United States military has been observed in previous wars, but smoking's close association with the United States military started in World War I when tobacco companies began to target military personnel through the distribution of cigarettes to servicemen and the eventual inclusion of cigarettes into rations. Although the military has attempted to implement tobacco control initiatives, the association between smoking and military personnel has persisted to the present day as smoking rates remain high, despite declines in civilian rates. Such high rates have led to questions about the effect of smoking from the apparent health risks to troop readiness and training costs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tobacco-free college campuses</span>

Tobacco-free college campuses are colleges and universities that have implemented policies prohibiting the use of tobacco products at all indoor and outdoor campus locations. Tobacco is known to be harmful to the health of smokers, bystanders, and the environment. Since this issue was first recognized, colleges have been creating policies for tobacco use on campus in an effort to improve health standards, provide more enjoyable campus conditions, and to reduce the negative environmental effects of tobacco.

The 1950 Wynder and Graham Study was conducted by Ernest Wynder and Evarts Graham and was entitled "Tobacco Smoking as a Possible Etiologic Factor in Bronchiogenic Carcinoma: A Study of Six Hundred and Eighty-Four [684] Proved Cases". It was published on May 27, 1950. It was a case-control study to determine the relationship between various external factors and the development of bronchogenic carcinoma. The study concluded that long-term tobacco usage contributes to the onset of lung cancer, as an overwhelming majority (96.5%) of the men with the disease were classified as moderate to heavy smokers for an extended period of time, compared to a lower percentage of the general hospital population control group.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Brandt, Allan M. (2007). The Cigarette Century: the Rise, Fall and Deadly Persistence of the Product That Defined America . New York: Basic Books, a member of the Perseus Books Group. ISBN   978-0-465-07047-3.
  2. ↑ "Government lays out fraud case against Big Tobacco". CNN.com. 2004-09-21. Retrieved 2008-08-02.
  3. 1 2 The Tobacco Institute's headquarters were kept secret from everyone except its most senior members, hence there are no references to their location in this article. "Master Settlement Agreement" (PDF). National Association of Attorneys General. 1998. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-06-25. Retrieved 2008-07-30.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ↑ Timmins, William M. (1989). Smoking and the Workplace: Issues and Answers for Human Resources Professionals . New York: Praeger. ISBN   978-0-899-30423-6.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Kluger, Richard (1997). Ashes to Ashes: American's Hundred-Year Cigarette War, the Public Health, and the Unabashed Triumph of Philip Morris. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN   978-0-375-70036-1.
  6. ↑ Kearns, Cristin E.; Glantz, Stanton A.; Schmidt, Laura A. (2015). "Sugar Industry Influence on the Scientific Agenda of the National Institute of Dental Research's 1971 National Caries Program: A Historical Analysis of Internal Documents". PLOS Medicine. 12 (3): e1001798. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001798. PMC   4355299 . PMID   25756179.
  7. ↑ "A Study of Public Attitudes Toward Cigarette Smoking and the Tobacco Industry in 1978, v. I". Roper Organization. May 1978.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. ↑ Kloepfer Jr., William (1985-04-10). "Report on Public Smoking Issue". Tobacco Institute. Retrieved 2008-07-30.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. ↑ "A word to smokers". University of California at San Francisco, Legacy Tobacco Documents Library. 1979-02-12. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  10. ↑ "Answers to the Most Asked Questions about Cigarettes". Tobacco Institute. 1982. Retrieved 2008-07-30.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. ↑ "Smoking and Health 1964–1979: The Continuing Controversy". Tobacco Institute. 1979-01-10. Retrieved 2008-07-30.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. ↑ "Situation Report: Tobacco Smoke in the Air". Tobacco Institute. May 1985. Retrieved 2008-07-30.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. ↑ The health consequences of involuntary smoking: a report of the Surgeon General. U. S. Government Printing Office. OCLC   14990774.
  14. ↑ "Government Health Officials Involved in Efforts to Censor Dissenting Scientific Viewpoints; Tobacco Institute Demands Cabinet-Level Investigation; Accuses Officials of Abusing Science for Political Ends" (Press release). Tobacco Institute. 1986-12-11. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  15. ↑ "Tobacco Smoke and the Nonsmoker: Scientific Integrity at the Crossroads". Tobacco Institute. 1986. Retrieved 2008-07-30.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  16. ↑ Frank, Stanley (January 1968). "To Smoke or Not to Smoke—That is Still the Question". True. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  17. ↑ Glantz, Stanton; John Slade; Lisa A. Bero; Peter Hanauer; Deborah E. Barnes (1996). The Cigarette Papers. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN   978-0-520-21372-2.
  18. ↑ "The truth about...True's Article on Smoking". Consumer Reports: 336–339. June 1968. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
  19. ↑ For instance, Tobacco Seems To Be A Non-ethics Area, Dave Barry, June 19, 1988, Chicago Tribune
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.