Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Patricia McDaniel, PhD¹, Elizabeth Smith, PhD¹, and Ruth Malone, RN, PhD, FAAN². (1) Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, UCSF Box 0612, San Francisco, CA 94143-0612, (2) Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, Box 0612, San Francisco, CA 94143-0612, (415) 476-3273, ruth.malone@ucsf.edu

During the past decade, Philip Morris has initiated numerous overtures toward tobacco control and other public health organizations, including attempting to engage in dialogue on harm reduction and regulatory policy and supporting Food and Drug Administration regulation of tobacco products. This study utilized internal Philip Morris documents made available through multi-state U.S. Attorneys General lawsuits to explore these efforts. More than 600 documents were analyzed to prepare this case study of Philip Morris's Project Sunrise. Project Sunrise, initiated in 1995 and proposed to continue through 2006, was a long-term plan to address tobacco industry delegitimization and ensure the social acceptability of smoking and of the company itself. Project Sunrise laid out an explicit divide-and-conquer strategy against the tobacco control movement, proposing the establishment of relationships with PM-identified “moderate” tobacco control individuals and organizations and the marginalization of others. PM planned to use “carefully orchestrated efforts” to exploit existing differences of opinion within tobacco control, weakening its opponents by working with them. PM also planned to thwart tobacco industry delegitimization by repositioning itself as “responsible”. We present evidence that these plans were implemented. Project Sunrise exposes differences within the tobacco control movement that should be further discussed. As the successes of the last 25 years embolden advocates to think beyond passage of the next policy or program, the movement's philosophical differences may become more important. If tobacco control advocates do not address them, Project Sunrise suggests that Philip Morris is ready to exploit them.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Discuss Project Sunrise and its implications for the broader tobacco control movement
• Recognize areas within tobacco control where philosophical differences might be exploited by the tobacco industry and consider ways to address these

Keywords: Tobacco Industry, Advocacy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation