Research Papers, Draft Papers in Progress and Other data

The University of Sydney Research Team has published research papers and brief reports based on investigations of tobacco industry documents concerning Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and The Philippines. This section provides links to research papers that have been published on Australia, Asia and other topics, as well as access to draft papers in progress. Select supplementary research data for published papers is also provided. Visitors are encouraged to use the search interface to review tobacco industry document summaries. This section also provides additional information on searching methods used for specific papers.

Publications   

Tobacco Control 2003 Supplement III: "One of the darkest markets in the world" - insights from Australian tobacco industry documents (Click here to go directly to the online issue)

Preface

Chapman S, Byrne F, Carter SM. "Australia is one of the darkest markets in the world": the global importance of Australian tobacco control [introduction to the Australian supplement]. Tobacco Control 2003; 12 (Suppl 3): iii1-iii3.

Marketing

Carter SM. The Australian cigarette brand as product, person, and symbol. Tobacco Control 2003; 12 (Suppl 3): iii79-iii86. Conclusions: Tobacco control activities have undermined cigarette brand equity. Further research is needed regarding brand loyalty, low tar, and brand categories. Smokers may respond more positively to tobacco control messages consistent with the identities of their chosen brand, and brand-as-organisation elements may assist. Further marketing restrictions should consider all elements of brand identity, and aim to undermine brand categories.

Carter SM. Going below the line: creating transportable brands for Australia’s dark market. Tobacco Control 2003; 12 (Suppl 3): iii87-iii94. Conclusions: The tobacco industry acknowledges that marketing restrictions have an impact, validating their continued use in tobacco control. The industry is extremely creative in circumventing these marketing restrictions, requiring tobacco marketing regulations to be informed by marketing expertise, regularly updated, and to adopt the broadest possible scope. Tobacco control advocates, particularly those communicating with young people, could learn from the creativity of the tobacco industry.

Carter SM. New frontier, new power: the retail environment in Australia’s dark market. Tobacco Control 2003; 12 (Suppl 3): iii95-iii101. Conclusions: Cigarette companies prize retail marketing in Australia's dark market. Stringent point of sale marketing restrictions should be included in any comprehensive tobacco control measures. Relationships between retailers and the industry will be more difficult to regulate. Retail press advertising and trade promotional expenditure could be banned. In-store marketing assistance, retail-tobacco industry alliance building, and new electronic retail distribution systems may be less amenable to regulation. Alliances between the health and retail sectors and financial support for a move away from retail dependence on tobacco may be necessary to effect cultural change.

Tobacco Institute of Australia

Carter SM. Cooperation and control: the Tobacco Institute of Australia. Tobacco Control 2003; 12 (Suppl 3): iii54-iii60. Objective: To describe the history of the Tobacco Institute of Australia (TIA), particularly regarding connections between local and international cigarette manufacturers and tobacco organisations

Youth

Carter SM. From legitimate consumers to public relations pawns: the tobacco industry and young Australians. Tobacco Control 2003; 12 (Suppl 3): iii71-iii78. Objective: To document the Australian tobacco industry’s activities regarding youth smoking to support tobacco control.

Health Effects

Carter SM, Chapman S. Smoking, disease, and obdurate denial: the Australian tobacco industry in the 1980s. Tobacco Control 2003; 12 (Suppl 3): iii23-iii30. Objective: To contrast the Australian tobacco industry’s awareness of the diseases caused by smoking with their aggressive public denial on the relation between smoking and disease in the 1980s.

Chapman S. "It is possible he is a kind of nut": how the tobacco industry quietly promoted Dr William Whitby. Tobacco Control 2003; 12 (Suppl 3): iii4-iii6. Abstract: Dr William Whitby was a general practitioner in Sydney who, from 1978 until about 1987, self published two books extolling the virtues of smoking and ridiculing anti-smoking claims. Privately the tobacco industry regarded him as "nutty", while nonetheless believing that his views should be promoted. They quietly supported him by distributing his book, offering legal advice, and persuading him to take media training. Many Australians would have been exposed to his views.

Chapman S. "Keep a low profile": pesticide residue, additives, and freon use in Australian tobacco manufacturing. Tobacco Control 2003; 12 (Suppl 3): iii45-iii53. Objective: To review the Australian tobacco industry’s knowledge of pesticide residue on Australian tobacco and its policies and practices on resisting calls by tobacco control advocates that consumers should be informed about pesticide residue as well as additives.

Chapman S. "We are anxious to remain anonymous": the use of third party scientific and medical consultants by the Australian tobacco industry. Tobacco Control 2003; 12 (Suppl 3): iii31-iii37. Objective: To document the history of visits to Australia by tobacco industry sponsored scientists and news media reports about smoking and health matters generated by their visits.

Chapman S. and Carter SM. "Avoid health warnings on all tobacco products for just as long as we can": a history of tobacco industry efforts to avoid, delay and dilute health warnings on cigarettes. Tobacco Control 2003; 12 (Suppl 3): iii13-iii22. Objective: To review critically the history of Australian tobacco industry efforts to avoid, delay, and dilute pack warnings on cigarettes.

