WARNING: This site deals only with the corporate corruption of science, and makes no inference about the motives or activities of individuals involved.
    There are many reasons why individuals become embroiled in corporate corruption activities - from political zealotry to over-enthusiastic activism; from gullibility to greed.
    Please read the OVERVIEW carefully, and make up your own mind.

OPINION ONLY

Smoking-gun document

• WHO-IARC attack plans
  The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the research arm of the World Health Organisation (WHO), was about to release a report on the health implications of passive smoking (ETS). Philip Morris's Corporate Affairs division had an IARC Task Force which spent over a year and millions of dollars in planning ways to disrupt and discredit this report.
        One of their number is outlining her thoughts here on techniques that could br used to discredit the IARC's science.
  
  
• Philip Morris & UK WhiteCoats meeting
  Philip Morris spent many millions of dollars recruiting a special kind of ETS (second-hand smoke) scientific consultant who was to work surreptitiously for the industry on a job-by-job basis. They were called 'WhiteCoats' and they worked through the tobacco lawyers to protect themselves from discovery.
        This document reports on a meeting of the tobacco companies where Philip Morris requested support from the other companies to extend this project into Asia, etc.
  
  
• ARIA and the WhiteCoats
  Associates for Research in Indoor Air (ARIA) was a consulting company set up by the tobacco industry to help shelter the European WhiteCoats from discovery and to launder payments made for services. It became the model for similar organisations in Scandinavia (EGIL), and Asia (APAIAQ)
  
  
• Downunder conference
  A brainstorming conference set up by Australian Philip Morris executive Bill Murray to explore ideas to counter the threat posed by passive smoking bans. The ideas involved disinformation, distraction, lobbying, media buying, bribery, legislation, and litigation... you name it!
        The document gives an insight into the industry's corporate culture and how they went about protecting their commercial interests.
  
  
• Operations of the economists' network
  The Tobacco Institute set up a network of academic economists (all Professors) at universities in each US State. These were the equivalents of the scientific WhiteCoats. The network was run out of George Mason University by Professor Robert Tollison and professional lobbyist James Saverese.
        These economists were paid for commissioned op-eds planted on their local newspapers; for writing to local Congressmen; and for making appearances at local ordinance hearings.
  
  
• The McGill University ETS Symposium
  In November 1989 Philip Morris ran a large closed conference (by invitation only) at McGill University. They invited only their own scientific staff, well-paid and trusted consultants, and some of the new WhiteCoats.
        The conference served a number of purposes: it gave some of the WhiteCoats a veneer of expertise in IAQ research (they gave papers largely written by PM); it created a collegian culture among their consultants; it resulted in a proceedings booklet full of pro-tobacco propaganda which they published and distributed around the world as a text-book.
  
  
• Tort Reform
  Reform of product liability laws to both reduce permissable punative damages payments, and make it almost impossible for plaintiff lawyers to mount class actions, became a tobacco industry obsession. It was a fear that they shared with other poisoning and polluting companies and industries.
        This therefore gave the tobacco industry an excuse to organise highly active coalitions of companies (usually funded heavily by tobacco) and to build general political support for their position.
  
  
• George Carlo's Executive Order proposal to RJ Reynolds Tobacco
  The tobacco industry had tried a number of times to get Republican Presidents Reagan and Bush to sign an Executive Order mandating that the regulatory agencies (FDA, EPA, OSHA) must do risk-assessment and cost-benefit analysis before imposing any new regulations. Many regulators had been moving towards the (European) "precautionary principle" — acting before scientific certainty was established to everyone's satisfaction,
        Executive Orders by-passed Congress and had the effect of hamstringing most regulators since, with health outcomes, it is almost impossible to calculate either costs or benefits in dollar terms (with out subjecting them to enless legal battles).Risk-assessment just added another layer of statistical bureaucracy to what is a biomedical judgement.
  
  
• WSA's Scientific Consultants in Europe
  Philip Morris's Worldwide Scientific Affairs (WSA) was a late development which took over the job of running the WhiteCoats and tobacco-friendly scientists that they had recruited outside the USA
        This document provides some insight into the extent of scientific corruption in Europe.
  
  
• S&T Neuchatel Activities Report
  Philip Morris had a division based in Switzerland known as FTR Science & Technology which was run by Helmut Gaisch and Helmut Reif. It paralleled the US S&T Division run by Tom Borelli under Steve Parrish.
        These were scientific distortion and disinformation divisions, and this document gives some idea of the depth of their involvement.

• Tobacco industry jargon terms
• Tobacco industry corporate and divisional acronyms
• Names and positions of the chief tobacco spin-meisters
• First and Nicknames of the main spin-meisters
• Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds staff initials (widely used in correspondence)

CONTRIBUTORS:in22 LR13 JJHS