[Intl-tobacco] Canada: New inside information on tobacco companies released (fwd)

[Robert Weissman]

New inside information on tobacco companies released
Source: Health Canada, Monday, 5/29/00

 OTTAWA =96 Health Minister Allan Rock today released a second round of
internal tobacco company documents, thus providing the public with more
information on industry products and practices than ever before.  The
documents build on the insight gained through British American Tobacco
Company papers retrieved from the Guildford Depository in England and
released to the public last fall.

"The first round of documents gave us the key to some of the industry's
language, and a thread to follow in fully comprehending its internal
objectives,"  said Mr. Rock.

Health Canada has been working on interpreting the first documents
received with the help of special advisor Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, former head
of research for the U.S. tobacco company Brown & Williamson. To mark World
No Tobacco Day on May 31, Health Canada will be co-hosting, with
Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada, an international roundtable of experts
at the Ottawa Public Library.  They will look at the manufacturing,
packaging, and promotion of cigarettes in light of information that the
documents provide, and Dr. Wigand will deliver a public lecture during the
lunch hour.

A key focus of the material released today is the tobacco industry's
activities in areas such as environmental tobacco smoke, advertising bans,
sponsorship restrictions, and health warning messages. It also sets out
industry positions and arguments to use with governments on the effects of
advertising and sponsorship bans, as well as extensive work undertaken on
how to market the product effectively despite ad bans.

There are also a number of studies on smoker behaviour, including a study
suggesting that women may find it harder to quit than men. There are
others suggesting that smokers of low nicotine and low tar cigarettes can
inhale as much tar and nicotine as full-strength brands through
"compensation"  =96 either inhaling more deeply or smoking more cigarettes.

"The studies collected show that cigarettes are a highly engineered
product,"  said Mr. Rock. "Every aspect of the cigarette was studied in
order to maximize its effectiveness and acceptability to consumers, from
the paper used to wrap it, to the amount of smoke it produces. This
information, supplemented by reports on research activity we will obtain
through the proposed new reporting regulations, will help us regulate this
industry in ways that work, so we can better protect Canadians."

The information from the initial round of documents allowed Health Canada
to take a substantial leap forward in understanding the tobacco industry,
and focus its own tobacco control program. The documents lend support to
federal strategies for youth, targeted public education initiatives, and
the need for further measures to reduce tobacco use, including the
Government of Canada's proposal for effective new regulations governing
the labelling of tobacco products. They also reinforce the importance of
Health Canada's proposal for the expansion of industry reporting
requirements. Both regulatory proposals are currently before the House of
Commons.

The second round of information, or "Guildford II", contains 18,000 pages
and 752 separate files. The files are listed by title and number on the
National Clearinghouse on Tobacco and Health Programs's (NCTH) Internet
site.  The NCTH provides information and networking services related to
tobacco reduction and prevention programs, projects, and resources.

Health Canada experts are currently conducting research at the depository
in order to bring back even more extensive information.

Guildford is one of two document depositories established by order of the
Minnesota Court prior to the conclusion of that state's tobacco-related
health care cost-recovery litigation in 1998. It contains more than six
million pages of information related solely to British American Tobacco
Company Ltd. and its affiliates and subsidiaries =96 including Canada's
Imperial Tobacco Ltd.

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Media inquiries:

Derek Kent

Office of Allan Rock

(613) 957=961515

Lynn LeSage

Health Canada

(613) 941=968189

Public inquiries:

(613) 957=962991