King W, Carter SM, Borland R, Chapman S and Gray N. The Australian tar derby: the origins and fate of a low tar harm reduction programme. Tobacco Control 2003; 12 (Suppl 3): iii61-iii70. Objective: To document the development of the low tar harm reduction programme in Australia, including tobacco industry responses.

Industry sponsored research

Chapman S, Carter SM and Peters M. "A Deep Fragrance of Academia": the Australian Tobacco Research Foundation. Tobacco Control 2003; 12 (Suppl 3): iii38-iii44. Objective: (1) To review the history of the tobacco industry supported Australian Tobacco Research Foundation (ATRF)(1970–1994) for evidence of the industry’s use of the Foundation to further its objectives that "more research was needed" on smoking and health and to promulgate the view that nicotine was not addictive. (2) To review efforts by public health advocates to discredit the ATRF as a public relations tool used by the Australian industry.

Passive Smoking

Chapman S and and Penman, A. "Can't stop the boy": Philip Morris' use of Healthy Buildings International to prevent workplace smoking bans in Australia. Tobacco Control 2003; 12 (Suppl 3): iii107-iii112. Objective: To document the relationship of the indoor air consultancy company Healthy Buildings International (HBI) with the Australian tobacco industry.

Trotter L and Chapman S. "Conclusions about exposure to ETS and health that will be unhelpful to us": how the tobacco industry attempted to delay and discredit the 1997 Australian National Health and Medical Research Council report on passive smoking. Tobacco Control 2003; 12 (Suppl 3): iii102-iii106. Objective: To demonstrate how the tobacco industry attempted to delay and discredit the publication of a report on passive smoking that the tobacco industry anticipated to contain recommendations that would be unfavourable to their business.

Tobacco Retailers

Tofler A. and Chapman S. "Some convincing arguments to pass back to nervous customers": the role of the tobacco retailer in the Australian tobacco industry's smoker reassurance campaign 1950-1978. Tobacco Control 2003; 12 (Suppl 3): iii7-iii12.

Tobacco Control 2004 Supplement II: The tobacco industry in Asia: revelations in the corporate documents (Click here to go directly to the online issue)

Cross regional papers

Knight J, Chapman S. ‘‘Asia is now the priority target for the world anti-tobacco movement’’: attempts by the tobacco industry to undermine the Asian anti-smoking movement. Tobacco Control 2004;13 (Suppl II):ii30-ii36. Objective: To identify and examine the strategies utilised by multinational tobacco companies to undermine and discredit key anti-tobacco activists and organisations in the Asian region.

Knight J, Chapman S. ‘‘Asian yuppies…are always looking for something new and different’’: creating a tobacco culture among young Asians. Tobacco Control 2004;13 (Suppl II):ii22-ii29. Objective: To identify and analyse the themes employed by the Asian based transnational tobacco companies to construct a tobacco culture among Asian young men and women.

Assunta M, Fields N, Knight J, et al. ‘‘Care and feeding’’: the Asian environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) consultants programme. Tobacco Control 2004;13 (Suppl II):ii4-ii12. Objective: To review the tobacco industry’s Asian environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) consultants programme, focusing on three key nations: China, Hong Kong, and Malaysia.

HONG KONG

Knight J, Chapman S. ‘‘A phony way to show sincerity, as we all well know’’: tobacco industry lobbying against tobacco control in Hong Kong. Tobacco Control 2004;13 (Suppl II):ii13-ii21. Objective: To examine the tobacco industry’s efforts to influence public policy and block the legislative process on tobacco control in Hong Kong, 1973 to 1997.

JAPAN

Assunta M, Chapman S. A ‘‘clean cigarette’’ for a clean nation: a case study of Salem Pianissimo in Japan. Tobacco Control 2004;13 (Suppl II):ii58-ii62. Objective: To illustrate, through internal industry documents, how RJ Reynolds exploited the concerns of the Japanese society about cleanliness to market the concept of cleaner, implicitly healthier cigarettes in Japan.

MALAYSIA

Assunta M, Chapman S. Industry sponsored youth smoking prevention programme in Malaysia: a case study in duplicity. Tobacco Control 2004;13 (Suppl II):ii37-42. Objective: To review tobacco company strategies of using youth smoking prevention programmes to counteract the Malaysian government’s tobacco control legislation and efforts in conducting research on youth to market to them.

Assunta M, Chapman S. A mire of highly subjective and ineffective voluntary guidelines: tobacco industry efforts to thwart tobacco control in Malaysia. Tobacco Control 2004;13 (Suppl II):ii43-ii50. Objective: To describe tobacco industry efforts in Malaysia to thwart government efforts to regulate tobacco promotion and health warnings.

Assunta M, Chapman S. The tobacco industry’s accounts of refining indirect tobacco advertising in Malaysia. Tobacco Control 2004;13 (Suppl II):ii63-ii70. Objective: To explore tobacco industry accounts of its use of indirect tobacco advertising and trademark diversification (TMD) in Malaysia, a nation with a reputation for having an abundance of such advertising.

