Jump to full article: Doc-Alert (Smokefree.net), 2002-01-17
Intro: This [1985] one-page, Minnesota-selected document is a memo to Fred Panzer (Vice President of Issues Management at the Tobacco Institute) from a Tobacco Institute public relations consultant cautioning him about the proper use of economists as spokespersons for the tobacco industry. The consultant explains that the use of economists allows the industry to shift the debate about a piece of tobacco control legislation away from the health issue ("which the TI cannot win") and toward a discussion of economics and public policy":
"Indeed, the economists can be most useful to the industry in shifting the debate on a piece of legislation away from the health argument (which TI cannot win) and toward a discussion of economics and public policy. This can only be accomplished, however, if the economists are representing some local interest other than the tobacco manufacturers."
This memo is useful a demonstration of why the industry and its supporters frequently use the tactic of shifting the debate over tobacco issues away from the topic of health and onto economic and public policy issues.
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