From: anne@tobaccodocuments.org
Date: Tue, 11/14/06
Original Posting Date: Friday, June 25, 2004 Re-posting Date: Tuesday,
November 14, 2006 (The links have been updated.)
Background and Assumptions
Company/Source: Tobacco Institute
Document Date: 29 Jan 1988 (est.)
Length: 6 pages
Bates No. TIDN0009180/9185
URL of this summary:
http://www.smokefree.net/doc-alert/messages/247151.html
Document Images: http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/gxk91f00
In 1977 the American Cancer Society (ACS) started holding the Great
American Smokeout nationally on the third Thursday of each November, to urge
smokers to quit for a day and encourage them to quit for good. The event
continues, and this year's Great American Smokeout is this Thursday (November
16). For the first ten years of the event ACS held the Smokeout with little
opposition. Then in 1986, Philip Morris (PM) started working to counter the
Smokeout with a campaign called the "Great American Smoker." In 1987 the
Tobacco Institute took over the program and renamed it the "Great American
Challenge" and in 1988 changed it to "The Great American Welcome." The industry
noted that its aggressive response to the Smokeout drew media attention away
from ACS's event and "caused concern within the [Cancer] Society." The
Institute discussed the benefits of undermining the "Smokeout" with the
"Welcome" in a memo about the event:
"The success of the new approach suggests the industry can 'ride' the
Great American theme...the industry can 'rain on the [Cancer] Society's
parade...[and] If the Smokeout becomes an annual opportunity for us, the Society
may revise or even abandon it."
The Institute claimed that the Great American Smokeout "annually
subjects smokers to humiliation and harassment" and declared that the
Institute's long-term objective was to use its new counter-program "to encourage
the American Cancer Society to significantly modify or abandon the Smokeout."
The industry's s strategy, as usual, was to keep its efforts hidden by
"Communicat[ing] [the 'Welcome"] to the public with and through allies so that
we do not position our program as an industry vs. ACS battle."
Attempting to aggressively counter the Great American Smokeout
conferred several benefits upon the industry: it generated free media coverage
of the industry's point of view, engaged "the antis" (public health advocates)
in public debate(http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/zir22f00) and provided a
national opportunity to present the pro-smoking arguments of "personal choice"
and "harassment of smokers." (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/wqs32f00 )
However, the indsutry's aggressive stance also had drawbacks, generating
newspaper articles that highlighted how the industry was ignoring scientific
proof of the link between smoking and disease, and giving public health
advocates a chance to portray the "Great American Welcome" as the act of a
desperate industry that was "simply trying to keep the cash cow alive as long as
they can." (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/fkl13a00)
Today's document contains proposed themes and strategies the Institute
intended to use to undermine the November 17, 1988 Great American Smokeout.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quotes:
The American Cancer Society's 12th Annual Great American Smokeout will
be held Thursday, November 17, 1988. Once again, its objective will be to
encourage smokers to quit at least for the day. Over the years, the Smokeout has
become a rallying point for the Society and other anti-smoking groups and
leaders, as literally thousands of local groups participate.
o For ten years, the industry did little to offset the impact of the
Great American Smokeout. In 1986 Philip Morris countered with the good natured
"Great American Smoker" program. In 1987 The Institute Issued the "Great
American Challenge." These more aggressive industry responses drew media
attention away from the event and reportedly caused concern within the Society.
-- The success of the new approaches suggests the industry can "ride"
the Great American theme because the media are looking for fresh angles to the
story.
- the industry can "rain on the Society's parade" if the approach is
positive and/or tongue-in-cheek.
- the Society will prepare to deal with us as an element of its overall
Smokeout planning. If the Smokeout becomes an annual opportunity for us, the
society may revise or even abandon it.
One of The Institute's fundamental objectives is to discourage unfair
discrimination against smokers. Since the Great American Smokeout annually
subjects smokers to humiliation and harassment, it is our long term objective:
To encourage the American Cancer Society to significantly modify or abandon the
Smokeout.
STRATEGY I. Continue to ride the "Great American" theme, as a means of
encouraging the ACS to change it and lose the event's identity.
2. Maintain a positive, non-confrontational tone.
3. Communicate to the public with and through allies so that we do not
position our program as an industry vs. ACS battle.
4. Provide a "service" to industry customers so they will not feel
abandoned on the day of the Smokeout.
-----------------------------------------------------
Named Organization: American Cancer Society
Philip Morris
Tobacco Institute
Named Person: Stuntz, Susan M. (Tobacco Institute. VP; Dir. of
Issues Mgmt) Helped organize a program to create a backlash against the
insurance industry after they instituted non-smoker discounts for policy
holders.
Foley, W.
Lyons, J.
Ransome, Sharon (TI Issues Analyst, C. 1988)
Moran, B.
Merryman, Walker (TI VP in 1994; Dir. of TI Communications, 1988)
Vice President of the Tobacco Institute in 1994. (L.A. Times 3/26/94).
Cannell, A.
Type: REPORT
Litigation: Dunn
Subject: Countermeasures Strategies & tactics the industry
used to counter public health efforts to control tobacco
Social Acceptability (Social acceptability of smoking)
The industry fought the decline in social acceptability
of smoking through public relations campaigns, legislation, etc.
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