FROM THE INDUSTRY TO THE INDUSTRY "I found a delightful description of smoking in the Report and Accounts of our Brazilian company, Souza Cruz. It sums up the eternal delight of smoking: The inspired person who designed the cigarette made it masculine in men's hand's, feminine in women's hands. Sophisticated among the sophisticated; rough among the rough. "To be young, a token of rebellion; to the elderly, a tool of quietness... a warm ally in the moments of action and a solitary companion during reflection." Words written with all the poetry of Brazil. But making a clear point: We manufacture a product that satisfies people's desire, a product that they want to continue to buy and enjoy." "It is a fact, little appreciated outside the industry and the governments we deal with that, in addition to all our other skills, we engage in one of the world's "oldest professions", tax collection. Not only do we collect excise but we also advise and set up schemes in many countries, that will deliver to their governments the revenues they need in a predictable and orderly way." "Sponsorship from the tobacco industry brings fun and excitement into the homes of millions of sporting enthusiasts around the world and channels much-needed funds into many different sports and pastimes." "It is difficult to have a rational discussion about advertising and its role in reinforcing brand awareness when the antismoking lobby clouds the issue with emotional attacks about the industry." "We have to find ways of explaining objectively the results of scientific research on environmental tobacco smoke and counter the fallacious and bad science that is used against us. If we do not, our customers, those people who enjoy the delights of smoking, could become pariahs, grudgingly given leave to smoke only in obscure government-designated areas." Ulrich Herter, Managing Director, BAT Tobacco Businesses at World Tobacco Symposium, Moscow, 22-24 September ************************************************************ ************************************************************ "I'm not going to use my time here to debate the pros and cons of cigarette advertising, but I will say that numerous studies have concluded that tobacco consumption is not increased through advertising." "One of the primary results of such bans (advertising) is to slow the conversion to lower tar and nicotine cigarettes because information on new brands is not available to the consumer." "It goes without saying that people will continue to smoke. We, as manufacturers, have a responsibility to provide our customers with the kind of product they want and governments have a responsibility to ensure that these products can be sold competitively in the marketplace." Thomas E Marsh, Regional President, R J Reynolds Tobacco International SA at World Tobacco Symposium, Moscow, 22-24 September ************************************************************ ************************************************************ "Within my own company, Rothmans International, we have for years referred to a smokers' packet of cigarettes as his calling card, something which conveys information about himself. The images attached to certain well known brands immediately emit signals which convey the smoker's perception of himself, or more likely, what the smoker would like other people to think of him." "At the top end of the market, consumers play considerable attention to issues such as the level of detail and print quality of the cigarette die and the intricacies of the embossing on the pack design... For many smokers, particularly young adults, the requirement is for a less ornate presentation which reflects the way in which these individuals wish to present themselves to the world and to be seen by their peer group." Ian Maitland, Regional Chief Executive, Rothmans of Pall Mall (Int'l) UK at World Tobacco Symposium, Moscow, 22-24 September ************************************************************ ************************************************************ "There is evidence of a continuing regulatory incursion on fundamental rights (in the European Union); the right of the informed consumer to choose is being curtailed...most of all, the Community Institutions seem, on occasion, to connive for the sake of political expediency in extending the Community's legislative competence beyond the limits laid down in the (Maastricht) treaty." J M Lepere, Chairman of the Confederation of European Community Cigarette Manufacturers Ltd at World Tobacco Symposium, Moscow, 22-24 September ************************************************************ ************************************************************ FROM THE INDUSTRY TO THE PUBLIC "Its fun to be fooled- It's more fun to know" (Ironic slogan of a 1933 ad campaign featuring a series of ads uncovering the secrets behind magic tricks. The ads claimed that unlike magic tricks, there were no tricks or gimmicks in Camel cigarettes, just more expensive tobaccos). ************************************************************ ************************************************************ "Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health found that a a non-smoker would have to spend 100 hours straight in the smokiest bar to "absorb" the equivalent of a single filter tip cigarette...Major reviews on "passive smoking" over the last few years have concluded that "passive smoking" cannot be shown as a health risk..." Excerpt from advertisement published by the Tobacco Institute of Australia found to be misleading by Justice Morling in the historical 1991 judgement as a result of court case brought by the Australian Federation of Consumer Organisations (AFCO) against the Tobacco Institute of Australia (TIA). *********************************************************** *********************************************************** THE INDUSTRY IN THE COURTROOM "As we have repeatedly seen in other trials, the core issue in these cases is personal responsibility for one's own conduct and choices." Reynolds lead counsel after the tobacco company won a trial brought by a man with lung cancer in the US who charged that Reynolds conspired to mislead him about the dangers of smoking. Tobacco International, February 1, 1993, P. 5. *********************************************************** ***********************************************************