Tobacco Documents Online

, : mo~ n`~ cut ititis cicyy]]}.,., ~~///e nerss crc S ' , g. . ' ' health ~th°°~ it d 2Charges that clgaarettesi harm smokersoes suprt t~ T°ba°°° Iastitute.) rr•I Since then the th reacfned a cJan~erows peak in 1953.e srst rontertea eff°rt w°ff>e< ihe insistent and I damaging research came vr ,. ,.. :. ~nidwstiry has concentrated its public relations on this in December, 11953, when Panli Hahn, tt president; American Tobacco Co:,,Ntnv ~sal thrt ancfllly held it in check A l Yoktin frsead sucesswr called a meeg of gf°wen ?' warehousemen and manufacturers. As a F A ,~~,:. result the Tobacon Industry Reseazch ` Witlt the Wootten Report shawing In 1953, however,the situation Committee was founded. The late O. that 1961 cigarette sales have reached changed abruptly as several scientific Parker McComas, then president of another all-time high it's:apparent that studies appeared that indicatedi a rela- Philip, Morris, was chairman of' the the tobacco industry is eoping',suc°ess- tionship: between lung cancer and', group from March to June, 1954, dur- fvlly, with, recurrent charges thaYcigart smoking. ing the, eritical time when the com- - ettes may be harmful!to health: -" " The publicity given these studies mittee was being organized. In this connection, of' course, some brouglit' strong', and immediate public Ile TIRC formally constituted its credit must go to the industry's public reattion: Condemnation of tobacco crys- Scientific Advisory Board in June 1954, relations activities. Combatting, or at talized and domestic consumption of and gave it carte blanche:to sponsor re- least' muting, the impact of': research cigarettes dropped from a 1952 record' search relating, to health and smoking. ` 6ndings that link smoking withi disease high of 394.1-billion to 386.8-billion in: Those who received grants from the i(s a prime chore of the industry's public 1953, and 368.7,billion in 1954-the board were to find and publicize objec- relations relations forces. And, although the stra- first decreases since before 1935. tive facts on possible relationships be- g ;:tegy here generally is one more of The tobacco industry reacted quickly tween the use of tobacco and hmg,can- ` restraint than counterattaek, it adds up and, its spokesmen feel, with consider- cer, and' other: diseases, `and let the k' ;;to a saund'approach so far. :":able wisdom and foresigh6 by forming, ne~lts spea,for themselves, whatever % Through the years: the cigarette in- the Tobacco Industry Research Com- they are-" Hahn and' McComas are ,dustry has: been plagued by sporadic mittee (T1RC): and, ltter„the Tobacco given credit for setting up the Saen- -"allegations that smoking is hazardous to Institute• tific Advisory Board from among top ,health. But the public was never Whether these, organizations go far medical researchers to manage the >ilarmed to any eatent and' the indus - enougH in their efforts has been ques- fund- try's only rebuttal was to rely on its tioned by many, both inside and out- Modest promotion expenditure '4 favorite adage: "Tobacco is its own side the indlutry. (Liggett & Myers, for best promotion eaample has refused to join the TIRC The only, advertising the group ever sponsored was a fulll page in news- ' ~ papers throughout the countiy, an- ' :{~ih~~ c' orgamzed in 1BS8 works out ot' Tobatto Institute, Washington, using pubg nouncing its fonnation It publisbes . iications below to publicize medical findings and smoking's role in the economy the annual report of its scientific direc- tor, and the results of surveys it feels are particularly germane to its cause. Researchers are also free to publicize results of their studies independently. ~18~11~ T1~ $f~$'= So far the TIRC has spent $4.85 million on research and has made avail- hi ` am able an additional' ,nal, $800,000 for 1962. Considering that Americans spent more. than $7.5-billiom for tobacco products in 1960, this may seem to some a drop in the bucket; but for the present, att least, booming cigarette sales make it, hard to argue with this approach- Some critics of the TIRC say it is hard' to believe the organization: can be unbiased in research on the relation of health and smoking, However, the board chairman and his associates: have complete freedom in developing and controlling research policy and pro- grams. The: board grants funds for in- dependent research projects .in re- sponse to applications; it never in- itiates its own research. - (more)

