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Abstract #160755

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Hadii Mamudu, PhD, Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco, 530 Parnassus Avenue, Suite 366, Box 1390, San Francisco, CA 94143, 415-514-9340, hadii.mamudu@ucsf.edu, Ross Hammond, Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, UCSF, 242 Edna Street, San Francisco, CA 94112, and Stanton A. Glantz, PhD, Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, University of California, San Francisco, Suite 366 Library 530 Parnassus Ave, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-1390.

In 1999 the World Bank published a major report on economics of tobacco control, Curbing the Epidemic: Governments and the Economic of Tobacco Control that concluded that the costs of tobacco exceed its benefits. The report provided an economic analysis in support of tobacco control and it served as a major technical document in the negotiation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The purpose of this study is to illuminate how the Transnational Tobacco Companies (TTCs) embarked on a global campaign to discredit this report to obstruct the FCTC. The methods used include analysis of tobacco industry documents and other archival documents. The results show that the TTCs hired consultants to campaign against the report, paid academics to provide a critique of the report to be used in lobbying governments, hired consultants to produce “independent” analysis of economic impact of tobacco to show the importance of tobacco to national economics, worked through front groups, particularly the International Tobacco Growers' Association (ITGA) to raise worldwide awareness of “independent” critique of the report, and highlighted the potential impact of the FCTC on trade. The adoption of the FCTC in May 2003 implies the TTCs were not successful in discrediting the report to obstruct the FCTC, as it has remained the main authoritative document on economics of tobacco control at the global level.

Learning Objectives:

• To highlight the tobacco industry strategy of discrediting research works that threaten its interest.
• To illuminate the tobacco industry global campaign to discredit the World Bank report, Curbing the Epidemic.
• To emphasize the tobacco industry use of academics and front groups in its campaign against global tobacco control.

Keywords: Policy/Policy Development, International Public Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

• Handout (free access)