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Destroyed documents: uncovering the science that Imperial Tobacco Canada sought to conceal (PDF Full Text) 

The destroyed documents reveal a vast body of scientific evidence on the health effects of smoking. Forty of the 60 documents pertain to carcinogenicity and “biological activity” of cigarettes. . . .

All 60 documents ordered destroyed were reports of scientific work, performed either by British American Tobacco or contractors hired by British American Tobacco. The earliest report dated from 1967 and the most recent was produced in 1984. Of the 60 reports, 11 were reviews of internal research or methods development, 2 were statistical re-analyses of previous studies and the remaining 47 documents contained research findings from original studies conducted by British American Tobacco. . . .

Nicotine and addiction

Six of the destroyed documents depict a sophisticated program of research on nicotine addiction . . . Collectively, these research reports include convincing evidence about the addictive nature of nicotine — a fact that was vehemently challenged at the time in public by British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco Canada. . . .

Second-hand smoke

Eleven of the destroyed documents included original research findings on the effects of second-hand smoke.26,27,72–80 Nine of studies were experiments performed on rats to determine the effects of second-hand and mainstream smoke.26,27,73-79 The primary outcome of the tests was the finding that “In all exposed animals there was a consistent smoke-induced change in the larynx …

in 1990, the president of the Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers’ Council submitted a written objection to government proposals for a new health warning on the risks of second-hand smoke, stating that “we do not accept that there is any credible or reliable evidence to establish that environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) constitutes a genuine health hazards to smokers.”82 The destroyed documents indicate that this evidence had already been collected by the industry and was concealed in confidential files. . . .

In 1954, the Canadian Medical Association issued its first public warnings about the risks of smoking, followed in 1963 by the landmark statement in the House of Commons from Canada’s Minister of National Health and Welfare that smoking was harmful to health. Despite these historic proclamations, there remained considerable uncertainty about the extent of the health risks, whether some products were less harmful than others, and what government measures should be taken to reduce the harm from tobacco. During this period, British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco Canada collected high-quality scientific evidence that bore directly on these issues and had the potential to hasten effective public health regulation. However, British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco concealed this information and argued that there was a lack of evidence to support government measures such as workplace smoking restrictions and mandatory health warnings on packages.81 For example, in 1990, the president of the Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers’ Council submitted a written objection to government proposals for a new health warning on the risks of second-hand smoke, stating that “we do not accept that there is any credible or reliable evidence to establish that environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) constitutes a genuine health hazards to smokers.”82 The destroyed documents indicate that this evidence had already been collected by the industry and was concealed in confidential files.

Efforts to conceal research findings on “low-tar” cigarettes have been particularly damaging to health policy and government regulation. Canadian manufacturers began producing and marketing “lower-tar” cigarettes during the 1960s and 70s as a direct response to growing health concerns among consumers.81 Without the benefit of independent evidence on the potential benefits of “lower-tar” cigarettes, many leading health agencies supported this industry strategy.83 For example, in the 1970s, Health and Welfare officials urged the Canadian manufacturers to reduce tar levels further and to print tar numbers on packages to help guide consumers.81 The destroyed documents indicate that British American Tobacco had collected evidence that cast doubt on the potential health benefits of “low-delivery” products. In vivo studies indicated that human smokers were compensating for “low-tar” cigarettes by smoking them more intensely, while biological testing from Projects Janus and Rio revealed negligible differences in the carcinogenity and mutagenicity of cigarette brands. Without access to this evidence, several decades elapsed before regulators and health agencies reached consensus that “low-tar” products did not reduce risk.81,84 In the meantime, millions of smokers switched to these brands, many under the assumption of reduced harm as an alternative to quitting.84 The legacy of low-tar cigarettes continues today . . .

Had the tobacco industry been forthcoming about the evidence collected about human smoking behaviour and low-tar cigarettes, much of the confusion over these products may have been averted.

