Deception of the Tobacco Industry

¶ … Deception of the Tobacco Industry

Smoking is a factor, and an important factor, in the production of carcinoma in the lung," wrote Richard Doll and Bradford Hill some fifty years ago. It was this first study which would initiate all others. It was this first study which would be expanded and eventually establish smoking as a major health risk linking it to problems including everything from heart disease to bronchitis, from indigestion to impotence. And it was this first study which would spark the controversies still surrounding smoking, smokers and the tobacco industry.

For over fifty years the tobacco industry has repeatedly demonstrated a callous and irresponsible demeanor. Throughout the years the industry has lied to the public about the harmful effects of cigarettes and they have consciously marketed their product toward youth, minorities, and the poor. The following pages will look closely at issues surrounding cigarettes, smoking, and the multi-billion dollar industry which supports and promotes mass consumption of tobacco throughout the world.

Approximately one quarter of the adult population smokes. Six thousand young people begin to smoke every day in the United States. Half of these smokers will light-up at least once or more a day, initiating the habit of smoking. In the year 2000, studies indicated that in some areas the amount of adolescent smokers exceeded the amount of adult smokers. (Pediatrics, Pg 1) Though there have been numerous studies and a strong recent push to make people aware of the dangers of smoking, new people become smokers every day and the number of smokers in the nation remains steady.

There is no question about it, tobacco kills indiscriminately. Studies indicate that every day 1,200 people die of tobacco related illness'. One in five Americans who die each year die as a result of tobacco use. And lastly, the average person who smokes looses fifteen years from their life due to their habit. (SWAT, Pg 3) Smoking is a tremendously dangerous activity which is still advocated, distributed, and advertised by the tobacco industry.

The Effects of Nicotine:

Nicotine is a naturally occurring colorless liquid found in tobacco. This particular component in cigarettes, cigars, and pipes is the primary addictive element which acts on the brain when a person uses tobacco. (Nicotine Addiction, Pg 1) Nicotine has been characterized as being ninety nine percent addictive. (SWAT, Pg 2)

Addiction is characterized by compulsive drug-seeking behavior and use. This behavior often takes place regardless of the negative health consequences which might be derived from said behavior. Certainly the availability of the drug has an effect on how quickly a person becomes addicted. Along with this, the fact that there are few legal or social consequences for an addiction to nicotine make it all the more attractive. (Nicotine Addiction, Pg 2)

Most people satiate their addiction to nicotine through smoking. The average cigarette contains approximately 10 milligrams of nicotine. By inhaling smoke, most smokers are able to take in 1 to 2 milligrams of nicotine per cigarette. The nicotine is absorbed into the body through the skin and mucosal lining of the mouth and nose or by inhalation in the lungs. By this means, nicotine quickly works its way into the bloodstream and the brain, generally reaching peak levels within ten seconds of the inhalation. (Nicotine Addiction, Pg 1-2)

Nicotine can act as both a stimulant and a sedative. Immediately after exposure to nicotine, there is a "kick" caused in part by the drug's stimulation of adrenal glands and resulting discharge of epinephrine (adrenaline). The rush of adrenaline stimulates the body and causes a sudden release of glucose as well as an increase in blood pressure, respiration, and heart rate. Nicotine also suppresses insulin output from the pancreas, which means that smokers are always slightly hyperglycemic. In addition, nicotine indirectly causes a release of dopamine in the brain regions that control pleasure and motivation. The reaction is similar to that seen with other drugs of abuse - such as cocaine and heroine - and it is thought to underlie the pleasurable sensations experienced by many smokers. In contrast, nicotine can also exert a sedative effect, depending on the level of the smoker's nervous system arousal and the dose of nicotine taken.

Nicotine Addiction, Pg 4)

The cigarette is an extremely efficient drug delivery system which has been engineered over the years to enter the brain as quickly as possible. The average smoker will take approximately ten puffs from their cigarette before it is done. As a result, the person who smokes one and a half packs a day will introduce nicotine into the brain three hundred times in a single day. The more puffs in a day, the more addictive the nicotine becomes. If a person wishes to cut back, they may experience physical and psychological withdraw from nicotine, making it a very hard drug to escape from. (Nicotine Addiction, Pg 1-3)

Many who wish to quit smoking have a very difficult time breaking the addiction. Nearly 35 million people attempt to quite smoking every year. Statistics indicate that less than seven percent will achieve more than one year of abstinence from the drug. The vast majority of those attempting to quit smoking relapse within a few days. (Nicotine Addiction, Pg 2)

As the years have gone by, more and more evidence has mounted indicating that nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs around. Though the natural properties of nicotine are addictive, evidence has been presented showing that tobacco companies have done a fair share of tinkering with the components of nicotine and cigarettes to make them even more addictive.

