 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Joaquin Barnoya, MD, MPH, Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, University of California, San Francisco, 530 Parnassus Ave, Suite 366, San Francisco, CA 94143-1390, 415/ 476-2265, jbarnoya@medicine.ucsf.edu and Stanton A Glantz, PhD, Institute for Health Policy Studies, University of California, San Francisco, 3333 California Street, Suite 265, San Francisco, CA 94118.
Objective: As has been previously documented, the tobacco industry has formed regional ETS consultants programs in order to generate controversy on the issue of secondhand smoke (SHS or environmental tobacco smoke, ETS). The objective of this paper is to describe the worldwide strategy used by the tobacco industry to avoid SHS regulations.
Methods. We systematically searched tobacco industry documents available on the Internet.
Results. Beginning 1988, Philip Morris assembled an international ETS consultants program in which other tobacco industries were engaged depending on market share of the region. Latin America, Asia, and Europe were the regions included in the program. Only those countries in which the industry foresaw SHS restrictions were included. The law firm Covington & Burling (C&B) contacted and hired consultants with a wide range of expertise usually affiliated with an academic institution. The objective of the program was to influence policy makers, media and the public by providing, through their consultants, “accurate” information concerning public workplace regulation, indoor air quality and ventilation standards, and scientific claims regarding SHS. In addition consultants would undertake research related to SHS and organize and attend regional and international symposiums related to SHS without acknowledging industry funding.
Conclusion. Through a well-organized network of consultants the tobacco industry has successfully avoided SHS regulations in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
Learning Objectives:
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.