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— CH. 1 · THE 1953 READER'S DIGEST CRISIS —

Tobacco industry playbook

~3 min read · Ch. 1 of 5
5 sections

  • In September 1953, the tobacco industry faced a public relations emergency after Reader's Digest published a summary of an article titled "Cancer by the Carton." This piece highlighted emerging findings from epidemiologists Richard Doll and Austin Bradford Hill regarding the link between smoking and serious illness. US tobacco executives convened with John Hill of the public relations firm Hill & Knowlton at the New York Plaza Hotel to address this threat. The meeting resulted in the 1954 publication of A Frank Statement, an advertisement designed to cast doubt on scientific evidence showing health effects from smoking. Industry leaders realized they had little credibility with the general public and needed a new strategy to protect their revenues.

  • Internal documents reveal that the industry explicitly adopted tactics to create consumer skepticism as a competitive business tool. A 1969 R. J. Reynolds memorandum stated, "Doubt is our product since it is the best means of competing with the 'body of fact' that exists in the mind of the general public." Companies fabricated or falsified scientific research and presented flawed methodologies as legitimate studies. They selectively published only favorable results while attacking scientists who published inconvenient science through threats to funding and reputation. The industry funded junk science studies designed to undermine consensus and repeated debunked claims to manufacture fear, uncertainty, and doubt. These methods included using affiliations with prestigious academic organizations to influence research for economic ends.

  • Recognizing their lack of credibility, tobacco companies set up fake grassroots groups to act on behalf of industrial interests. The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition (TASSC) was established with Steve Milloy serving as its first director. Milloy previously worked for APCO, the consultancy firm employed by Philip Morris to organize TASSC. He later created junkscience.com, a website equating environmentalists with Nazis and promoting climate change denial. Many consultants who worked for the tobacco industry subsequently worked for fossil fuel companies against action on climate change. TASSC hired Frederick Seitz and Fred Singer, both now prominent figures in climate change denial who had previously worked for the tobacco sector.

  • The playbook has been adopted by the fossil fuel industry to stave off global action on climate change. Groups such as the American Petroleum Institute used the same tactics to cast doubt on climate science from the 1990s onward. Environmentalist George Monbiot identified many groups funded by tobacco firms that were subsequently funded by Exxon and other fossil fuel companies. These include the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Cato Institute, The Heritage Foundation, and the Hudson Institute. A 2015 presentation titled "Survival Is Victory: Lessons From the Tobacco Wars" by Richard Reavey of Cloud Peak Energy explicitly acknowledged these parallels. Reavey urged fellow coal executives to accept the facts of climate change and work with regulators on solutions that would preserve the industry.

  • Opponents of vaping identify elements of the tobacco playbook in the e-cigarette industry's response to health concerns. Tobacco companies took stakes in soft drinks companies and used the same tactics around colors and flavors to target young potential smokers. Coca-Cola funded health researchers as part of Corporate Social Responsibility programs with provisions allowing them to review research before publication. Some agreements stated explicitly that Coca-Cola could prevent publication or control study data disclosure. A 2019 article in the Emory Law Journal made parallels to attempts by the National Football League to downplay chronic traumatic encephalopathy. The public relations strategies of Big Tech companies have often been compared with the tobacco industry playbook regarding safety regulations.

Common questions

What was the 1954 publication A Frank Statement designed to do?

A Frank Statement was an advertisement published in 1954 by US tobacco executives to cast doubt on scientific evidence showing health effects from smoking. Industry leaders created this document after facing a public relations emergency following Reader's Digest summary of findings linking smoking to serious illness.

How did R. J. Reynolds use doubt as a business strategy in 1969?

R. J. Reynolds explicitly adopted tactics to create consumer skepticism as a competitive business tool according to a 1969 memorandum. The company fabricated or falsified scientific research and presented flawed methodologies as legitimate studies while selectively publishing only favorable results.

Who directed the Advancement of Sound Science Coalition TASSC when it was established?

Steve Milloy served as the first director of the Advancement of Sound Science Coalition (TASSC) which was established with his prior employment at APCO. Philip Morris employed APCO to organize TASSC before Milloy later created junkscience.com to promote climate change denial.

Which fossil fuel groups adopted the tobacco industry playbook starting in the 1990s?

Groups such as the American Petroleum Institute used the same tactics to cast doubt on climate science from the 1990s onward. These include the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Cato Institute, The Heritage Foundation, and the Hudson Institute which were funded by tobacco firms and subsequently by Exxon.

What provisions allowed Coca-Cola to control health research outcomes in Corporate Social Responsibility programs?

Some agreements stated explicitly that Coca-Cola could prevent publication or control study data disclosure regarding health researchers they funded. Tobacco companies took stakes in soft drinks companies and used the same tactics around colors and flavors to target young potential smokers.

