Daily Doc: PM, Oct 12, 1979: Philip Morris yields to blackmail
Daily Doc: Philip Morris yields to blackmail
Title: Translation
PM, Oct 12, 1979
Bates #: 2016000963/0964A
August 13, 2000
This fascinating piece of correspondence is from an early potential "whistleblower" employed by Philip Morris (PM) in Europe in 1979. PM managed to contain this scientist and avoid having him publicly release vital information about the health effects of their products. This scientist's experience tracks closely with the experience of Drs. Victor DeNoble and Paul Mele, both formerly employees of Philip Morris and now both whistleblowers, who, like this scientist, were hired to do research that would lead to production of a safer cigarette.
Dr. Schmaehl was a German scientist charged with researching how to reduce the biological activity of cigarette tars, with an eye towards producing a safer cigarette. When told suddenly in 1979 that Philip Morris would cease supporting this research financially, Dr. Schmael wrote a powerful letter to his superior saying that the studies are vital and if PM refused to finance the studies, he would perform them himself outside of the influence of the industry and publish the results, which would include the brand names of the cigarettes he studied.
Dr. Schmael's alarming letter was quickly translated into English and a copy sent to Thomas Osdene, research director at Philip Morris. Osdene quickly referred it to Alex Holtzman, Associate General Counsel for Philip Morris, who said of the letter:
"I do feel that this letter is tantamount to blackmail by Schmaehl. I am very much afraid that unless financial support be provided to Schmaehl he will chastise the industry."Upon being confronted with what PM termed internally as blackmail, the company made the decision to capitulate! They decided to continue to fund Schmael's studies, hoping the situation would not continue forever. Said Holtzman in the same letter as above
"...[D]iscretion is the better part of valor and I suspect it would make good political sense to support Schmaehl financially again. Whether one will have to live with this forever or make an issue later remains to be seen. "( http://www.pmdocs.com/getallimg.asp?DOCID=1000774066)If you were confronted with blackmail on your job and you were innocent, would you yield to the threat? If you had something you needed to cover up, would you pay the price and go along with it?
CITATION
Title: Translation
Type of Document: Letter
Author: Schmaehl
Recipient: Adlkofer
Date: 19791012
Site: Philip Morris document site http://www.pmdocs.com/
Page Count 3
Bates No.2016000963/0964A
URL: http://www.pmdocs.com/getallimg.asp?DOCID=2016000963/0964A
Litigation Usage: None yet
Found Using Search Criteria: pauthor: schmaehl
QUOTES
Dear Dr. Adlkofer:
This letter refers to the conversation that you and I had on September 27, 1979....in which we discussed the for me essential experiments on dose effect relationships of high tar cigarettes compared to low tar cigarettes. Such experiments are completely indispensable in the arguments on a safer cigarette, especially of one supports such efforts publicly.
In our conversation it was argued that the Industry could not support such experiments since this might prove that the previously manufactured products have a carcinogenic effect and that such experiments could especially not be supported because they would be financed with Industry funds. I am totally unable to follow these arguments. Especially since...such dose- effect relationships were already investigated and were financed by the Industry...
I want to tell you again that in case this project, which is essential from my point as well as for other members of the Research Advisory Board, is refused support by the Industry, I will carry out such investigations in my Institute on my own account; in that case I will, in my publication of this work, call a 'spade a spade'*; this means I will name the brands currently on the market which were used to prepare the smoke condensates.
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