"Excellent scientific studies have New York, handles public relations for both TIRC and the institute. Tobacco Institute president' George V. Allen was director of the U.S! In- formation Agency in the Eisenhower Administration. The institute collects and' publishes current and historical' material relating tobacco to the econ- omy. Its publications include the quarterly,, Tobacco News, which goes to industry members, national opinion leaders andi the press. It also publishes been reported," TIIRCI chairman Timothy V. Hartnet't told PniNTens ~' Inx this week, "but perhaps the most significant development, has been the generall reeognition, thatwe do not yet have the answers." Hartnett is a former president of'. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. That statement' of his has been TIRC's standard retort to, all' claims that ci- garette smoking contributes to the in- cidence of certain diseasesl ti- After the TIRC had beenifunction- ing only a year, cigare te sales slowly be~an clambing, again. To what extent this was due to the committee's efforts, however, it is difficult to say. Iit' is, certain, however,, that the surge off filter cigarettes, due largely to con- sumer demand, had a therapeutic ef- feet on cigarette sales. For, while the filter was never, cconclusively shown to l be' a health safeguard, it' did, at least, allow the smoker to rationalize the habit. Consumption of filters rose from 018 -_ Tobacco and Health three times a~ --= year for the medical profession and the press: In its lobbying role for the industry, per cent of the market in 1951 to 38 per cent in 1956,, and 52.4 per cent' by 1960. Advertising of filters, to a consider- able extent, concentrated on claims off lower tar and nicotine content. P. Lorillard's Kent filter was a prime example. But in 1960 the Federal Trade Commission requested the ci- the institute handles tax, tariff and production problems. It claims much of' the credit' for the removal of tax stamps from cigarette packages in June 1959. This move is a financial boon for cigarette makers, and saves the govern- ment an estimated $5-million a .°ear in relatedl costs. Promising outlook What are the tasks ahead for the cigarette industry's public uelations? The present programs seem to be ef- fective and' the outlook is promising. For instance, per capital consumption of all Americans over 15 is at a record high of 4,025 cigarettes a year, up from 3,409 in 1960 and 3,344 in 1954, when the effects of the cancer scare were most strongly felt. garette industry to stop, making claims -At the same time, while cigarette about' low tar andl nicotine content sales will probably sustain, the present and; as a result, some filter brands lost pattern, of' climb, there will be no op- a strong ad theme. Dortunitv for the industry to relax After the 1903 and 1954 drops,, Continuing studies on the relation of , total aomestic cigarette consumptioni - smokin¢ and health will cnr.,p mnr rP- rose about tour per cent to sts.:.1~bi1- lentlessly with interim reporis-many ~ ~ _ lion in 1955, then to 392•2-billion in of which can be counted on to provide- r! -19"6 - d d - t 409 4 b lh - e smu er. oo, now t at e FTC t In 11958 ' the industry organized the has outlawed mention of' tar and nien- tn 19;.7. - to I th k T h' h a, an o a recor . - t health hazards ' i,"p~rt nc «s <cienrnc on damaging evidence -of' in Washington„ H.C:, to "create a , better public knowledge and under- standing of the tobacco industry and its economic and' social importance."- -- _ Iit, also set out to foster better under- ` standing of' facts regarding questions raised about tobacco use and human health, and the industry's role in help- ' Tobacco Institute Inc:, headquartered tine in ad copy; tobacco makers and ing science determmethe~ answers to health questions. The institute's members produce anl estimated 99 per cent of all cigarette, pilie and chewing tobaccolin the United States. The group has no, direct 'con- nection with the research committee, but' does help publicize committee- sponsored research. Hill & Knowlton, their agencies have no way of reassur- ing smokers on the health issue. Meanwhile, though, more studies a~ie' appearing-often from abroad-in sup •; port of the contention that other fac-. tors, such as gas and industrial fumes, - are more likely causes of' lung cancer '" than cigarettes are. By playing up this type of finding and tersely brushing - aside studies that link smoking and'i dis- ease, the industry's public relations arms will probably hold the health issue in check. And there is another lns-conclusivel demonstrated- otn a " °"=" p y g~ g for the tobacco men: The most fright '~ ening research is not enough to cause the inveterate smoker to drop the habit ` i,' ' ¢~~`` '-I4•..~-., ... . ..