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All sources

42 references cited across the entry

  1. 1journalThe disinformation playbook: how industry manipulates the science-policy process—and how to restore scientific integrityGenna Reed et al. — December 2021
  2. 2webThe Disinformation Playbook
  3. 3newsIt was Big Tobacco, not Trump, that wrote the post-truth rule bookAndrew Rowell et al.
  4. 4newsThe Secret History of LeadJamie Lincoln Kitman — 2 March 2000
  5. 5webTobacco and Oil Industries Used Same Researchers to Sway PublicBenjamin Hulac — ClimateWire — July 20, 2016
  6. 6press releaseNew Documents Reveal Denial Playbook Originated with Big Oil, Not Big TobaccoCenter for International Environmental Law — June 20, 2016
  7. 7bookThe Cigarette PapersStanton A Glantz — University of California Press — 1996
  8. 8webSmoking and Health Proposal1969
  9. 9bookMerchants of DoubtOreskes, Naomi. — Bloomsbury Press — 2010
  10. 10journalAssessing ExxonMobil's climate change communications (1977–2014)Geoffrey Supran et al. — 2017-08-01
  11. 11newsHarvard scientists took Exxon's challenge; found it using the tobacco playbookDana Nuccitelli — 2017-08-23
  12. 12newsClimate Change Denial Is the Original Fake NewsEric Pooley — 14 February 2017
  13. 13newsHistoric smoking report marks 50th anniversaryMike Stobbe — 5 January 2014
  14. 14journalThe Perils of Ignoring History: Big Tobacco Played Dirty and Millions Died. How Similar Is Big Food?Kelly D Brownell et al. — March 2009
  15. 15webThe Disinformation Playbook Union of Concerned Scientists
  16. 16bookOn Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research: Third EditionNational Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering (US) and Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy — National Academies Press (US) — 2009
  17. 17journalThe Atrazine Saga and its Importance to the Future of Toxicology, Science, and Environmental and Human HealthJason R. Rohr — 2021
  18. 18journalCorrecting Over 50 Years of Tobacco Industry MisinformationPhilip Smith et al. — 1 June 2011
  19. 19journalNew image, same tactics: global tobacco and vaping industry strategies to promote youth vapingChristina Watts et al. — 1 October 2024
  20. 20journalRegulating social media through self-regulation: a process-tracing case study of the European Commission and FacebookWouter Wolfs et al. — 31 December 2023
  21. 21journalAstroturfing Global Warming: It Isn't Always Greener on the Other Side of the FenceCharles H. Cho et al. — 1 December 2011
  22. 22webHow Fossil Fuel Lobbyists Used "Astroturf" Front Groups to Confuse the Public Union of Concerned Scientists
  23. 23webBad Science: a Resource Book
  24. 24newsDoubt over climate science is a product with an industry behind itGraham Readfearn — 2015-03-05
  25. 25newsHow Trump's war on science is borrowing from the tobacco industry playbookDavid Merritt Johns et al.
  26. 26newsThe communication of uncertainty is hindering climate change actionAdam Corner — 2014-01-31
  27. 27newsClimate change and Big TobaccoGeorge Monbiot — 2006-09-19
  28. 28newsFeeling Cornered, Coal Industry Borrows From Tobacco Playbook, Activists SayJohn Schwartz — 2016-08-16
  29. 29webCoal Executive Says His Industry Must Confront Climate ChangeBenjamin Hulac — ClimateWire — August 25, 2016
  30. 30webClimate denier Fred Singer complains about Merchants of Doubt
  31. 31newsHow the Vaping Industry Is Using a Defensive Tactic Pioneered Decades Ago by Big Tobacco
  32. 32newsBan Flavored E-Cigarettes to Protect Our ChildrenMichael R. Bloomberg et al. — 2019-09-10
  33. 33newsBig tobacco bringing same market strategy into sugary drinks2019-03-15
  34. 34webSoft Drink Companies Copy Tobacco Playbook to Lure Young UsersSuzanne Leigh — 14 March 2019
  35. 35newsCoca-Cola says its drinks don't cause obesity. Science says otherwiseMarion Nestle — 2015-08-11
  36. 36journalSoda and Tobacco Industry Corporate Social Responsibility Campaigns: How Do They Compare?Lori Dorfman et al. — 2012-06-19
  37. 37webContracts give Coca-Cola power to 'quash' health research, study suggests2019-05-08
  38. 38journalNFL Takes a Page from the Big Tobacco Playbook: Assumption of Risk in the CTE CrisisMikayla Paolini — 2019
  39. 39newsN.F.L.'s Flawed Concussion Research and Ties to Tobacco IndustryAlan Schwarz et al. — 2016-03-24
  40. 40webTobacco Control Playbook2020-04-09
  41. 41webIs This Really Big Tech's 'Big Tobacco' Moment? Only Congress Can Make It So.Lisa Macpherson — 2021-10-29
  42. 42bookProceedings of the 2021 AAAI/ACM Conference on AI, Ethics, and SocietyMohamed Abdalla et al. — 2021