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SMOKING ISSUES
The Chairman thought you would be
interested to see a copy of this booklet
on Smoking Issues produced by British-
American Tobacco Co. for staff.
Additional copies can be obtained from
Group Public Affairs Department.
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BAT Industries document for Province of British Columbia 22 April 1999

A British-AmericanTobacco Company
publication forstaff
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BAT Industries document for Province of British Columbia 22 April 1999

Introduction
This BAT document sets out to provide an informed and
balanced view of the smoking and health issues. and of the
related matters which concern us in the developing nations.
Smoking is a complex subject and we who work in the tobacco
industry are well aware of the controversial issues
involved.
A substantial body of scientific and medical opinion
links smoking with various diseases on the basis of statistical
association. Over the past 30 years. literature on the subject
of smoking and health has become truly enormous. In terms of
sheer volume. it probably far exceeds c6t on any other
product in history. and even so. research continues today at a
very high level. Clearly the issues are not black and white. and
simple cause and effect has not been proven. Indeed. there are
some doctors and scientists who beUevethat the relationship
is in fact a reflection of elements other than. or in addition to.
smoicing. The personahty of smokers is cited, their diet. as
well as their occupation 'and the effects of atmospheric
pollution. Nevertheless. although the controversy is real. and
will almost cercainlv continue for many years to come. many
governments have adopted the view that cigarettes are a
hazard to health.
In many rapidly developing parts of the world. BAT
plays a positive role 'in the agricultural development of
countries. and not just in tobacco growing. The company's
work will continue to serve the interests of farmers and
tobacco traders aswell as leaf growers. governments and of
course consumers.
Commercial life ;s never easv and there will always be
new challenges to meet. It is intended that this document will
show how these challenges are being tackled in a responsible
manner which reflects the high standards which form the
basis of the company's success.
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BAT Industries document for Province of British Columbia 22 April 1999

The $mpkiw
and Health
The debate about smoking and health began to develop
in the 1930s. However. it was not until the 19509 that. it
became a subjec: for detailed medical a-W scientific
investigation. primarily by means of epidemiology which is
the statistical sn;dy of large groups of people in relation to the
occurrence of d-' fease.
F-om the s:--rr- the maior area of concern has been
disease of the lunj. predominantly the highly-emotive disease
of cancer but als --. emphysema and bronchitis. Many
statistical studief have indicated that more smokers are likely
to suffer from lung illnesses than are non-smokers i II. In
recent yeam decors have also identified a statistical
relationship between heart disease and several life-style
factors including smoking M.
A number ol scientists however have questioned these
views. It is a fact. ior example. that ever. though tobacco
Consumption in Austria. Belgium and Finland is lower than in
the USA. Canada and Australia. lung cancer rates are higher
in the first three countries: for smoking to be the direct cause
of lung cancer. a higher incidence in the USA. Canada and
Australia would be expected. Although the mechanism by
which cancer is triggered in any part of the human system is
still not understood fully. the current hypothesis of many
scientists is that is caused by a number of contributory
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BAT Industries document for Province of British Columbia 22 April 1999

elements and not just a single factor. Indeed, there are a
number of scientists who believe that exposure to chemicals
or environmental pollution are contributory causes. Some
aspects of personality are also cited as possible causal factors.
X%Ue some scientists have associated cigarette smoking
with heart disease. it is reasonably clear that a number of
other factors including life-style. blood pressure. biochemistry.
genetics and in particular. stress may be also involved.
This evidence has been quoted here to show that
although there is a statistical association between smoking
and certain kinds of ill healtL it has not been proven that
theseillnesses are actually caused by smoking. Any such
assertion on causation therefore must necessarily be seen as
an opinion and not a statement of proven fact.
In the field of smoking and health BAT is attentive to
the v.ews and opinions of many medical and government
authorities regarding the statistical association between
smoking and certain diseases, The company has worked
closelv,Airh such authorities in supporting research into a
widerange of smoking-related subjects. and it will continue to
do so.
At the same time. consumer demand is moving away
from fill-flavoured cigarettes towards cigarettes with lower
deliveries of tar and nicotine. In common with other major
international cigarette companies. BAT has made
considerable changes EO its cigarette products in order to meet
demand. and it will continue to make further changes
worldwide. taking into account all relevant factors including
sciemiffic deve eats and consumer trends.
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BAT Industries document for Province of British Columbia 22 April 1999

