Daily Doc: TI, Dec 10, 1987: The Center for Indoor Air Research (CIAR)
Daily Doc: The Center for Indoor Air Research (CIAR)
Title: The Tobacco Institute, Inc. Minutes of meeting of the Executive Committee, December 10, 1987, New York, New York. [confidential]
TI, Dec 10, 1987
Bates #:
March 12, 2000
By 1987, the issue of secondhand smoke was heating up. The tobacco industry had to find a way to deal with it. Noting the lack of published studies showing that secondhand smoke was harmless, the Tobacco Institute commissioned "studies" that were done with obvious allies. The results of these studies (predictably) favored the tobacco industry. Problem was, when the time came for the Institute to present the results to the press, they found they had no credibility. Here is an example from the first page of a 1987 Tobacco Institute memo:
Yesterday morning, the Texas Association of Wholesale Distributors and the Tobacco Institute held a news conference in Dallas to release the results of an environmental smoke study...The highly favorable results of the study were reviewed at our meeting last week....Questioning at the conference was skeptical but not hostile. The Institute's open sponsorship of the study affected the credibility of the results... ( http://www.pmdocs.com/getallimg.asp?DOCID=2025855771/5772)
The lack of credibility was exasperating for the industry. Worse yet, they could not get respected scientists to do work for them, because of the stigma associated with doing research for the tobacco industry. The industry was stuck. It needed favorable research (and/or research that would effectively muddy the waters on the secondhand smoke issues), AND have it emanate from a reputable, prestigious source. To solve this dilemma, several cigarette companies colluded to form a scientific front group called the Center for Indoor Air Research or CIAR.
CIAR was initially formed and funded by Lorillard, Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds, in late 1987-early 1988. The formation of CIAR was kept confidential. Many of the documents about hiring staff and recruiting scientists for it were stamped "confidential." Much of the work to form CIAR was conducted through Philip Morris' law firm, Covington and Burling, which allowed documents to be labeled "Attorney Work Product." That helped keep the origin of CIAR under wraps. A proposed budget was put together by Peter Sparber (whom you will remember was responsible for creating the TI's anti-insurance industry program featured a few Daily Documents back). John Rupp, an attorney with Covington and Burling, was hired to recruit other tobacco companies around the world to join (translated: help fund and spread the work of) CIAR.
CIAR had to operate "at arm's length" from the industry so the Tobacco Institute incorporated it as a completely separate, non-profit entity. They rented separate offices for it (near other respected scientific agencies) and hired a separate executive director. The purpose of CIAR was to give grants to scientists who would in turn do research, produce and publish studies that would bolster the industry's arguments against regulation of environmental tobacco smoke. Another goal was the eventual creation of its own scientific journal, the contents of which could be controlled completely by the tobacco industry.
The following document belies the real purpose behind the Center for Indoor Air Research:
CITATION
Title: The Tobacco Institute, Inc. Minutes of meeting of the Executive Committee, December 10, 1987, New York, New York. [confidential]
Type of Document: Minutes
Author: Temko, SL - acting secretary of the Tobacco Institute Date: 19871210
Site: Tobacco Institute document site http://www.tobaccoinstitute.com/
Bates No. TIMN0014390/4393
Page Count: 4
URL: http://www.tobaccoinstitute.com/getallimg.asp?DOCID=TIMN0014390/4393
QUOTES
A meeting of the executive committee of the Tobacco Institute, Inc. was held at 8:30 am on December 10, 1987, at the Park Lane Hotel, New York, New York. The following members of the Executive Committee were present: Frank E. Resnick, Chairman, Thomas F. Ahrensfeld, Vice Chairman, J. Robert Ave., Paul C. Bergson, K.V.R. Dey, Jr., Gerald H. Long, Josiah S. Murray, III, Ernest Pepples, Arthur J. Stevens. There were also present Dr. Alexander W. Spears of Lorillard, Inc., Guy L. Smith IV of Philip Morris Incorporated; Samuel Chilcote, Jr. President of The Institute and Stanley L. Temko, of counsel to the Institute.
The Chairman stated that the meeting afforded an opportunity for the presentation of a proposal for the formal organization of a research organization to deal with issues relating to indoor air quality. He said that the matter had been under discussion for some time and that the proposal would be presented by...Tom L. Ogburn and Dr. Charles Green of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and Dr. Thomas Osdene of Philip Morris Incorporated.
Mr. Ogburn summarized the objectives of the program and the strategies for its development. A basic aspect of the program would be to broaden research in the field of indoor air quality generally and expand interest beyond the misplaced emphasis solely on environmental tobacco smoke. As outlined by Mr. Ogburn, the new organization would sponsor and foster research on indoor air issues with emphasis on environmental tobacco smoke, and also would communicate research findings to the broad scientific community...
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