For a little less than the past year the Research Department has been working on a succession of projects which collectively may be called the nicotine enrichment project. (Lorillard Tobacco Company, 1977)

In 1995, ABC News reported that tobacco companies manipulate the amount of nicotine - the primary addictive ingredient - in their cigarettes. They do this by removing nicotine from the tobacco and then restoring it, thus making it more potent. Unfortunately, ABC used the term "spike" in their report, leading many to believe that tobacco companies add more nicotine to their product. Though the vast majority of the report was valid, that single word gave the tobacco companies the opening that they required. The executives at Phillip Morris were not amused by the report at all, so they took that opening and sued ABC for ten billion dollars. (Glass, Pg 3)

Eventually a settlement was reached and ABC was required to make apologies to the tobacco companies during prime time broadcasting. The whole incident revolving around the misuse of the word was unfortunate, because what ABC reported was a valid and important fact: Tobacco companies routinely manipulate the level of addictiveness within their product. Indeed, a Federal Drug Agency report indicated that, "Internal tobacco industry documents demonstrate the industry's longstanding knowledge of - and extensive research on - the significant addictive and pharmacological effects of nicotine." (Glass, Pg 3)

There is no doubt in anyone's mind that nicotine is an extremely addictive drug which has been tinkered with to be even more addictive. The tobacco companies have always known what they were selling. Indeed, the following line was printed on an internal memo at Addison Yeaman, Brown and Williamson in 1963: "We are in the business of selling nicotine, an addictive drug." (SWAT, Pg 2)

Health Problems Related to Smoking:

The primary issues related to health and nicotine addiction revolve around how one obtains the nicotine. The vast majority of those who are addicted to the drug attain their "fix" through tobacco use, which is ultimately responsible for one third of all cancers. Cigarette smoking alone has been linked to ninety percent of all lung cancer cases. (Nicotine Addiction, Pg 5)

Smoking has also been linked to chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma. It is also directly related to cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, stomach, kidney, cervix, pancreas, and bladder. A strong relationship has also been reported to exist between smoking and heart disease, strokes, heart attacks, vascular diseases, and aneurysms. (Nicotine Addiction, Pg 6)

Death rates from cancer are nearly twice as high among smokers as they are for non-smokers. Heavy smokers have a death-rate that is nearly four times greater than those of non-smokers. Estimates have also been made correlating nearly one-fifth of all heart disease deaths to smoking. (Nicotine Addiction, Pg 6)

Clearly smoking has detrimental effects on the people who choose to do so, but what about those who do not?

Second hand smoke or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is a major contributor to lung disease and cancer deaths each year. It is estimated that nearly three thousand people die of lung cancer every year as a result of second hand smoke. ETS is also responsible for up to forty-thousand deaths annually due to cardiovascular disease. Exposure to ETS also increases the risk of asthma and sudden infant death syndrome among children. (Nicotine Addiction, Pg 6)

Recent studies have linked second hand smoke to a predisposition to smoke in adolescents. Teenagers who breathe tobacco smoke generated by family and friends are far more likely to take up smoking themselves. (SWAT, Pg 3)

Certainly there have been many studies linking disease and death to second hand smoke, but what about those who do not make the choice to smoke but are still breathing in nicotine and tobacco smoke. The use of cigarettes by pregnant women can have dire effects on their unborn children.

Carbon monoxide - the same chemical which comes out of an automobile exhaust pipe - and extremely high doses of nicotine interfere with the oxygen supply of the fetus. Studies indicate that nicotine easily penetrates the placenta and becomes concentrated in the fetal blood, amniotic fluid and breast milk. These factors may contribute to developmental delays and problems experienced by babies born of mothers who smoke. (Nicotine Addiction, Pg 7)

Adverse effects on a fetus include the risk of lower birth weight and spontaneous abortion. There is a correlation between smoking and birth weight which appears to indicate that the more a woman smokes during pregnancy, the lower the birth weight of the baby. (Nicotine Addiction, Pg 7)

The health risks revolving around smoking, whether it be a person who smokes a pack a day, people who inhale second hand smoke, or a pregnant woman who smokes, are significant. There is no question that smoking adversely effects everyone around it. Regardless of what the tobacco companies say, smoking is dangerous and smoking kills.

Health Expenditures and the Cost of Smoking:

Every state in the union is adversely affected financially by the use of tobacco. A tremendous economic burden is placed on state employers, workers, and tax-payers. The following pieces of information deal with a single state's economic issues revolving around tobacco and smoking. The following figures were compiled in 2001 for the state of Washington, which is not generally considered to be a state with a large population of smokers.

In 1993 the estimated smoking-related medical expenditures for Washington totaled 1.15 billion, 11.6% of the total medical expenditures.

Washington residents' state and federal tax burden caused by tobacco related health care costs is $962 million annually.

Expenditures in Washington for babies' health problems caused by mothers smoking or being exposed to second hand smoke during pregnancy are $21 to $62 million annually.

Additional tobacco health care costs caused by smokeless tobacco and secondhand smoke add even more to the health costs from tobacco use. In 1997, secondhand smoke accounted for $661 million in medical expenditures in the U.S. And represented 19% of all expenditures for childhood respiratory conditions.

In addition to direct health expenditures, economic impacts of smoking include:

Lost productivity in the workplace resulting from increased absences, diminished performance and higher turnover and retirement rates among smokers, estimated at more than $80 billion annually nationwide.

