Four Decades of the German Tobacco Industry's Hidden Research

242 Tobacco Control 2000;9:242–247 INDUSTRY WATCH Shameful science: four decades of the German tobacco industry’s hidden research on smoking and health The following presents the “best of the best” of smoking caused disease—they knew early on it annotations of over 600 tobacco industry did—but they were obsessed by the evidence documents that tell a nearly 40 year story of the that tobacco poisons released into the air could smoking and health research programme aVect the health of non-smokers; and they did sponsored by the members of the Association everything they could to deny, suppress, and of Cigarette Industries of Germany (the finally ignore the overwhelming evidence. “Verband”). Its members include the German and Austrian cigarette manufacturers as well as the transnational firms of Philip Morris (PM), The documents RJ Reynolds (RJR), and British American The Verband der Cigarettenindustrie (VdC) is Tobacco (BAT). the German trade association of cigarette The documents are part of some 33 million manufacturers whose members include the pages released as a result of legal agreements in German and Austrian tobacco companies the USA between state attorney generals and (Reemstma, Brinkmann, H van Landwyck, Austria Tabak, and three smaller companies), the American based tobacco companies. Virtu- as well as the German branches of three ally all are available on Internet websites. While transnational firms (PM, RJR, and BAT). It nearly all the annotated documents come from comprises five departments: industrial activi- PM and RJR and are in English, a large cache ties, trade issues, marketing, public aVairs, and of BAT documents on the Verband are held at the scientific department. It is mainly the the BAT depository in Guildford, UK, includ- activities of the latter that are displayed in the ing a group of German language documents. industry documents. These are yet to be reviewed. Nonetheless, The transnational firms felt it was necessary what is presented adequately highlights the to support research in Germany, both through astonishing story of corrupted science in the the Verband as well as through private grants to service of a deeply flawed product. The German scientists. A 23 July 1992 memo from selected quotations will astonish even those one PM lawyer to another explains: “The rela- who have become inured to what has already tionship between the industry and the German been discovered. government seems to be a good deal better Beyond the petty squabbles and unpleasant than the relationship between the industry and characters, the story can be boiled down to a the government in this country. As I few essential themes. understand it, there are regular consultations The company scientists had to struggle with between government and industry scientists, as the accumulating and on-rushing evidence that well as constructive discussions regarding theirs was one of the foulest products (in the smoking related laws and regulations. The environmental sense) sold to be taken into industry in Germany appears to be more influ- human bodies. That struggle was seldom ential with the government than the industry in openly or honestly fought. the US and, for that reason, the industry feels it Even as some of the scientists hoped, in vain, is important to maintain a substantial research to create the “safer cigarette”, company presence. Although I do not believe litigation is lawyers were focused entirely on avoiding imminent in Germany, should it occur, the fact litigation, and avoiding loss when sued. An that we are sponsoring research—whether army of public relations experts, front through the Verband, or individually—could organisations, and corrupted consultants be of substantial help, in convincing a court served the lawyers, not the truth—the that we are fulfilling our duty to conduct companies, not the public. research. Nor do I think we should downplay German tobacco scientists, led by Professor the importance of having scientific contacts in Franz X Adlkofer, managed to integrate and as important a country as Germany.”1 ingratiate themselves with leading researchers, It was also the case that “Throughout the academics and government oYcials, even with domestic industry, two gentlemen’s agree- some who were strongly anti-tobacco. This ments operative in the early days” indicated gave the German industry the prestige and that “any company discovering an innovation time to carry out research, and the ability to permitting the fabrication of an essentially safe influence policy in Germany and throughout cigarette would share the discovery with others Europe and other continents, even today. in the industry”, and that “no domestic German scientists knew from the start that company would use intact animals in-house in the true battleground was, and still is, passive biomedical research”. This alone would have smoking. Their worry was not so much whether prompted the major transnational firms to look Industry watch 243 to the VdC to sponsor such research in American companies’ research eVort from the