Tobacco Industry Document Gateway

Tobacco Industry Statements in the Department of Justice Lawsuit
United States House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform, Minority Office report prepared for Rep. Henry A. Waxman by the Special Investigations Division, September 17, 2002. The report examines tobacco company position statements on the health effects of smoking, the health effects of environmental tobacco smoke and the addictiveness of nicotine. It also assesses select company positions on marketing to children (RJ Reynolds), document destruction (British American Tobacco) and the control of nicotine (Philip Morris). This report was reprinted in the Tobacco Control journal.

U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division Litigation Against Tobacco Companies
On September 22, 1999, the United States filed a lawsuit against the major cigarette manufacturers and two industry affiliated organizations. The case is before U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Includes links to the testimony of Nicholas Cannar, who was BATCo’s in-house legal head from 1985 to 1991 and then director of legal services from 1996 to 1999 for WD & HO Wills (BATCo’s Australian subsidiary). On August 17, 2006 Judge Kessler issued the Final Opinion (1742 pages) and Final Judgment and Remedial Order. Kessler ruled against Big Tobacco.

Testimony by John St Vincent Welch in the case United States of America vs Philip Morris Civil Action No. 99-CV-02496.
John St Vincent Welch was the Chief Executive Officer of the Tobacco Institute of Australia (TIA) from 21 January 1991 to the end of April 1992. The testimony addresses the document retention policy and document destruction practices at the TIA.

Testimony by Frederick Gulson in the case United States of America vs Philip Morris Civil Action No. 99-CV-02496.
The testimony has been reproduced by "The Memory Hole". Gulson was formerly the legal counsel for Australian tobacco company WD & HO Wills, a subsidiary of British American Tobacco. This testimony repeatedly quotes an Australian court decision that contains extracts of the "Foyle memorandum," an extremely sensitive internal document concerning Wills' policy of destroying potentially damaging documents so that they cannot be uncovered during court cases.

Document Destruction by Philip Morris
Rep. Henry A. Waxman Rep. Waxman has requested the Committee on Energy and Commerce to launch a full investigation into document destruction by Philip Morris Inc. See the Letter to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and background documents.

US Judge, Gladys Kessler, awarded sanctions on 21 July 2004 against Philip Morris (Altria Group) for destroying documents in 2000. Click here to review the order that requires Philip Morris and the Altria Group to pay US$2.75 million. Kessler is also prohibiting 11 Philip Morris employees from testifying at the trial because they destroyed documents. Click here to view the memorandum opinion.

Pesticides on Tobacco
United States General Accounting Office (GAO) report to the Ranking Minority Member, Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives entitled "Pesticides on Tobacco: Federal Activities to Assess Risks and Monitor Residues". Published on April 24, 2003 as report number GAO-03-485. The GAO was asked to: 1. Identify the pesticides commonly used on tobacco crops and the potential health risks associated with them, 2. Determine how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assesses and mitigates health risks associated with pesticides used on tobacco, and 3. Assess the extent to which federal agencies regulate and test for pesticide residues on tobacco.