Imperial Tobacco’s attempt to destroy the evidence in the 60 documents is consistent with the tobacco industry’s welldocumented efforts to undermine science on the risks of smoking and to engineer doubt in the minds of health professionals and consumers.87 Imperial Tobacco Canada and British American Tobacco publicly denied the importance of the health effects that were clearly shown in the 60 destroyed documents. For example, in 1987 — 9 years after the conclusion of Project Janus, which showed the carcinogenicity of tobacco smoke — the chairman of Imperial Tobacco Canada and the chair of the Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers Council, Jean-Louis Mercier, testified in front of a House of Commons Legislative Committee, stating that “It is not the position of the industry that tobacco causes any disease. … The role, if any, that tobacco or smoking plays in the initiation and the development of these diseases is still very uncertain.”88

Further, in 1996, Martin Broughton, the chief executive of British American Tobacco stated, “We have not concealed, we do not conceal and we will never conceal. … we have no internal research which proves that smoking causes lung cancer or other diseases or, indeed, that smoking is addictive.”89

Finally, the destruction of documents by Imperial Tobacco Canada has direct implications for industry liability and new litigation that is proceeding in Canada. Canadian courts are currently being asked to consider whether the tobacco industry should be liable for the health care costs attributable to smoking.

In the first Canadian trial of its kind, the province of British Columbia has launched health care cost-recovery litigation . . .

Tobacco companies have yet to pay any compensation either to the Canadian government or to their consumers as a result of their actions.

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• Destroyed documents: uncovering the science that Imperial Tobacco Canada sought to conceal  

Background: In 1992, British American Tobacco had its Canadian affiliate, Imperial Tobacco Canada, destroy internal research documents that could expose the company to liability or embarrassment. Sixty of these destroyed documents were subsequently uncovered in British American Tobacco's files. . . .

Results: Imperial Tobacco destroyed documents that included evidence from scientific reviews prepared by British American Tobacco's researchers, as well as 47 origin al research studies, 35 of which examined the biological activity and carcinogenicity of tobacco smoke. The documents also describe British American Tobacco research on cigarette modifications and toxic emissions, including the ways in which consumers adapted their smoking behaviour in response to these modifications. The documents also depict a comprehensive research program on the pharmacology of nicotine and the central role of nicotine in smoking behaviour. British American Tobacco scientists noted that "... the present scale of the tobacco industry is largely dependent on the intensity and nature of the pharmacological action of nicotine," and that "... should nicotine become less attractive to smokers, the future of the tobacco industry would become less secure."

Interpretation: The scientific evidence contained in the documents destroyed by Imperial Tobacco demonstrates that British American Tobacco had collected evidence that cigarette smoke was carcinogenic and addictive. The evidence that Imperial Tobacco sought to destroy had important implications for government regulation of tobacco.

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Teen smoking-cessation trial first to achieve significant quit rates 

For the first time, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have demonstrated that it is possible to successfully recruit and retain a large number of adolescent smokers from the general population into a smoking intervention study and, through personalized, proactive telephone counseling, significantly impact rates of six-month continuous quitting. These findings, by Arthur V. Peterson Jr., Ph.D., Kathleen A. Kealey and colleagues, are reported in a pair of papers in the Oct. 12 "Advance Access" online edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

"When this study started, despite decades of research and dozens of intervention trials, there was no proven way to reach teens from the general population and recruit them into smoking cessation programs, and there was no proven way to help these teens quit," said Peterson, a member of the Hutchinson Center's Public Health Sciences Division and lead author of the paper that reported the results of the Hutchinson Study of High School Smoking, the largest randomized trial of teen smoking cessation ever conducted.

The trial, funded by the National Institutes of Health, involved 2,151 teenage smokers from 50 high schools in Washington.

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Companies Look for Options to Help Workers Kick the Habit 

Smoking cessation is only a part of wellness programs, but it is where most companies start.

“Tobacco use is the behavior that has the most directly related health risks, COPD, hypertension, emphysema, peripheral artery disease,” said Tom Miller, an addictions counselor at beBetter Health, which runs the West Virginia Tobacco Quitline. “It is the behavior change program that many companies target first.”

Besides the Quitline, companies can call upon the Wellness Council of West Virginia to provide smoking cessation classes and other tools to their employees.

“There are 10 regional tobacco prevention coalition coordinators around the state assigned a multi-county region,” said Cheryl Jackson with the Wellness Council. “We are the community liaison for coordinating tobacco prevention, smoking cessation and clean indoor air in our specific regions.

“One of the things we do is teach Kaiser Permanente smoking cessation classes at no charge,” Jackson said.