What is cigarette sr
Ciguette smoke is a collection of fine aerosol droplets
suspended in a mixture o` gases. Although scientists have
identified more than 300,5 compounds. albeit in the most
minuscule quantides. anention has focused on three principal
components:
"Tar" is the condensate materiai collected in the
laboratory from tobacco smoke. considered bv -nanv
scientists to contain compounds. as --met not specified.
which can cause cancerous cells to be either init4ated or
maintained and which can also irritate the respiratory system.
Nicotine is a natural: v occurring substance formed
almost exclusiveLy in the :obacco plant. In the small
quantities inhaled in terms it can have a stimulating or
relaxing effect on smoker! depending on their moods 131. It
can increase the heart rate slightly before its rapid conversion
into other compounds ir he body.
Carbon monoxide is a by-product of most combustion
processes. The gas can be absorbed froin the environment into
which it is discharged mainly by industrial and vehicle
emissions. Carbon monox:de is toxic in large amounts because
it affects the oxygen-CaNTLng capacity of the blood. It is
usually thought. however. that healthy individuals are well
abletotolemcetheeffectsofcarbon monoxideabsorbedaicher
from the normal environment or after the inhalation of
cigarette smoke.
The 1981 report of -he US Surgeon General commented.
"Carbon monoxide has; been impugned as a harmful
constituent of cigarette smoke. There is no evidence available.
however. that permits a deomduation of changes in the risk
of diseases due to variations in carbon monoxide levels".
When the amount or " delivery" of smoke components is
to be measured (to compare different cigarette brands for
government tar tables. for example) the cigarettes are smoked
in machines according to accepted international procedures.
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BAT Industries document for Province of British Columbia 22 April 1999

inemovetolowersmoke
deliveries
The present day cigarette looks almost identical to the
:-.'zarette of the past. but considerable changes have been
... ade in its composition. Many of the smoke components of
eazly cigarettes have been greatly reduced in the average
modern produc:s and mdeed. a range of ultra-low delivery
dirarettes is now being introduced. The extent to which
de;; very levels have changed over the past two decades is
.2ust. aced bv zhe table on page 6.
Lower Delivery Products;
The cigarette delive-y levels have fallen considerably
over the past 20 years. and the average cigarette is now very
d-' .... from : hat on sale in 1960. In addition. there are
products currently available which have at least 30 times less
t ar -han the q-,-cal 1960 cipreme.
This chance in smoke deliveries has come about in two
s.r.nificant stages. First. the introduction of filters in the early
. Os which re=oved some of the "tar" in the smoke. The
second major cnange came in the 1970S with more porous
6garette paper and the ventilation of filter tippings to allow
the entry of air and dilute the smoke that reaches the smoker.
7'-:esede%,elop,-ents.togetherwir.hchartgesintheselect; nof
toaaccos,have:endedEOoveriapintime.Thedramatic
recuczion in smoke deliveries over the past 20 years in the UK
is s@own bv the chart on page
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06
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Reduction in component delivery levels per cigarette 1960-1980
Delivery Levels per Cigaretle (mg)
Eicamplesolultra-low
Typwar 'Aver 90 delivery prodiscls available
SMOKE COMPONENTS belme 1960 M 191,80
In 1980 in some niarkels
0 'd ftes
Vkginia style -gore
eg UK, Canada
Tar 33 15 1
Nicotine 2 1.2 0.1
C Carbon Monoxide 20 15 1.5
3
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(if 66k style cigarettes
Tar 43 15 1
Nicotine 3 1.1 0.2
Carbon Monoxide 23 1 7 2
to
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UK Market: Reductionin sales-weighted average "tar" mg/d
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-Ef -fe- cts of lower delivery
cigarettes
Many-medical authorities believe reduction in smoke
deliveries to be responsible for the significant downward
end noted since 1968 in the occurrence of some diseases
associated -Aith smoking.
It has been pointed out by Dr E L Wynder and
Dr D Hoffmann, of the American Health Foundation 141 that
because of the very long induction periods of up to forty years
believed to be associated with lung disease. any link between
the presently observed reduction in incidence and a change in
cigarette design could -elate only to the early logos
movemen: towards filtered cigarettes with reduced tar and
nicotine deliveries. Any effects of the mid-19-7 Os trend
towards ultra-low deliveries by means of ventilated tippings,
porous paper and modified tobacco blends can be shown.
maintain er and Hoffman. only by future studies.
-1 I INI-smokinghabit
Whilact smoking is clearly a habit for many people and
comparable in many way3 to the habits of coffee or tea
drinking. it is not addictive in the normally accepted sense (5).
The term "addiction" is defined as the need to take ever
increasing doses of a material to produce a constant response.
as with narcotics. the discontinuation of which causes
physical withdrawal symptoms which are usually severe.
.401& mpart 16:. ,*,%vrwos
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BAT Industries document for Province of British Columbia 22 April 1999