Germany.2 1950s on was driven by concern over law suits, An example of a “gentleman’s agreement” is and was therefore controlled by the company provided in this 1963 draft contract between lawyers and law firms. Edwin Jacob of the law the British tobacco industry and the Verband’s firm Jacob, Medinger was quite emphatic in a research arm to share results pointing to a 1978 meeting with the leaders of the Verband cigarette less likely to cause cancer, thus research programme, Harold Koenig and implicitly acknowledging the danger. “The Franz Adlkofer, as reported in a secret RJR Tobacco Research Council [UK] and the Wis- memo: “Mr Jacob then proceeded to explain senschaftliche Forschungsstelle agree by this the dangers of nicotine research from the point contract to submit to each other without delay of view of the Industry, with special reference the following informations which have to to the threat of the American Industry being include all technological details of manufac- placed under the jurisdiction of the Food and ture. These are: (1) Information about modifi- Drug Administration ...Wethen somewhat cations to cigarettes or other tobacco products forcibly and—deliberately—overbearingly ex- which have been shown to be beneficial to tracted from them an unequivocal promise that human health. (2) Information about before any eVort which was made to modifications to cigarettes or other tobacco commence or in any other way start a specific products the smoke or smoke condensate of research project, RJR—like the other member which have been shown to produce less Companies of the Verband—would have a biological activity to an extent that was statisti- minimum of three months to evaluate each cally significant, (a) in a test (or tests) of a type proposal . .Almost all of the meeting in Lon- that was relevant for lung cancer or other don dealt with the legal perils and related human diseases . Both the Tobacco Research aspects of the concepts on nicotine oriented Council and the Wissenschaftliche Forsc- research of the Verband.”5 hungsstelle respectively will endeavour to con- The legal perils, as the transnational firms clude equal contracts with AUSTRIA saw it, also extended to any research that might TABAKWERKE, Vienna . ADMINIS- even remotely suggest that cigarettes were TRAZIONE DEI MONOPOLI DI STATO, harmful. For instance, Franz Adlkofer was Rome . SERVICE D’EXPLOITATION INDUSTRIELLE DES TABACS ET DES adamant over the decades that the Verband ALLUMETTES, Paris . SVENSKA research be directed towards creating a “safer TOBAKS AKTIBOLAGET, Stockholm . cigarette,” and this led to continuous conflict, VEREIGNIGTE TABAKFABRIKEN AG, even up to the mid 1990s. “RJR has always Neuchatel.”3 rejected the idea of developing a “safe” But as this visit report (to industry laborato- cigarette being based on an unfounded ries in England, Sweden, Germany, France) assumption, to wit, current cigarettes are describes, the rationale behind “smoking and unsafe. Instead, RJR’s position has always health” research done by the Verband been, and still is, that cigarettes have not been companies seemed as much for political scientifically established as disease producing 6 advantage as for preventing disease. “[The in human smokers . .” Germans] have apparently convinced their However, Adlkofer’s notion of “safer” had a Minister of Health that they know more about rather grim aspect: “Talking about ‘the less smoking and health than anyone else, that they harmful cigarette’, [Adlkofer] said . this are taking responsible actions, and he would most likely prolong the latency period apparently turns to them for advice. The Ger- for cancer by another 5–10 years, and thus man companies seem to be working closely would make it a no-issue for the cigarette together, and have decided that no one can industry.”7 aVord the luxury of a temporary competitive And in another account, an attorney from advantage in the smoking and health area. Jacob, Medinger, preparing a White Paper to BAT, for example, has company supported instruct the Verband, contrasted RJR’s position research which shows that “KRONE”, their with Adlkofer’s: “[He] believes that smoking is newest brand, has 50% of the biological activ- killing a couple of hundred thousand people a ity of other brands (based on mouse skin year and that his job is to cut that figure down painting). They will not advertise this under to only 50,000 or so ...[but]because of RJR any circumstance and presumably will make Germany’s share of market it did not have the processes used available to others when enough clout to remedy this situation ...The they are certain there is a health significance. paper was drawn largely from materials which They do not consider that they are in a vulner- we and the US industry had used before in able position because they are conducting Congress and court.”8 mouse skin painting tests, but rather consider The transnationals had another reason to that this was essential in establishing their keep supporting research in Germany: the position with their Minister of Health.

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