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BANNATYNE: I'll only be happy if smoking is banned  

Tomorrow, the House of Commons will see the third and final reading of the Health Bill. I believe MPs must support the clause that would ensure that cigarettes being sold in shops must be stored out of sight, though I'm puzzled and concerned as to why so many seem reluctant to back this move. . . .

the tobacco industry have been up to their old tricks. They tried to convince pubs that the smoke-free law would drive them out of business so they would lobby against the law.

Now they are doing the same thing with shopkeepers. A retailer from the northeast recently went to Ireland to find out the truth and the shopkeepers he spoke to told him that now they had won their displays back from the tobacco companies who controlled them, they were free to promote products that allowed them to make a healthy profit.

Recently I spent some time in Mauritius; not the six-star hotel bit, but the parts where the poor people live where so many die of heart attacks because of smoking. The island's surgeon-general said that he wanted Mauritius to become the first totally no-smoking country in the world. I would like the UK to get there first.

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• Doctors should ask mentally ill to stop smoking, new report says 

Smoking addiction treatment should be included in the care plans for mentally ill patients with tobacco dependence.

Based on the new study, clinical psychologist and lead author Brian Hitsman, of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, recommended an integrated care model to help mental health patients quit smoking. The method, combining drugs and psychological therapy, addresses the tobacco dependence of mentally ill smokers.

The review review appeared in a recent issue of the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.

In this Q&A, Hitsman explained his recommended smoking cessation method and why mental health care professionals should consider it.

Q: Why did you decide to focus on the mentally ill for this tobacco addiction review?

A: Smokers with mental illness have been underserved when it comes to tobacco dependence treatments both clinically as well as in the tobacco addiction research field. They just haven’t gotten the attention. The thinking has been that they can’t quit and that if you get them in your clinical trial they won’t show up so what’s tended to happen is that this population has been excluded from treatments.

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• No smoking in Chile? No way.  

When a strict anti-tobacco law came into effect three years ago, Maria Eugenia Avila scoffed. She had no intention of quitting the two packs a day she was delightfully smoking. She just stopped going to malls.

"I flee from places where I can't smoke and I cover the horrible warnings on the packs. I love smoking and I suffer with this law and all its prohibitions. But no law is going to make me quit," the 47-year-old kindergarten teacher said, while puffing away on a habit that costs her nearly $150 a month.

Three years into the tobacco-control legislation, Chileans are far from kicking the habit. Smoking among Chileans has remained fairly stable, dropping slightly from 42.6 percent in 2006, to 41.2 percent in 2008, with a perilous upward trend among women (currently 37.4 percent) and teenagers (35.4 percent, particularly females), according to the latest government survey on tobacco consumption.

This makes Chileans the heaviest smokers in the region. Another "smoker" country is Argentina, but it lags behind with smokers making up 30 percent of its population, according to the World Health Organization. Slightly more than 16 percent of Brazilians and about 19 percent of Mexicans smoke, while in the United States, 23 percent of the overall population are smokers.

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VIDEO: Anti-Smoking Group Releases Air Quality Study  

An Indianapolis anti-smoking group released research on Tuesday they said highlights why the city needs stricter rules when it comes to lighting up.

Smoke Free Indy said a new study, done in conjunction with the Roswell Park Cancer Center, shows that establishments that allow smoking are 11 times more polluted than those that don't, 6News' Jennifer Carmack reported.

Researchers with Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation took air quality samples at 10 venues across the city in March, although Smoke Free Indy would not disclose the exact venues studied.

Supporters of a proposed citywide ban on smoking said the study is further proof that secondhand smoke is dangerous.

"The time has come for Indianapolis to join a growing list of cities that no longer ignore the overwhelming evidence," said Dr. Christopher Doehring.

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Former Smoker: E-cigs saving my life  

Bonnie Martin has been a cigarette addict since the age of 12. A former registered nurse, the 49-year-old Vineland, N.J., woman worked with cancer patients and felt hypocritical when instructing them to quit smoking.

Martin tried every product on the market in her attempts to quit -- patches, gums, acupuncture, hypnosis and prescription medications.

Nothing worked until she tried an electronic cigarette. She says because of her e-cig, she has not had a conventional tobacco cigarette since March. . . .

Martin had her first heart attack four years ago and subsequently has been unable to work. She also was unable to quit smoking.

"My son begged me, 'If you can't quit for yourself, will you quit for me, please?'" she recalled him asking.

She was smoking about two packs a day when she happened upon e-cigs at a Smoking Everywhere mall kiosk.

