Anti-Tobacco Industry Plan

The Anti-Tobacco Industry Plan was a comprehensive, long term plan drawn up by Philip Morris to divide the ranks of public health advocacy groups and weaken their efforts to reduce tobacco use. Public health authorities, groups and individuals who work to reduce smoking (such as the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association and Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights) are known collectively inside PM as the "anti-tobacco industry," the "ATI," or "antis" for short). PM regards these groups as competitors seeking to take away market share.

PM's "Anti-Tobacco Industry Plan" was devised by Joshua Slavitt, Director of Policy and Programs at PM Management Corporation. Slavitt was considered PM's internal expert on "the antis" and their strategies. Part of PM's plan was to cause dissent among to tobacco control groups by "enhancing internal conflicts" among them. To carry out this strategy, PM sought what it considered a "moderate" anti-tobacco group, worked to enter into a relationship with them and get them to work with the company in some cooperative capacity. Another strategy was to "limit or redirect" public health funding away from tobacco control programs PM didn't like, and direct it towards programs of which PM approved (that didn't harm cigarette sales or the image of smoking) like "youth education, preventing youth access, etc." PM also worked to stimulate financial investigations of public health groups to weaken them and "challenge their so-called 'white hat' image with elected officials and the media."

PM produced a 4-point plan to hobble public health groups:
 * Limit funding sources available to public health groups
 * Weaken credibility of public health groups
 * Enhance internal conflict to divide ranks within the tobacco control community
 * Intensify research on these groups "just as we would address any other business adversary"

PM estimated that it would cost $500,000 to carry out the program for the first year.

Title	 Anti-Tobacco Industry Plan Date	 00000000 Type	 Report Bates	 2063393705/3719 Collection	 Philip Morris Pages	 15 URL:http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/byg53a00

Industry documents

 * Anti-Tobacco Industry Plan, Philip Morris
 * Public Policy Plan Draft by Joshua Slavitt of Philip Morris December 12, 1996
 * 1997 untitled speech found in the files of David P. Nicoli of PM

Related SourceWatch resources

 * Project Sunrise
 * The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
 * Matt Myers

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