Our new website is live! We’re transitioning to the updated interface, and ‘My Library’ will be temporarily unavailable during the switch.
Collections
Bibliography
Tuesday, May 03, 2016TOBACCO

Article Spotlight: British American Tobacco's access to policy-makers in Cambodia

Every month, we highlight a newly published article along with a few key industry documents used by the author(s):

MacKenzie R, Collin J.
'A preferred consultant and partner to the Royal Government, NGOs, and the community': British American Tobacco's access to policy-makers in Cambodia. Global Public Health 2016 04/15:1-17.

British American Tobacco Cambodia (BATC) has dominated the country's tobacco market since its launch in 1996. Aggressive marketing in a weak regulatory environment and strategies to influence tobacco control policy have contributed to a tobacco-related public health crisis. BATC officials have successfully aligned the company with Cambodia's political and business leadership with the aim of gaining access to policy-makers and influencing the policy process. These connections have resulted in official recognition of BATC's purported contribution to Cambodia's economic and social development and has provided the company with opportunities to water down tobacco control regulation.

Key Documents from the UCSF Truth Tobacco Industry Documents:

  • Corporate News: BAT Cambodia (1995)
    Cambodia Tobacco Company, owned by businessman Kong Triv, becomes the local partner in the BATC joint venture with a 29% share.

  • Indochina Company Plan 1996-1998
    "...handling government officials both at provincial and national levels on a variety of topics needs to be addressed through lobbying and meetings. It is imperative that anti-tobacco marketing restrictions are pre-empted by a balanced counter view presented at the highest levels in government and the media."

  • BAT Cambodia Company Plan: 1997 - 1999
    Speaks of a need to "further build up on our relationship with the Government so as to protect our commercial freedom and ensure a level playing field on excise and related commercial issues"...Among BATC's greatest concerns were "policies on tobacco, role of regulation, environmental tobacco smoke and reasons for retaining freedoms to advertise".

  • 1998-2000: BAT Cambodia Limited: British-American Tobacco Marketing Narrative
    Objectives include: (1) Continue to promote the positive image of BAT Cambodia, and British American Tobacco. (2) Monitor the regulatory environment maintaining free market conditions allowing the Company to sell its products competitively. (3) Add value by supporting optimum trading conditions, especially in relation to excise and tariffs, and maintain consumers freedoms to smoke. (4) Crisis management concerning key areas for the period: security issues, trading issues, operational changes, political developments
Friday, April 15, 2016TOBACCO

Over 7000 New Tobacco Documents Posted

7,133 new tobacco industry documents were posted to the UCSF Truth Tobacco Industry Documents today.

The breakdown is:
Tuesday, March 22, 2016TOBACCO

Article Spotlight: The African American Youth Smoking Experience: An Overview

Every month, we highlight a newly published article along with a few key industry documents used by the author(s):

Garrett BE, Gardiner PS, Wright LT, Pechacek TF. The African American Youth Smoking Experience: An Overview. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. 2016 Apr;18 Suppl 1:S11-5. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntv203.

Beginning in the late 1970s, a very sharp decline in cigarette smoking prevalence was observed among African American (AA) high school seniors compared with a more modest decline among whites. This paper provides an account of past influences on cigarette smoking behavior among AA youth to help understand the reasons for these historically lower rates of cigarette smoking and argues the efforts of the tobacco industry have prevented the effectiveness of certain protective factors (price, religion, sports participation, parental opposition, etc) from carrying over into adulthood. While AA youth continue to have a lower prevalence of cigarette smoking than white youth, they are still at risk of increasing their smoking behavior due to aggressive targeted marketing by the tobacco industry.


Key Documents from the UCSF Truth Tobacco Industry Documents:

  • MENTHOL - EVENT SPONSORSHIP MARLBORO MENTHOL INNER CITY BAR NIGHTS. (1989).
    The tobacco industry launched campaigns specifically targeted to African American youth. For example, the Marlboro Menthol Inner City Black Bar Program, developed in the late 1980s, expanded in the 1990s and included games, giveaways, and amateur Marlboro Music talent contests.

  • Hawkins SC, RJ Reynolds. MARKETING RESEARCH REPORT. PROJECT UT CREATIVE QUALITATIVE RESEARCH. (1989).
    RJ Reynolds test-marketed Uptown menthol cigarettes in Philadelphia with the slogan “the uptown flavor with the downtown price” and sponsored several cultural and inner-city nightclub events with free pack giveaways. The Uptown theme focused on style, music, nightlife, and entertainment and was specifically targeted to the AA community.

