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the Minnesota Tobacco Industry Document Depository

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Annotations of documents gleaned from the British American Tobacco Company (BATCO) and BAT Industries documents at the Minnesota Tobacco Industry Document Depository. There are twenty-six boxes, (18 from BATCO, and 8 from BAT Industries (mainly financial statements, which should be of interest to those tracking industry structure). The material in Minnesota represent about ten percent of a larger cache in Guildford, England, also now open to the public. The box numbers here refer only to this Minnesota Select Set but the Bates numbers should be equivalent.

BATCO BOXES
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |

BATI BOXES
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |

BOX 6

  1. 6 June 1979, research report on Project Libra, from M.Oldman to M. Sheridan Esq. (Marketing Services BAT), "Notes on data derived from Project Libra: The dissonant and highly dissonant smoker," BAT (File no. B282) 105392056 - 075, and 12 December 1978 105392076 - 077.

    Projects Libra and Aquarius were two of several on-going studies with zodiacal names looking at smoker's sociological and psychological profiles in relation to attitudes to smoking and health. Dissonant (i.e., conflicted) smokers tend to be more concerned about their health than consonant smokers, less likely to enjoy smoking, more likely to switch brands, more likely to have tried quitting, more likely to believe cigarettes are harmful. Oldman had written to K. Street of BATUKE noting that 60% of the smoking population was dissonant and it would be important to know the differences between successful and unsuccessful quitters and their motives.

  2. 25 November 1977, report by M. Oldman submitted to S.J. Green, "Smoker Motivation and Dependency," BAT (File no. B282) 105392223 - 239.

    Much jargon. Part of the BAT psychological research program.

  3. 9 January 1976, report, R.E. Thornton, "The Product in 1980," BAT (File no. B282) 105392320 - 328.

    Recognizes that smoking is becoming more a working class habit and harder for working class people to quit. 80% of smokers do so for the nicotine. The report discusses possibilities

    of non-cigarette alternatives to deliver nicotine or its analogues, or non-tobacco leaf, all to be managed by the industry, as the notable quote implies.

    Notable quote: "Biofeedback techniques seem to be the most probable threat to the cigarette, both as a means of stopping smoking and as an alternative to smoking.".

  4. 17 August 1981, research report, A.L. Heard, Esq. M. Oldman, "Psychology group research programme," BAT (File no. B283) 105399664 - 668.

    Interaction of smoker with socio-economic environment. Restrictions on advertising is shown in a graphic figure as one of the pressures on a smoker.

  5. 10 July 1975, research report No. RD 1229-R, D.J. Wood, E.B. Wilkes, "Project Wheat...Cluster profiles of U.K. male smokers and their general smoking habits," BAT (File no. B3002) 105433353 - 428 ( 353-357, and 426 - 428 selected).

    1500 smokers surveyed about need for nicotine (termed "Inner Need") and their concern over health. Researchers note the conflict.

  6. 12 November 1976, research report (RD 1410), R.E. Thornton, "The smoking behaviour of women," BAT (File B3183) 105501517 - 565.

    Study of motivational differences between men and women smokers.

    Notable quotes: "Smoking behaviour of women differs from that of men.... more highly motivated to smoke.... they find it harder to stop smoking.... women are more neurotic than men and more likely to need to smoke in stressful situations, presumably because they are less well able to deal with stress." "Given that women are more neurotic than men it seems reasonable to assume that they will react more strongly to smoking and health pressures.... There may be a case for launching a female oriented cigarette with relatively high deliveries of nicotine...."

    [NB. "Thin" cigarettes deliver more nicotine.]

  7. 16 October 1978, technological report (RD. 1618), K.D. Kilburn, "A Technological Forecast of the future of tobacco processing," BAT (File no. B3391) 105457788 - 876.

    Excerpts taken from an 84-page report. A "future-shock" analysis trying to predict how cigarette manufacture will go based on social, commercial and technological determinants, with profitability as the main priority. For instance, lower tar cigarettes could be made using less tobacco. Different construction and ingredients other than tobacco are visualized changes.

    Notable quote (last page): Attitudes to smoking depend on both the number of smokers and the strength of this habit. The attitudes also depend on the material being used (tobacco, marihuana), on the form of the product (pipe, cigarette, chewing tobacco, snuff), and on whether tobacco production is a local industry with farmers lobbying to maintain farm income."

  8. 18 April 1979, research report (RD. 1668), M. Oldman, "A qualitative study on the perceived benefits and disadvantages of smoking (Project Virgo)

    Focus group discussions (profiles not given), indicating that people smoke for pleasure, to relieve boredom, because of dependence, or habit. Health concerns were a worry.

    Notable quote: "It was clear that the initial impulse to smoke was one of bravado and of regarding smoking as an attractive symbol of adulthood. There was a feeling on the part of some sample members, however, that knowledge of the risks involved in smoking was making it an unattractive proposition to today's children."

   

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