Damage and loss from cigarette-related fires, estimated at $500 million annually nationwide.

Tobacco-related maintenance and cleaning expenses, estimated at $4 billion annually nationwide. (Economic Costs of Tobacco, Pg 3)

The economic impacts on individual states, the nation, and the international communities are enormous. This single element of the tobacco issue should have a great deal more weight than it does. Unfortunately, the tobacco industry is perfectly capable of continuing to generate lies and to lobby politicians for support. The result is that the economic impacts of smoking are seldom discussed in forums concerning the dire effects of nicotine and tobacco.

Cover-ups and Lies by the Tobacco Industry:

The first major connection made between cigarettes and cancer took place in Cologne, Germany in 1930. German researchers correlated cancer and smoking. In 1938, Dr. Raymond Pearl of John Hopkins University stated that smokers simply don't live as long as non-smokers. By 1944, the American Cancer Society identified cigarettes as possibly having a relationship with cancer, though they were quick to point out that there was not yet any conclusive evidence. (Brief History of Tobacco, Pg 2)

In 1952 the first major report concerning smoking was revealed in the pages of Reader's Digest. In the article, "Cancer by the Carton," the magazine made a case against smoking citing the dangers. Shortly thereafter other periodicals began to run articles about the dangers of smoking. Smokers began to pay attention and the following year was the first year in tobacco history that cigarette sales declined. (Brief History of Tobacco, Pg 2)

Obviously the tobacco industry was not going to lie down and take the abuse. The immediately formed the Tobacco Industry Research Council wherein they supposedly addressed the concerns of the public. As far as the public knew they did deal with their concerns because a short time later the tobacco industry came out with filtered cigarettes and low tar models which supposedly promised a "healthy" smoke. (A Brief History of Tobacco, Pg 2) Obviously, these cigarettes were not much better than their predecessors. They still had all of the cancer causing elements within them.

In the early 1960s the Surgeon General's Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health was formed to address the issues which were constantly being brought up by scientists and health professionals. In 1964, the committee released their report which indicated that "cigarette smoking is causally related to lung cancer in men." It then pointed out that though there was less data for women, there was still a strong correlation between lung cancer and smoking. The report ultimately indicated that smokers were nine to ten times more likely to get lung cancer than someone who doesn't smoke. (A Brief History of Tobacco, Pg 2)

The tobacco industry has been on the run - albeit profitably - ever since. In 1965, Congress passed the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act requiring the surgeon general's warnings on all cigarette packages. In 1971, all broadcast advertising was banned. In 1990, smoking was banned on all interstate busses and all domestic airline flights lasting six hours or less. In 1994, Mississippi filed the first of 22 state lawsuits seeking to recoup millions of dollars from tobacco companies for smoker's Medicade bills. And in 1995, President Clinton announced FDA plans to regulate tobacco, especially sales and advertising aimed at minors.

Brief History of Tobacco, Pg 3)

It was during the 1994 lawsuits that many of the underhanded dealings of the tobacco industry were truly unveiled. The firms were forced to turn over crates upon crates of documentation and memos. Lawyers wanted to know what exactly the tobacco companies knew or didn't know about the addictive nature of their product and its penchant for killing people. They also wanted to know when these companies came to an understanding of what they were selling.

There are four primary lies that the tobacco companies have been promoting for years. First, tobacco isn't dangerous. Second, Nicotine isn't addictive. Third, Environmental Tobacco Smoke isn't dangerous. And third, they don't want teenagers to smoke. Each of these is a long standing lie which the companies would like to continue to perpetuate. (Behind Closed Doors, Pg 1)

The tobacco industry has known for years that that their products were dangerous. In 1953, a memo was circulated through RJ Reynolds which read, "Studies of clinical data tend to confirm the relationship between heavy and prolonged tobacco smoking and incidence of cancer in the lung." In 1961 a similar document made the rounds at the U.S. Liggett Company. "There are biologically active materials present in cigarette smoking. These are: cancer causing, cancer promoting, poisonous, and stimulating." (Behind Closed Doors, Pg 3)

The idea that cigarettes were addictive was the primary selling point of cigarettes. The tobacco industry knew about the addictive nature of their product before they knew about the other dangers. Many documents and memos exist which show their understanding of the addictive nature of their product:

Very few customers are aware of the effects of nicotine, i.e. its addictive nature and that nicotine is a poison." (1979 B&W document)

Nicotine is the addicting agent in cigarettes." (1982 B&W Tobacco Company document)

Ammonia, when added to tobacco reacts with nicotine and can act as an impact booster making nicotine more powerful." (Brown and Williams Tobacco Corporation)

Nicotine is addictive. We are in the business of selling nicotine, an addictive drug." (B&W, 1963)

Think of a cigarette as a dispenser for a dose unit of nicotine..." (Phillip Morris, 1971)

We are searching explicitly for a socially acceptable addictive product... The essential constituent is most likely to be nicotine or a direct substitute for it." (1979, BAT)

Taken together, the evidence suggests that self administration of nicotine may be the primary motivation for smoking." (1984, BAT)