PHILIPPINES

Alechnowicz K, Chapman S. The Philippine tobacco industry: ''the strongest tobacco lobby in Asia''. Tobacco Control 2004;13 (Suppl II): ii71-ii78. Objective: To highlight revelations from internal tobacco industry documents about the conduct of the industry in the Philippines since the 1960s. Areas explored include political corruption, health, employment of consultants, resisting pack labelling, and marketing and advertising.

SINGAPORE

Assunta M, Chapman S. ‘‘The world’s most hostile environment’’: how the tobacco industry circumvented Singapore’s advertising ban. Tobacco Control 2004;13 (Suppl II):ii51-ii57. Objective: To review how tobacco transnational companies conducted their business in the hostile environment of Singapore, attempting to counter some of the government’s tobacco control measures; to compare the Malaysian and the Singaporean governments’ stance on tobacco control and the direct bearing of this on the way the tobacco companies conduct their business.

Other Papers:

Carter, S. Mongoven, Biscoe & Duchin: destroying tobacco control activism from the inside. Tobacco Control 2002; 11: 112-118.

Chapman S. Tobacco memos reveal efforts to disrupt smoking cessation. BMJ 1999; 318:1026.

Chapman, S. "Vast sums of money ... to keep the controversy alive": the 1988 BAT memo. Tobacco Control 1997;6:236-239.

Drope J, Chapman S. Tobacco industry efforts at discrediting scientific knowledge of environmental tobacco smoke: a review of internal industry documents. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2001;55:588-594.

Fields N, Chapman S. Chasing Ernst L Wynder: 40 years of Philip Morris’ efforts to influence a leading scientist . Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2003;57:571-578. Published with two editorials (Malone RE, Bero LA. Chasing the dollar: why scientists should decline tobacco industry funding. J Epidem Comm Health 2003;57:546-8; Parascandola M. Hazardous effects of tobacco funding. J Epidem Comm Health 2003;57:548-9.). Click here to review tobacco industry documents cited in the paper.

Francey N, Chapman S. "Operation Berkshire": the international tobacco companies' conspiracy. BMJ 2000;321(7257):371-374.

Garne D, Watson M, Chapman S & Byrne F. Environmental tobacco smoke research published in the journal Indoor and Built Environment and associations with the tobacco industry. The Lancet 2005;365(9461):804-9. Click here to review the appendices. Click here to review industry documents forming background research for the paper.

O'Sullivan B, Chapman S. Eyes on the prize: transnational tobacco companies in China 1976-1997, Tobacco Control 2000;9:292-302.

Szilágyi T. and Chapman S. Hungry for Hungary: examples of the tobacco industry's expansionism. Central European Journal of Public Health. 2003;11:38-43.

Szilagyi T, Chapman S. Tobacco industry efforts to keep cigarettes affordable: a case study from Hungary. Central European Journal of Public Health 2003;11:223-28.

Szilagyi T, Chapman S. Tobacco industry efforts to erode tobacco advertising controls in Hungary. Central European Journal of Public Health. 2004; 12:190-6.

Thomson G, Signal L. Associations between universities and the tobacco industry: what institutional policies limit these associations? Social Policy Journal of New Zealand. 2005; Issue 26: 186-204.

Thomson G, Wilson N. Implementation failures in the use of two New Zealand laws to control the tobacco industry: 1989-2005. Aust New Zealand Health Policy. 2005 Dec 14;2:32.

Vagg R, Chapman S. Nicotine analogues: a review of tobacco industry research interests. Addiction 2005;100:701-12

Click here to read summaries in the TDS database for documents cited in the research paper dealing with indirect tobacco advertising in Malaysia.

Click here to read summaries in the TDS database for documents cited in the research paper dealing with industry efforts to thwart tobacco control in Malaysia.

Click here to read summaries in the TDS database for documents cited in the research paper dealing with industry sponsored youth prevention programmes in Malaysia.

Supplementary Research Data

Carter SM, Chapman S. Smoking, disease, and obdurate denial: the Australian tobacco industry in the 1980s - additional information.

Supplementary research data.
Transcript of Ita Buttrose interview on Radio Station 2UE in 1984 with John Dollisson and Simon Chapman.
Sound file of Ita Buttrose interview on Radio Station 2UE, 1984 with John Dollisson and Simon Chapman. (Download and play offline to reduce sound stream interruptions.)

Carter S. Supplementary information for research papers:
Click here to view industry documents cited in the paper "The Australian cigarette brand as product, person, and symbol"
Click here to view industry documents cited in the paper "Going below the line: creating transportable brands for Australia's dark market"
Click here to view industry documents cited in the paper "New frontier, new power: the retail environment in Australia's dark market".
Click here to view industry documents that have been assigned the subject "brand" are relevant to Australia.

Assunta M and Chapman S. A ‘‘clean cigarette’’ for a clean nation: a case study of Salem Pianissimo in Japan - additional images.

Working Documents

Trotter L., Byrne F. and Chapman S. Brief Report on the tobacco industry's response to Australian passive smoking workplace litigation

Szilágyi T. and Chapman S. Transnational tobacco industry efforts to erode tobacco advertising controls in Hungary since 1990