Exposing Tobacco Industry Activity in Texas and Around the World

PROJECT SMOKEOUT reviews secret and internal communications from tobacco industry executives, managers, field personnel and surrepticious "Grasstops." Project scope was the state of Texas.

With over 20 million residents, Texas is the nation's second largest state. We expose the penetrating role, and in many cases, dominating influence national tobacco companies and tobacco entities exerted across the region. The records examined come specifically from: Altria (formerly Philip Morris), R.J. Reynolds, Brown & Williamson, Lorillard Tobacco, The Tobacco Institute and The Council for Tobacco Research.

This review analyzes a number of critical factors. We concentrated on young people, as nearly a third of Texans are under the age of 18. Texas is fifth nationally for highest proportion of underage youth. The illicit distribution of tobacco products to underage youth furthers an epidemic of addiction, disease and death. Medical costs alone are staggering.

We looked closely at tactics used by tobacco industry representatives to manipulate municipal political agendas. We also highlight many types of advertisements, promotional activities and media strategies employed by the industry that inevitably maintains demand for their products. As a special feature, we summary key quotes made by industry executive over the years and also provide a comprehensive review of the research effort, explain our methodologies and highlight other important details in our project report.

SOURCE: Data for this study comes from numerous legal challenges to the tobacco industry. As a result, courts ordered tobacco conglomerates to open their records to the public.

PROJECT SMOKEOUT, initially sponsored by the American Cancer Society, Texas Division beginning in 2000, is a research and analysis effort conducted by InfoImagination. InfoImagination is a not-for-profit public policy research group located in Kaua'i, Hawai'i, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, that focuses on the environment, tobacco and illicit drug education, media awareness and other pro-health activities. In June 2002 ACS-TX transferred administration of this historic work to InfoImagination.

Volunteers at InfoImagination continually update PROJECT SMOKEOUT. We highlight new documents and expose newly discovered information as they become available. We distinguish new findings, i.e., those discovered or added after the publication of the initial August 2001 report, using the following symbol .

For additional information, please contact:
InfoImagination
Scott Goold, director
287B Kaulana Road
Kapa'p, HI 96746
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