[Intl-tobacco] Trust Us We are the Tobacco Industry

[Robert Weissman]

"Trust Us We're The Tobacco Industry" Report Capturing Quotes from Tobacco
Industry Internal Documents Released on World No Tobacco Day

Report Compiled by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and Action on
Smoking and Health (ASH)- UK

Washington, DC (May 31, 2001) - Today, World No Tobacco Day, the Campaign
for Tobacco-Free Kids and Action On Smoking and Health in London are
releasing the report, "Trust Us We're The Tobacco Industry," to the media
and public.  The report uses the tobacco industry's own words, culled from
once secret internal documents, to expose the continuing deceit of the
tobacco industry.

The report contains over 250 quotes from internal tobacco industry
documents on topics from addiction and advertising, to women and youth
smoking, and indexes the dozens of countries mentioned in the documents.
The evidence is overwhelming that the tobacco industry has not changed.
While they claim they have reformed and are now "responsible," their own
documents tell a different story.

As the report points out in its introduction, "lately the tobacco industry
has engaged in an expensive public relations offensive designed to portray
itself as a reformed industry.  Because it has reformed, the industry
implies, it should not be judged by its past actions."  However the
tobacco companies have not changed.  Using the industry's own words, this
report exposes "denial, deceit, and obfuscation as the major tools of the
tobacco trade."

An important step in holding the tobacco industry accountable occurred on
May 22nd when the World Health Assembly (the governing body of the World
Health Organization) passed a resolution mandating WHO to report on
tobacco industry efforts to undermine health legislation around the world.
Trust Us We're the Tobacco Industry contributes to this effort by
highlighting, in the companies' own words, industry efforts to subvert
public health.

A full copy of the report is available on the internet in an html version,
with links to the original documents for most of the 278 quotes:
www.ash.org.uk/html/conduct/html/trustus.html

Or in pdf format at:
http://tobaccofreekids.org/campaign/global/framework/docs/TrustUs.pdf

For a printed copy, please contact Monica Flores at
mflores@tobaccofreekids.org.

CONTACT: Adaobi Oniwinde/Michael Berman May 31, 2001 202-296-5469

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