Whose standard is it, anyway? How the tobacco industry determines the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards for tobacco and tobacco products.
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OBJECTIVE: To describe the extent of the tobacco industry involvement in establishing international standards for tobacco and tobacco products and the industry influence on the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). METHODS: Analysis of tobacco industry documents made public as part of the settlement of the Minnesota Tobacco Trial and the Master Settlement Agreement. Search words included "ISO", "CORESTA", "Barclay", "compensation and machine smoking", "tar and nicotine deliveries", and the name of key players, in different combinations. RESULTS: It is clear that the tobacco industry, through the Cooperation Centre for Scientific Research Relative to Tobacco (CORESTA), play a major role in determining the scientific evidence and suggesting the standards that are eventually adopted as international standards for tobacco and tobacco products in several areas, including the measurement of cigarette tar and nicotine yield. CONCLUSIONS: ISO's tobacco and tobacco products standards are not adequate to guide tobacco products regulatory policies, and no health claims can be made based on ISO's tobacco products standards. There is an urgent need for tobacco control advocates and groups worldwide to be more involved with the work of the ISO, both directly and through their national standardisation organisations. (+info)
Effect of policies directed at youth access to smoking: results from the SimSmoke computer simulation model.
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OBJECTIVES: To develop a simulation model to predict the effects of youth access policies on retail compliance, smoking rates, and smoking attributable deaths. METHODS: A model of youth access policies is developed based on empirical research and a theory of perceived risk. The model incorporates substitution into other sources as retail sales are restricted, and is used to project the number of smokers and smoking related deaths. Various policies to limit youth access to cigarettes are evaluated, and we explore how efficient policies may be developed. RESULTS: The model predicts that a well designed and comprehensive policy that includes sufficient compliance checks, penalties, and community involvement has the potential to reduce the number of young smokers. Because smoking related deaths occur later in life, the effects on health are largely delayed. CONCLUSIONS: A well designed youth access policy has the ability to affect youth smoking rates in the short term, and will lead to savings in lives in future years. The ability of retail oriented policies to reduce youth smoking, however, is limited. Other tobacco control policies, including those directed at non-retail sources of cigarettes, are also needed. (+info)
Tobacco lobby political influence on US state legislatures in the 1990s.
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BACKGROUND: Throughout the 1990s the tobacco lobby was a potent political force in US state legislatures advancing its pro-tobacco agenda. OBJECTIVE: To describe the market and political motivations of the tobacco lobby and the strategies they use to achieve these goals in US state legislatures. DESIGN: This study is a content analysis and summary overview of recently released historical tobacco industry documents; tobacco related government documents; and recent state tobacco control policy reports. RESULTS: In the 1990s, the tobacco lobby engaged in a comprehensive and aggressive political effort in state legislatures to sell tobacco with the least hindrance using lobbying, the media, public relations, front groups, industry allies, and contributions to legislators. These efforts included campaigns to neutralise clean indoor air legislation, minimise tax increases, and preserve the industry's freedom to advertise and sell tobacco. The tobacco lobby succeeded in increasing the number of states that enacted state pre-emption of stricter local tobacco control laws and prevented the passage of many state tobacco control policies. Public health advocates were able to prevent pre-emption and other pro-tobacco policies from being enacted in several states. CONCLUSIONS: The tobacco lobby is a powerful presence in state legislatures. Because of the poor public image of the tobacco lobby, it seeks to wield this power quietly and behind the scenes. State and local health advocates, who often have high public credibility, can use this fact against the tobacco lobby by focusing public attention on the tobacco lobby's political influence and policy goals and expose links between the tobacco lobby and its legislative supporters. (+info)
Print media coverage of California's smokefree bar law.
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OBJECTIVE: To assess the print media coverage of California's smokefree bar law in the state of California. DESIGN: Content analysis of newspaper, trade journal, and magazine items. SUBJECTS: Items regarding the smokefree bar law published seven months before and one year following the implementation of the smokefree bar law (June 1997 to December 1998). Items consisted of news articles (n = 446), opinion editorials (n = 31), editorials (n = 104), letters to the editor (n = 240), and cartoons (n = 10). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number and timing of publication of items, presence of tobacco industry arguments or public health arguments regarding law, positive, negative, and neutral views of opinion items published. RESULTS: 53% of items published concerning the smokefree bar law were news articles, 47% were opinion items. 45% of items regarding the smokefree bar law were published during the first month of implementation. The tobacco industry dominated coverage in most categories (economics, choice, enforcement, ventilation, legislation, individual quotes), except for categories public health used the most frequently (government role, tactics, organisational quotes). Anti-law editorials and letters to the editor were published more than pro-law editorials and letters. Region of the state, paper size, presence of local clean indoor air legislation, and voting on tobacco related ballot initiatives did not have an impact on the presence of opinion items. CONCLUSIONS: The tobacco industry succeeded in obtaining more coverage of the smokefree bar law, both in news items and opinion items. The tobacco industry used historical arguments of restricting freedom of choice and economic ramifications in fighting the smokefree bar law, while public health groups focused on the worker protection issue, and exposed tobacco industry tactics. Despite the skewed coverage, public health groups obtained adequate attention to their arguments to keep the law in effect. (+info)
Cigarette advertising and promotional strategies in retail outlets: results of a statewide survey in California.
