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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.




TOBACCO INDUSTRY EXPLANATORY

ABBREVIATIONS
JARGON
SPIN-MEISTERS
INITIALS
FIRST & NICKNAMES
Misc.RESEARCH HELP
Smoking-Gun docs.

 

 

OPINION ONLY

Arlen Lanfvardt     [Prof]    

— A business-law academic from Indiana who signed up to help the tobacco industry, but who apparently thought better of it. He was, however, paid $1500 for some unknown services. —  

There are only three documents listing Lanfvardt as a cash-for-comments business lawyer — and in none of these references has he written any articles. He is included here mainly for completeness.

Professor Lanfvardt signed up to become a clandestine cash-for-comments network of academic business lawyers operated for the Tobacco Institute but he doesn't appear to have written anything. He was paid $1,500 however, either as a sign-up fee/retainer, or for some other unknown service.

This was a companion network to their much larger tobacco-industry network of academic economists (numbering over a hundred professors of economics, overall) which had representatives in each US State.

The economists network was run by Jim Savarese in partnership with Professor Robert Tollison, the Director of the Center for Study of Public Choice (CSPC) at the George Mason University, and it used the staff of the Center and Anna Tollison as administrators.

However, the business lawyer's network was run independently by Savarese — although it is obvious, from the selection of academics, that many of them were found with the aid of confirmed network economists working at the same university. Tollison's staff and some key economists at the CSPC were sometimes still used to edit and rewrite the material to make it acceptable to newspaper editors.

These university law professors were all contracted on a pay-for-service basis to react to requests circulated by the tobacco industry for help in defeating advertising bans in 1984 and again in 1986. Initially they were paid between $700 and $1000 per time for writing and planting an article.

They were required to expoit the public trust inherent in their academic status — and not to reveal that the tobacco industry paid them for services rendered.:

  • Write op-ed articles for their main local newspapers. [chosen by the tobacco industry]
  • Write to their local Senators and Representatives. [designated by the tobacco industry]
  • Appear before local State Assemblies or at Congressional hearings in opposition to advertising bans
  • Occasionally talk to journalists or appear in the broadcast media supporting some legal aspect of tobacco propaganda.
The material they generated rarely had cigarettes or tobacco at its focus — the messages were more obtuse and often cloaked in academic obfuscation and in Consitutional-rights terms. As with any other business, the tobacco industry had the Constitutional right to advertise its lethal products, they said, and therefore any advertising bans inevitably led down the slippery slope to an infringement of free speech for the nation as a whole.

Usually a network project involved:

  • an op-ed article or report written to order by the professor.
  • it would then be sent to James Savarese
  • Savarese's team might pass it on to Tollison and the CSPC for editing and a possible rewrite.
  • It would then go the Tobacco Institute for their Issues Management and PR people for corrections and "improvements".
  • The Tobacco Institute would then send it to their lawyers for legal checks,
  • Finally, the doctored article was then returned to the professor for transmission to the designated newspaper.
  • Clippings, and copies of letters to Congressmen, were then returned to the Tobacco Institute as "proof of service rendered."
The system worked extremely well for three decades, and hundreds of tobacco-supporting articles were planted on major state newspapers as if they were learned opinion pieces from trusted independent local-university professors.

See
Cash-for-comments lawyers network

Cash-for-comment economists network


Some key documents

  • Professor of Business Law at Indiana University


1986-87 Tobacco Advertising projects
1986 Sep 27: The New York State Bar Association enacted by overwhelming voice vote, a resolution to ban-any form of media advertising of tobacco products. This was the second serious attempt to ban tobacco advertising from the press (first two years earlier).

    In the same month, columnist Jack Anderson reported that the ACLU had struck a secret deal with the tobacco industry. They had struck a deal where the tobacco industry was to pressure its ally, Sen Jesse Helms (R-NC), into dropping his planned amendment outlawing dial-a-porn phone calls. The pornography measure which the ACLU opposed, would be attached to a privacy bill protecting citizens from electronic surveillance. In exchange the ACLU would openly support the tobacco industry's 'Constitutional' right to retain advertising.

    James Savarese was immediately asked to recruit a number of academic lawyers who would be willing to lend their support in opposition to any advertising bans on 'Constitutional' grounds.

    This is only one small part of a massive project funded by both tobacco, advertising and publishing interests, in what was known as the Freedom to Advertise Coalition (FAC)


1986 Dec 1: An internal Tobacco Institute memo from Anne Duffin says that
The first of what could be multiple 1987 advertising hearings could occur as early as mid-January in the Senate, a week later in the House. Hearings in the House are more likely, however, in February or March, unlikely in the Senate in the near future. But we must explore options quickly and adopt an overall plan.
She anticipates a well-resourced attack on the industry from Reps Waxman and Synar
TI has neither manpower nor funds to develop and utilize all of the following resources. Nor do I recommend we try to do so.

