BIG TOBACCO AND ITS ALLIES MISLEAD PUBLIC AND MPs 

 


BIG TOBACCO HIDES THE TRUTH, MANIPULATES AND SCARES HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

Formerly secret tobacco industry documents show they've worked behind the scenes to hide the harm from secondhand smoke - and to confuse proprietors, governments and the public, with the sole aim of delaying smoking bans by pushing ineffective ventilation-based options.  

STOP PRESS:

Smoked out: big tobacco's deals in clubland
11/7/08: Tobacco companies are paying Victorian pubs and clubs commissions for selling tobacco - showing the kind of connection that's frustrated and weakened smokefree pub and club laws. 
See  Melbourne Age report 11/7/08 

 

BIG TOBACCO'S VENTILATION SCAM

The Dearlove Study, published in the British Medical Journal's Tobacco Control, shows how in Australia, the US, Canada and elsewhere: 

Through the myth of lost profits, the tobacco industry has fooled the hospitality industry into embracing expensive ventilation equipment, while in reality 100% smoke-free laws have been shown to have no effect on business revenues, or even to improve them. 

See the Economic Evidence     More on Big Tobacco’s tactics at the TobaccoScam website.      

The truth: ventilation and separation don't work
Ventilation and partition-based options do not protect effectively against the dangers of secondhand smoke - they have been dismissed by independent experts and authoritative health agencies worldwide. The World Health Organisation says:
Smoking bans remain the only viable control measure to ensure that workers and patrons of the hospitality industry are protected from exposure to the toxic wastes from tobacco consumption.

Tobacco giant pushes ventilation scam 
28/1/06: Internal documents from British American Tobacco show the company knew ventilation/filtration schemes were ineffective at removing secondhand smoke, but continued pushing these options through hospitality industry around the world to delay and undermine smokefree venues. 
See tobacco.org news 27/1/06  and  full BMJ study 1/06

US ventilation engineers agree: only safe way is to ban smoking
30/6/05: Position paper from the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) concludes that "the only means of effectively eliminating health risk associated with indoor exposure is to ban smoking activity."   See  ASHRAE position document 30/6/05

NSW study: "Smoke-free areas" in licensed venues are ineffective
Feb. '04: A study in NSW licensed clubs shows ventilation and separation are ineffective against harmful secondhand smoke.  The study, published in Tobacco Control (Feb '04) found separate 'no-smoking rooms' provide little or no protection. The study makes clear to Australian governments: the only safe option for licensed premises is speedy and total indoor smoke bans.  Cains, T et al, Tobacco Control (2004) 13:17-22  See SmokeFree Australia media release     See the study abstract

Toxic danger remains in partly smoky Australian venues
Sept. '02: Dangerous levels of toxic smoke remain in "no smoking" areas of pubs, clubs and cafes.
See abstract of Australian study by Cenko and Pisaniello (Adelaide University). 

ACT study: "Smoke-free areas" in exempt workplaces do not protect
An ACT government air quality study of "smokefree areas" in smokefree-exempt workplaces shows smoke in 80%. The government concludes that the exemption arrangements "have failed to protect from health risks."  See the ACT report and government response

UK/world: Ventilation no match for deadly smoke
Excellent
UK compilation of worldwide research concludes you would need extraction of tornado-like proportions to adequately protect.   See report: A Killer on the Loose. Note section 5.1, pp. 15-16, "Why ventilation is not an adequate solution", including striking data from tests in Toronto, Canada,  and Delaware, US.

EU: Study says ventilation doesn't work
2003 study by the Joint Research Centre of the European Union says passive smoke carries higher risks than previously thought - and efforts to reduce it by increasing ventilation offer little or no measurable improvement.    See press release       

Ventilation fact sheet (US)
May 2004 compendium of research, scientific and business conclusions - from Americans for Non-Smokers' Rights. 

 

MORE DIRTY TRICKS OF BIG TOBACCO AND ITS ALLIES

Philip Morris' passive smoke coverup allied with greenhouse denial industry
19/9/06: How tobacco giant Philip Morris masterminded and funded a huge lobbying effort to deny and undermine evidence on harm from secondhand smoke - an operation which fostered and allied itself with a massive industry of climate-change denial.   Read  excerpt from Guardian (UK) article 

 

European report lifts lid on tobacco industry smokescreen
21/3/06: A new report from Europe's Smoke-free Partnership reveals the tobacco industry's recruitment of scientists to undermine the emerging consensus of scientific research on the harms caused by secondhand smoke.   See 
report and background      See how the  tobacco industry and its allies have misled the public and MPs

 

Philip Morris hid secondhand smoke harm for 20 years
10/11/04: Philip Morris hid harm from secondhand smoke for two decades, says a study published in The Lancet. A lab owned by Philip Morris USA uncovered evidence in the early 1980s about potential risks from passive smoking but its findings were never made public, says the article.  See Lancet article 11/04 

Big Tobacco works to keep Australian workplaces smoky 
See how the tobacco industry has manoeuvred to influence the debate on smokefree places in Australia.  
Harper T and Martin J (Letter), "Trojan Horses: how the tobacco industry infiltrates the smokefree debate in Australia." Aust N Z J Public Health 2002;26(6):572-573 

More on the tobacco industry:  Have they really changed?  See  ASH accountable tobacco page  including latest industry news

SA:  AHA's pro-smoky cash for comment outed on MediaWatch
27/9/04: The Australian Hotels Association has been exposed in an ABA report on an undisclosed cash-for-comment deal with 5AA Adelaide presenter Leon Byner. The AHA is on record as saying "democracy is not cheap" - apparently favourable media comment isn't either. The AHA has influenced the SA government to achieve an appallingly late smokefree pubs/clubs deadline (Oct. 2007) in the face of near-unanimous public support for a 2005 date.    See  MediaWatch transcript 27/9/04    AHA misleads with scare campaign: see SmokeFree Australia media release 30/9/04      See  SA Taskforce report   SmokeFree ‘03 submission   

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