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OBJECTIVE: To examine the extent and types of cigarette advertising materials in stores and to assess tobacco company compliance with the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). DESIGN: A cross-sectional analysis of a random sample of 586 stores that sold cigarettes. SETTING: US state of California. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Trained data collectors classified cigarette advertising materials by type (signs, displays, functional items), location (interior or exterior), and placement (below 3 feet (1 m) or near candy). RESULTS: California retail outlets featured 17.2 (SD 16.1) tobacco advertising materials on average, and 94% of stores featured at least some advertising. About 85% of these were within 4 feet (1.3 m) of the counter. About 50% of the stores had ads at or below 3 feet, and 23% had cigarette product displays next to candy. In violation of the MSA, 3% of stores featured signs with cartoons and 11% had large exterior signs. CONCLUSIONS: Tobacco companies are aggressively using stores to market cigarettes. Moreover, the spirit of the MSA-to protect children from cigarette advertising-has not been realised. Future studies should monitor industry use of this venue and assess the impact of exposure to cigarette advertising materials in stores on adult smokers and youth. (+info)
Litigation on behalf of victims of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. The experience from the USA.
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BACKGROUND: For a quarter of a century, lawsuits have been filed on behalf of individuals who have been harmed by exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). METHODS: A review of hundreds of legal cases where exposure to ETS was the basis for the lawsuit was undertaken. The history of ETS-based lawsuits was categorised and analysed. RESULTS: While ETS-based lawsuits have arisen in a variety of divergent settings, there have been an increasing number of instances in which individuals have achieved relief from exposure to ETS and/or monetary compensation for having been so exposed. Such successful outcomes make it easier for others to achieve similar results through litigation. CONCLUSION: Lawsuits will probably continue to be a viable remedy in assisting those being harmed by exposure to ETS, both-inside and outside the USA. (+info)
Counteracting tobacco motor sports sponsorship as a promotional tool: is the tobacco settlement enough?
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OBJECTIVES: This study sought to quantify television advertising exposure achieved by tobacco companies through sponsorship of motor sports events and to evaluate the likely effect of the Master Settlement Agreement on this advertising. METHODS: Data from Sponsors Report, which quantifies the exposure that sponsors of selected televised sporting events receive during broadcasts of those events, were compiled for all motor sports events covered by the service for the period 1997 through 1999. RESULTS: From 1997 through 1999, tobacco companies achieved 169 hours of television advertising exposure and $410.5 million of advertising value for their products by sponsoring motor sports events. If tobacco companies comply with the Master Settlement Agreement and maintain their advertising at 1999 levels, they will still be able to achieve more than 25 hours of television exposure and an equivalent television advertising value of $99.1 million per year. CONCLUSIONS: Despite a federal ban on tobacco advertising on television, tobacco companies achieve the equivalent of more than $150 million in television advertising per year through their sponsorship of motor sports events. The Master Settlement Agreement likely will do little to address this problem. (+info)
Tobacco industry efforts at discrediting scientific knowledge of environmental tobacco smoke: a review of internal industry documents.
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STUDY OBJECTIVE: Using tobacco industry internal documents to investigate the use of tobacco industry consulting scientists to discredit scientific knowledge of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). DESIGN: Basic and advanced searches were performed on the Philip Morris, Tobacco Institute, R J Reynolds, Brown and Williamson, Lorillard, and the Council for Tobacco Research document web sites, with a concentration on the years 1985-1995. Guildford depository files located on the Canadian Council on Tobacco Control website were also searched. The documents were found in searches undertaken between 1 March and 30 June 2000. MAIN RESULTS: The industry built up networks of scientists sympathetic to its position that ETS is an insignificant health risk. Industry lawyers had a large role in determining what science would be pursued. The industry funded independent organisations to produce research that appeared separate from the industry and would boost its credibility. Industry organised symposiums were used to publish non-peer reviewed research. Unfavourable research conducted or proposed by industry scientists was prevented from becoming public. CONCLUSIONS: Industry documents illustrate a deliberate strategy to use scientific consultants to discredit the science on ETS. (+info)