  • 1990 New Marketing Ideas (1989).
    "The Fat Boys campaign, a Black inner city targeted brand, was launched by RJ Reynolds in the early 1990s. The Fat Boys campaign focused on the “environment and interests of inner-city Blacks” as well as rap music. The product packaging had a brick wall and graffiti design. Advertising for the product featured young AA males that strongly resembled leading characters of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air —a popular 1990s sitcom that appealed to many urban youth. Like Uptown, Fat Boys were mentholated and available in packages of 10 to address price sensitivity for AA smokers."

  • Hong, Peter, LA Times.'MAKER OF MENTHOL X CIGARETTES AGREES TO PULL IT AFTER PROTESTS' (1995).
    During Black History Month in 1995, Menthol X cigarettes were launched in stores around Massachusetts.
Thursday, March 17, 2016TOBACCO

232 New Tobacco Industry Documents and Videos Posted

A total of 232 documents have been added to the Truth Tobacco Industry Documents today.

This includes:

Thursday, February 18, 2016TOBACCO

255 New Tobacco Industry Documents Posted

A total of 255 new documents were posted to the Truth Tobacco Industry Documents Library today. The breakdown is:

Monday, February 01, 2016TOBACCO

Article Spotlight: Tobacco is "our industry and we must support it"; Zimbabwe and the FCTC

Every month, we highlight a newly published article/post/report along with a few key industry documents used in the paper as a primary source:

Lown EA, McDaniel PA, Malone RE. Tobacco is "our industry and we must support it": Exploring the potential implications of Zimbabwe's accession to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Globalization and Health. 2016 Jan 11;12(1):2-015-0139-3

Zimbabwe is currently the largest tobacco producer in Africa and has a long history of tobacco growing. Zimbabwean government officials have been outspoken critics of the WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Despite this opposition, Zimbabwe recently acceded to the FCTC to better protect their tobacco growing interests. FCTC membership obligates nations to implement a variety of tobacco control measures and Zimbabwe has implemented several aimed at reducing tobacco demand but fewer aimed at reducing supply or protecting the environment.

The authors argue Zimbabwe’s decision to accede to the FCTC does not appear to represent a softening of its historical opposition to the treaty. Its status as a Party, therefore, creates opportunities for the government to undermine ongoing efforts to implement and strengthen the treaty. At the same time, however, Zimbabwe’s accession could provide worldwide support for its Ministry of Health to develop stronger tobacco control measures. How Zimbabwe’s participation impacts the work of the FCTC as a whole may ultimately depend on the allegiances of its delegates and the effectiveness of measures to limit tobacco industry interference and enforce compliance.


Key Documents from the UCSF Truth Tobacco Industry Documents:

  • (n.d.) Briefing from Zimbabwe Tobacco Association and the International Tobacco Growers' Association.
    Available: https://industrydocuments.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/rhwn0192
    The Zimbabwe Tobacco Association (ZTA) and the International Tobacco Growers Association (ITGA), are influential in Zimbabwe. The ZTA was founded in 1928 (originally as the Rhodesian Tobacco Association) to “promote and support research and training to ensure the continued development and expansion of the flue-cured tobacco growing industry.”


  • TSF; Zimbabwe Tobacco (1998) In Support of Tobacco Indigenisation Training Programmes Million Zim Dollars Donation from Philip Morris.
    Available: https://industrydocuments.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/snlw0080
    The ZTA's offshoot, the Farmers Development Trust, was the recipient of several US$100,000 grants from Phillip Morris.


  • INFOTAB;Bloxcidge, John A. (1988) International Tobacco Growers' Association (ITGA).
    Avaialable: https://industrydocuments.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/pxxh0203
    The ZTA and representatives of five other tobacco-growing nations founded the ITGA with funding from transnational tobacco companies.


  • BAT Zimbabwe; Parirewa, Peter (1994). Mughabe on Anti-Smoking Lobby.
    Available: https://industrydocuments.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/xzff0194
    Vera, Ivan (2000) Zimbabwe Tobacco Industry Faces New Threat from WHO.
    Available: https://industrydocuments.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/yqdn0192
    Zimbabwe government officials and growers’ organizations have been outspoken supporters of tobacco growing and critics of the FCTC, often minimizing the risk of tobacco use.
Thursday, January 21, 2016TOBACCO

2000+ new tobacco industry documents added January 2016

Our first batch of new documents for 2016 totals 2,338 items and includes additions to the following collections: