Tobacco industry efforts at discrediting scientific knowledge of environmental tobacco smoke: a review of internal industry documents

Study objective-Using tobacco industry internal documents to investigate th e use of tobacco industry consulting scientists to discredit scientific kno wledge of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Design-Basic and advanced searches were performed on the Philip Morris, Tob acco Institute, R J Reynolds, Brown and Williamson, Lorillard, and the Coun cil for Tobacco Research document web sites, with a concentration on the ye ars 1985-1995. Guildford depository files located on the Canadian Council o n Tobacco Control website were also searched. The documents were found in s earches undertaken between 1 March and 30 June 2000. Main results-The industry built up networks of scientists sympathetic to it s position that ETS is an insignificant health risk. Industry lawyers had a large role in determining what science would be pursued. The industry fund ed independent organisations to produce research that appeared separate fro m the industry and would boost its credibility. Industry organised symposiu ms were used to publish non-peer reviewed research. Unfavourable research c onducted or proposed by industry scientists was prevented from becoming pub lic. Conclusions-Industry documents illustrate a deliberate strategy to use scie ntific consultants to discredit the science on ETS.