Passive smoking
Passive smoking is a term used by some to describe the
exposure of non-smokers to tobacco smoke in air around them.
It has been argued that passive smoking is anti-social
and constitutes a health hazard to the non-smoker. Much has
been made of chis argument in the smoking controversy and
the "rights of the non-smoker" have been advocated on trains.
buses. aeroplanes and in other public places.
In "Smoking and Health". the 1979 report of the US
Surgeon General. @c is concluded that "healthy non-smokers
exposed to cigarette smoke have little or no physiological
response to the smoke and what response does occur may be
due to psychological factors".
Two recently-published studies. however. one conducted
in Japan and the ocher in Greece. have suggested that now
smoking wives of smoking husbands have an increased risk of
disease when compared with non-smoking wives of non-
smoking husbands. However. the conclusions of the Surgeon
General received strong support in June 1961 when the
American Cancer Society announced that its Own much larger
study of married women showed that. " non-smoking women
married to cigarette smokers have little if any increased risk
of getting lung cancer compared to non-smoking wornen
whose husbands also do not smoke".
The results were in fact drawn from two studies
spanning a period of 1 7'2 years and a sampie of 523.000
people.
Smoking is recognised to cause annoyance to some no-,i
smokers. It is. therefore. a matter of common courtesy that
smokers should continue to show consideration for others.
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BAT Industries document for Province of British Columbia 22 April 1999

Smokingbypregnant
women
One of the most emotional allegations against smoking
is that it can affect the unborn child. These suggestions are
based upon statistical findings that smoking by the mother
can lead to reduced birth weight or impaired development of
the child. although socioeconomic factors such as personality.
dier, occupation and inherited characteristics tray also be
involved.
Additional light has been cast on this subject by a recent
study by the Now York State Department of Mental Hygiene.
Interviews with 233 mothers have shown that the babies of
those who smoked during pregnancy. although smaller at
birth than :hose of mothers who did nor. smoke were
indistinguishable in physical and mental development by the
age of ton i 61.
Nonetheless. just as mothers-to-be are recommended to
reduce their alcohol consumption and their use of non-
prescribed medicines during pregnancy. many doctors also
advise them to eliminate or reduce their smoking habits.
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Smokingandchildr-en
As millions of adults smoke. it is inevitable that children
become aware of smoking from an early age and in some cases
want to copy adult behaviour. Consequently, there is a
pressure on smokers to give up the custom in order to prevent
diiidren starting.
As with other customs and activities which might
involve risk. smoking should be a choice for adults for they
are able to weigh any consideration of risk against the benefits
they perceive from smoking. The industry supports the view
that children should not be encouraged to smoke.
For this reason. BAT and other major tobacco
companies have adopted a policy of neither promoting their
products to children nor of making cigarettes attractive to
them.
Why people smoke
The custom of smoking has been practised for centuries
by societies world wide and the motivation is hard to
establish. Many psychologists believe. however. that whilst
smokers pin enjoyment from the taste. smoking has other
positive aspects. It enables smokers to adjust their alertness
to a level which is appropriate to their circumstances (3). Thus.
smoking can be helpful to someone who is performing
monotonous tasks over long periods. It has been shown too
that when they smoke. many smokers are better able to cope
uith stress and to ignore distractions. Their efficiency in
learning and memory processes is also improved (7). It is
generally thought to be the nicotine in tobacco smoke which is
responsible for these effects.
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BAT Industries document for Province of British Columbia 22 April 1999

Starting to smoke.
Numerous research studies have sought to establish
Why people start to smoke but none has identified advertising
as the primary motivation. One major UK study. theMetra
Report. concluded in 1980 that advertising does not affect the
total arrount of cigarettes sold - it is influential only in
ncouraging smokers to change brands.
Expert opinion and practical research show the
:trongest influence to be the example of other smokers. They
s of the same family. friends and
acquaintances. teachers and indeed representatives
of the many groups that an individual encounters in the
course of the dav.
-1 iL PC-, LJK tobacco industry
Worldwide. of course, there are hundreds of millions who
enjoy the pleasure of tobacco. In the United Kingdom. almost
half the adult population chooses to smoke and the tobacco
industry employs more than 40.DOO people directly. A far
greater -.lumber is involved in the distribution 3nd retailingof
tobacco products. and the total is probably in excess of
500.000.
Apart from employment, the tobacco busine33 provides
more than 14000 million to the Government each vear in
taxation. This sum is more than one third of all expenditure on
health and personal social services. In addition. the tobacco
sector contributes nearly 1300 million annually to the UK's
export earnings.
The UK tobacco industry has always demonstrated its
readiness to co-operaEe with Government and many millions
of pounds are spent by the industry each year tofund research
into the effect of smoking and into the development of new
products.
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BAT Industries document for Province of British Columbia 22 April 1999