    But all should be considered and preparations taken for action, depending on what sorts of restrictions are proposed in coming months,: and by whom:
  • American Civil Liberties Union
  • Freedom of Expression Foundation
    [founded by Senator Bob Packwood and run by UCLA Professor Craig Smith]
  • Tobacco lawyers, Covington & Burling, and TI staff are working with a task force of AAAA, AAF and ANA Washington executives [all advertising agency groups] to head off the NYSBA resolution on its way to New Orleans [annual conference] in February and/or win affirmative action from ABA.
  • Placement of op-ed page articles and letters to editor by law-oriented professors of business in target cities and states, with judicious distribution of reprints Statusé
          Twenty-plus such professionals have been identified and ready to start. Awaiting amunition on all-text regulation from Covington [& Burling], and draft copy from Ogilvy & Mather, due Dec 15.
  • Jean Boddewyn [Baruch College, CUNY] is also working on another possible op-ed piece and [C&B's David] Remes will investigate editing down [Roger] Blackwell and/or [Scott] Ward's Aug 1 testimony [at Congressional hearing] for other articles.


1986 Dec 16: Jim Savarese writes to Anne Duffin at the Tobacco Institute:

Attached are three prototype Op-Editorials that address the advertising issue. I realize that some of the arguments made will not be acceptable, but I wanted to see exactly how far we could push.

    In-addition, these prototypes are too lengthy for most newspapers and need to be cutback.

    I have also attached a page of quotes from which excerpts can be drawn.

    Please let me know how you want to proceed.

    Prototype articles:
    • Advertising Ban On Tobacco: A Costly Economic Mistake
    • Economics, Free Speech, and the Cigarette Ad Ban
    • An Advertising Ban On Tobacco: A Threat To Freedom



The first appearance of Lanfvardt in the tobacco documents is on this schedule for payments on the Tobacco Institute's "Tobacco-Ban Op-ed writing" project.

    He is to write op-eds for Indiana — specifically for the Indeianoplis Star, but the records show that he didn't produce any material for them.


1987 Apr 14: Jim Savarese sends payment details for the "Tobacco Ad Ban Project" to the Tobacco Institute.


State

Lobbyist

Local Newspaper

Amount
ALABAMA Ekelund Montgomery Adv. $400
CALIFORNIALyden
Cohen
LA Herald Ex.
San Diego Union
$900
$1000
COLORADO Ruhnka Denver Post
FLORIDANewmanOrlando Sentinal
INDIANALanfvardtIndianapolis Star
ILLINOISKindtChicago Tribune$400
IOWALansingDes Moines Register$800
KANSASWhitmanKansas City Star$700
MARYLANDGray Baltimore Sun
MICHIGANDow Lansing St. Journal
MINNESOTAReeseSt. Paul Pioneer
NEW JERSEYClarrittNewark Star
NEW MEXICOParkmanAlbuquerque Jrnl
NEW YORKWeiner
Sullivan
(not spec.)
Democrat Chron

OHIOEagleToledo Blade$800
OREGONMitchellOregonian $800
UTAHKearlSalt Lake Trib
TEXASJohnsenDallas Times $700

GEORGE MASON PRODUCTION STAFF
Bob Tollison, Bill Shughart, Gary Anderson & Carol Roberts
re-writes, editing, and research, — 11 articles + production
$9,500
. Expenses$450
. TOTAL $16,450

1987 Jun 22: Schedule of Payments for the "Tobacco Ad Ban Project" Some of the lawyers appear to have dropped out.


State

Lobbyist

Local Newspaper
Total
Earned
ALABAMA Ekelund Montgomery Adv. $2000
CALIFORNIALyden
Cohen
LA Herald Ex.
San Diego Union
$2000
$1700
COLORADO Ruhnka Denver Post $1800
FLORIDANewmanOrlando Sentin $800
INDIANALanfvardtIndianapolis St $1500
ILLINOISKindtChicago Tribune$1400
IOWALansingDes Moines Reg.$2000
KANSASWhitmanKansas City Star$2000
MARYLANDGray [NOT INCLUDED]
MICHIGANDow Lansing St. Jrnl $1500
MINNESOTAReeseSt. Paul Pioneer $1500
NEW JERSEYClarritt[NOT INCLUDED]
NEW MEXICOParkmanAlbuquerque Jrnl $1500
NEW YORKWeiner
Sullivan
[NEITHER
INCLUDED]

OHIOEagleToledo Blade$1200
OREGONMitchellOregonian $2000
UTAHKearl[NOT INCLUDED]
TEXASJohnsenDallas Times $1500

WORTH READING




















CONTRIBUTORS:TRMU LR13 sjc2


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