ACVA Atlantic

ACVA Atlantic was and environmental engineering firm, the predecessor of Healthy Buildings International, and served as a Philip Morris front group regarding secondhand smoke issues and building ventilation.

= Description =

ACVA Atlantic stood for Air Conditioning & Ventilation Associates Atlantic. The organization was run by John Graham "Gray" Robertson, who became a spokesperson for the tobacco industry's point of view. Robertson was funded by the tobacco industry to give talks and press conferences around the country. Robertson testified at public hearings for smoking restrictions that the presence of tobacco smoke, rather being a problem in and of itself, was actually an indicator of larger ventilation problems. He helped popularize "Sick Building Syndrome," a strategy that emphasized that cigarette smoke was just a minor part of the overall indoor air pollution problem, and the real problem lay with poor ventilation systems.

resource_id=27180 resource_code=acva_atlantic search_term=ACVA Atlantic confidential