BATinthethirdworld
Now grown in about 120 countries. tobacco is an
agricultural commodity of great economic importance in
many rapidly developing parts of the world.
In the earl,, 1960s. the developing countries accounted
for 5 2 per cent of world tobacco output. In 1977. this
proponion had risen to 60 per cent and the Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has pointed out recently that
net exports from these nations has -men by nearly four per
c!nc at over the past decade. Earnings from the export
or tobacco from t he Third World now exceeds USS1 200 milk-on
annuailY and indicates the importance of the crop to many
de,, eloping na Lions.
Tobacco CUI EiVa tiOn provides a livelihood for an immense
number of farmers. their families and other workers. BAT
itself is a source of technicaL agricultural. commercial and
management training. Moreover. the company has done much
to heip farmers in developing parts of the world to increase
produc,ion of focd crops as well as tobacco through the
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BAT Industries document for Province of British Columbia 22 April 1999

application of new agricultural techniques and improved land
utgisation. In tobacco areas increased yields of food crops
have been recorded since the early 19603. This achievement is
of considerable value. and especially in territories where food
production is a national priority.
In a number of countries. BAT encourages tree planting
as a means of helping to overcome the fuel problems that baser
many emergent nations. In Brazil. for example. BAT has
planted 11 5 million trees since 1960. In Kenya. the company
has esLabiished tree nurseries in all tobacco growing areas. In
addition to the foreign exchange earnings provided for
developing countries by tobacco exports, the taxes levied on
tobacco also represent an important source of governmenc
For all these reasons. tobacco is widely supported or
controlled by governments in both industriaHs and
emergent nations. At this point we may note that a major
criticism levelled at the tobacco industry is that whilst it has
substantially reduced the tar levels of cigarettes on sale in the
developed countries. it has continued to sell higher deUverv
products in some other pws of the world. The answer to this
c-iticism is that the levels of BATs international brands are
substantially the same world wide and the tar level of local
brands is steadiLy being reduced in line with. and at the rate
oi. the growing customer preference for milder products. I c
should be noted. however. that the smoker in many
developing countries has traditionally preferred a stronger
caste in cigarettes than is customary in Europe or the USA -
and also that his consumption has often been very much
lower.
Tastes are continuing to change in the developing world
but the smoker's progress from higher to lower tar cigarettes
is necessarily gradual. I c is only by making progressive
modifications in cigarette design. as BAT -a doing
incernationallv. and by marketing widerranges of products.
that the smoker will have increasing choice in selecting the
product he prefers.
As in the industriaUsed nations. BAT's policies on
advertising and promotion in the developing countries aim to
ensure that campaigns which appeal to youth are avoided.
&.at advertising does not make exaggerated claims and that
the character of promotional activity remains acceptable to
local communities.
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Incondusion
There have been dramatic changes in the development of
cigarettes over the past 20 years and the raw generation of
low tar products is vastly different from the high tar
cigarettes of the 1960s.
There is a strong belief by many medical authorities that
these product changes have been responsible for significant
reductions in recent years in the occurrence of diseases which
have been associated with smoking.
The indications are that increasing numbers of smokers
will start or continue to choose lower tar brands. Despite the
continuing controversy as to cause and effeCL BAT win
vigorously pursue the low delivery development programme.
In the rapidly-developing parts of the world. we have
many millions of customers and our presence is a resource of
considerable value to governments. Tobacco is the company's
primary interest. but we are also active in other fields: food
production and affomstation are only two examples of the way
in which BAT people are helping certain nations to overcome
some of the difficult problems of development-
BAT has a valuable role in the world and is in good shape
to further develop this role effectively and profitably.
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References
1. R. Doll and R. Peto. Bntish Medical Joumal December25.
1976.
2. Royal College of Physicians and the British Cardiac
Society. Prevention of coronary heart disease. 1976.
3 .Heather Ashton and co-workers in Smoking Behaviour.
Physiological and Psychological Influences. Churchill
Livingston. 1976.
4. E. L. Wynder and D. Hoffmann. American Journal of
Public HoWth-November 1990.
5. G. L. Mangan and J. Golding in Smoking Beha%iour.
Physiological and Psychological Influences. Churchill
Li@ingston. 19-, S.
6. M. M. Lefkowirz. Developmental Psychology Vol 17.1981.
7. K. Wesnes and D. M. Warburton in Smoking Behaviour.
Physiological and Psycholog,cal Influences, Churchill
Livirgston. 1975.
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If you require further
information on the subjects
discuss*d within this
publication. please contact.
Public Affairs Department
British American Tobacco ple
Westminster House
7 MiUb&rLk
LondonSWIPUE
Tlekphone. 01-222 1=
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BAT Industries document for Province of British Columbia 22 April 1999

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BAT Industries document for Province of British Columbia 22 April 1999