Grant Number:	1R01CA090791-01 Interpret this number
Primary Investigator:	Hurt, Richard
Organization:	Mayo Clinic
Project Title:	Tobacco Industry Documents on Ets-the Next Front
Fiscal Year:	2001

The Minnesota tobacco trial never reached the jury, yet it forever changed the landscape of tobacco litigation and for the tobacco industry itself. This trial directly resulted in the release of more than 41 million pages (approximately 33 million in Minneapolis, Minnesota and 8 million in Guildford, England) of previously confidential industry documents, many of which were made public during and after the trial. The documents have recently had a major influence on juries in Oregon, California and Florida, resulting in an unprecedented wave of victories for plaintiffs in smoking-related litigation. Clearly, the release of the tobacco industry documents is the legacy of the Minnesota trial. Among the many misleading information campaigns executed by the tobacco industry is the industry's campaign related to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). The documents show that health and public policy issues related to ETS are a serious threat to the industry's future viability. It acknowledges internally that if smoke-free indoor air policies proliferate, smokers will consume fewer cigarettes each day, and many will stop smoking altogether. Both scenarios have serious negative financial repercussions for the tobacco industry. As evidenced by our preliminary investigation, the documents reveal that the industry has undertaken an elaborate and aggressive campaign to thwart the dissemination of scientifically valid studies regarding the health effects of ETS. Most notably, the industry employed highly sophisticated public relations techniques to deliver it messages on ETS, with the ultimate goal of establishing ETS as a non-issue to the public. We believe that ETS will be the defining public health/tobacco control issue for the first decade of the 21st century. We propose to accomplish the following aims by reviewing previously secret internal tobacco industry documents relating to ETS at the Minnesota depository, the Guildford depository and documents available on Internet sites. The specific aims for this project are: 1) To identify the full scope of the tobacco industry's campaign to thwart dissemination of valid scientific information regarding ETS and influence public opinion on the health consequences associated with ETS, 2) To apply linguistic analysis to the public relations aspect of the industry's ETS disinformation campaign in order to understand the campaign's effect on public perception of the health consequences associated with ETS exposure, and 3) To develop an Internet-accessible document index, chronology and cast of characters relating to the industry's ETS campaign.




Roadmap to a tobacco epidemic: transnational tobacco companies invade Indonesia.
Authors: Hurt R.D. , Ebbert J.O. , Achadi A. , Croghan I.T. .
Source: Tobacco Control, 2012 May; 21(3), p. 306-12.
PMID: 21852413
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Lessons learned on the road to a smoke-free Italy.
Authors: Croghan I. , Muggli M. , Zagà V. , Lockhart N. , Ebbert J. , Mangiaracina G. , Hurt R. .
Source: Annali Di Igiene : Medicina Preventiva E Di Comunità, 2011 Mar-Apr; 23(2), p. 125-36.
PMID: 21770229
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[Response of the tobacco industry to the creation of smoke-free environments in Brazil].
Authors: Bialous S.A. , Presman S. , Gigliotti A. , Muggli M. , Hurt R. .
Source: Revista Panamericana De Salud Pública = Pan American Journal Of Public Health, 2010 Apr; 27(4), p. 283-90.
PMID: 20512231
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Open doorway to truth: legacy of the Minnesota tobacco trial.
Authors: Hurt R.D. , Ebbert J.O. , Muggli M.E. , Lockhart N.J. , Robertson C.R. .
Source: Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Mayo Clinic, 2009 May; 84(5), p. 446-56.
PMID: 19411441
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"Efforts to Reprioritise the Agenda" in China: British American Tobacco's Efforts to Influence Public Policy on Secondhand Smoke in China.
Authors: Muggli M.E. , Lee K. , Gan Q. , Ebbert J.O. , Hurt R.D. .
Source: Plos Medicine, 2008-12-23 00:00:00.0; 5(12), p. 1729-69.
PMID: 19108603
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British American Tobacco and the "insidious impact of illicit trade" in cigarettes across Africa.
Authors: Legresley E. , Lee K. , Muggli M.E. , Patel P. , Collin J. , Hurt R.D. .
Source: Tobacco Control, 2008 Oct; 17(5), p. 339-46.
PMID: 18617598
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Waking a sleeping giant: the tobacco industry's response to the polonium-210 issue.
Authors: Muggli M.E. , Ebbert J.O. , Robertson C. , Hurt R.D. .