"They had a little video claiming you could smoke (e-cigs) anywhere, you would not get the 4,000 chemicals that are in combustible cigarettes, that it was a safer and healthier alternative," Martin said. . . .

FDA spokesman Michael Levy said e-cigs also contain potential carcinogens and a toxic chemical, diethylene glycol.

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• Govt denies involvement in missing tobacco article 

The government has denied any involvement in the striking off of a contentious sub-article on tobacco in the recently endorsed health law, deemed an effort to protect the country’s cigarette industry.

State Secretary Hatta Radjasa said Tuesday the law, passed by the House of Representatives last month, was already missing the sub-article when his office received it.

He said he had contacted the Health Ministry and the Justice and Human Rights Ministry to settle the problem, and that the State Secretariat now had a complete version of the law, including the missing sub-article, to be signed by the President.

“The House of Representatives’ secretariat is lying if it said it received the law without the sub-article from the State Secretariat. That’s not how we send bills to the House,” Hatta said at a press conference.

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Proposed ordinance on a city-wide smoking ban is ready for public response 

The City of Warrensburg has published a proposed ordinance on a city-wide smoking ban (www.warrensburg-mo.com) that the City Council is considering.

The document is also on file with the City Clerk for review at 102 S. Holden. Public comment will be taken from citizens until 3 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26, via a link on the Web page or in writing to the City Clerk. These comments will be given to City Council at its regular meeting Monday, Oct. 26.

The Council will conduct a public comment meeting on the proposed -Public Health/Smoking Ban ordinance at the Community Center, Multi Room A, B & C, 445 E. Gay St., at 7 p.m. Oct. 26.

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Governor Schwarzenegger Terminates E Cigarette Ban in California 

According to a release on the State of California web site today, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declined to sign Senate Bill 400. On September 11, 2009, the California Senate passed Bill 400. The bill was originally written as "The Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program", and then was amended to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors, which was very supportable. Additional wording in the bill would have also banned the sale of electronic cigarettes in the state of California to adults.

In a statement on the California Government web site, Governor Schwarzenegger made it clear that there is a difference between the freedoms of adults and children. In the letter, the governor made the following comments.

"I am returning Senate Bill 400 without my signature.

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E-cigarettes offer nicotine without tobacco, but are they safe?  

No more smoking for Scott Riddle.

Now he vapes.

"Vaping" means he inhales the vapor from an electronic cigarette, a battery-powered device that typically looks like a cigarette, but delivers nicotine without the tobacco and smoke.

Electronic cigarettes, Riddle say, lets him enjoy the pleasures of smoking without its downsides.

But the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations says not so fast. The FDA warns that e-cigs are not safe, has seized some shipments, and is fighting in court to keep the e-cigarettes away from the public.

Following a nationwide crackdown on smoking in public, the dispute over e-cigarettes raises new questions about personal freedom, public health, addictive drugs and government regulation. It also begs the question: could this be the future of smoking? . . .

Dr. Kevin Sherrin, president of the American Association of Public Health Physicians - who is not compensated by e-cigarette makers - says conventional cigarettes are "much more hazardous" than e-cigarettes.

To get more smokers to use them instead of cigarettes, he proposes that e-cigarettes be immediately regulated as tobacco products.

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City council to vote on proposed smoking ordinance 

The Palestine City Council is expected to vote on a proposed stricter smoking ordinance later this month after discussing the matter during a meeting Monday.

During a work session Monday, council members discussed the ordinance which would essentially prohibit smoking in most public places. Some entities, such as a private club, would be exempt from the ordinance.

Council members made minor modifications to the proposed smoking ordinance during Monday's work session, according to Palestine Mayor Bob Herrington.

City attorney Ronald Stutes is now working on preparing the final draft of the ordinance.

The council is expected to vote on the ordinance during a meeting set to begin at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 26.

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City Council may ban butts in Nevada City parks  

Nevada City's City Council is slated to consider drafting an ordinance for banning smoking in public parks at tonight's council meeting.

The ordinance would be an accomplice to a 2007 resolution by the City Council which banned smoking in George Calanan Park and Beryl P. Robinson Plaza as well as non-designated smoking areas of Pioneer Park.

In that resolution, passed 3-2 on Aug. 22, 2007, there was no means of enforcement included because the health department had suggested voluntary compliance, according to city documents.

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