Source: American Journal Of Public Health, 2008 Sep; 98(9), p. 1643-50.
PMID: 18633078
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Movie moguls: British American Tobacco's covert strategy to promote cigarettes in Eastern Europe.
Authors: LeGresley E.M. , Muggli M.E. , Hurt R.D. .
Source: European Journal Of Public Health, 2006 Oct; 16(5), p. 505-8.
PMID: 16601109
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Eliminating child labour in Malawi: a British American Tobacco corporate responsibility project to sidestep tobacco labour exploitation.
Authors: Otañez M.G. , Muggli M.E. , Hurt R.D. , Glantz S.A. .
Source: Tobacco Control, 2006 Jun; 15(3), p. 224-30.
PMID: 16728754
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Blowing smoke: British American Tobacco's air filtration scheme.
Authors: Leavell N.R. , Muggli M.E. , Hurt R.D. , Repace J. .
Source: Bmj (clinical Research Ed.), 2006-01-28 00:00:00.0; 332(7535), p. 227-9.
PMID: 16439404
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The cigarette manufacturers' efforts to promote tobacco to the U.S. military.
Authors: Joseph A.M. , Muggli M. , Pearson K.C. , Lando H. .
Source: Military Medicine, 2005 Oct; 170(10), p. 874-80.
PMID: 16435763
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Playing hide-and-seek with the tobacco industry.
Authors: LeGresley E.M. , Muggli M.E. , Hurt R.D. .
Source: Nicotine & Tobacco Research : Official Journal Of The Society For Research On Nicotine And Tobacco, 2005 Feb; 7(1), p. 27-40.
PMID: 15804675
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"If we can just 'stall' new unfriendly legislations, the scoreboard is already in our favour": transnational tobacco companies and ingredients disclosure in Thailand.
Authors: MacKenzie R. , Collin J. , Sriwongcharoen K. , Muggli M.E. .
Source: Tobacco Control, 2004 Dec; 13 Suppl 2, p. ii79-87.
PMID: 15564225
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A race to the death: British American Tobacco and the Chinese Grand Prix.
Authors: Collin J. , Muggli M.E. , Carlyle J. , Lee K. , Hurt R.D. .
Source: Lancet, 2004 Sep 25-Oct 1; 364(9440), p. 1107-8.
PMID: 15451206
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Turning free speech into corporate speech: Philip Morris' efforts to influence U.S. and European journalists regarding the U.S. EPA report on secondhand smoke.
Authors: Muggli M.E. , Hurt R.D. , Becker L.B. .
Source: Preventive Medicine, 2004 Sep; 39(3), p. 568-80.
PMID: 15313097
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A cigarette manufacturer and a managed care company collaborate to censor health information targeted at employees.
Authors: Muggli M.E. , Hurt R.D. .
Source: American Journal Of Public Health, 2004 Aug; 94(8), p. 1307-11.
PMID: 15284031
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British American Tobacco and Formula One motor racing.
Authors: Carlyle J. , Collin J. , Muggli M.E. , Hurt R.D. .
Source: Bmj (clinical Research Ed.), 2004-07-10 00:00:00.0; 329(7457), p. 104-6.
PMID: 15242918
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Big tobacco is watching: British American Tobacco's surveillance and information concealment at the Guildford depository.
Authors: Muggli M.E. , LeGresley E.M. , Hurt R.D. .
Source: Lancet, 2004-05-29 00:00:00.0; 363(9423), p. 1812-9.
PMID: 15172782
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The tobacco industry's political efforts to derail the EPA report on ETS.
Authors: Muggli M.E. , Hurt R.D. , Repace J. .
Source: American Journal Of Preventive Medicine, 2004 Feb; 26(2), p. 167-77.
PMID: 14751332
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Tobacco industry strategies to undermine the 8th World Conference on Tobacco or Health.
Authors: Muggli M.E. , Hurt R.D. .
Source: Tobacco Control, 2003 Jun; 12(2), p. 195-202.
PMID: 12773731
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Science for hire: a tobacco industry strategy to influence public opinion on secondhand smoke.
Authors: Muggli M.E. , Hurt R.D. , Blanke D.D. .
Source: Nicotine & Tobacco Research : Official Journal Of The Society For Research On Nicotine And Tobacco, 2003 Jun; 5(3), p. 303-14.
PMID: 12791525
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