By Barry Meier, Kentucky Connect and the Lexington Herald-Leader
Philip Morris is acknowledging that scientific evidence shows smoking causes lung cancer and other deadly diseases, after decades of disputing the findings of the U.S. surgeon general and other medical authorities.
In recent years Philip Morris Cos., the nation's largest cigarette maker, has moved closer to prevailing scientific opinions about the health risks of smoking, as it has faced increasing pressure from smoking-related lawsuits, regulators and Congress.
But on a new Web site it is unveiling today as part of a $100 million corporate image campaign, the company unequivocally states there is an ``overwhelming medical and scientific consensus that cigarette smoking causes'' diseases including lung cancer, emphysema and heart disease.
It also states that smoking ``is addictive as that term is most commonly used today.''
Philip Morris' move is part of a trend among tobacco producers to try to put health-related issues behind them, after agreeing in the last two years to pay $246 billion to settle lawsuits brought by states seeking to recover their costs for treating ill smokers.
By making more disclosures about smoking risks, producers also want to make it harder for those who start smoking now to sue by claiming they were unaware of the dangers.
Brown liamson Tobacco Co. created a Web site with information on health issues last year, and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. is in the process of doing so.
Several anti-smoking advocates who read the new statements by Philip Morris said they were a marked shift for the company, particularly in the area of smoking and health. For example, the company had contended previously that smoking was a ``risk factor'' or a ``causal factor'' in diseases such as lung cancer, not that it caused the diseases.
``It is a profound change,'' said Dr. David Kessler, the former head of the Food and Drug Administration, in response to the company's statements. ``It really sets a new stage for regulation and legislation.''
Matthew Myers, a lawyer with the Washington-based advocacy group Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, agreed but said that Philip Morris still had not taken the final step. ``The acknowledgments seem to be an abandonment once and for all of the campaign of sowing doubts in the minds of consumers,'' Myers said. ``But it falls a critical step short because it doesn't say whether Philip Morris agrees with these conclusions.''
The company's new Web site is one part of the campaign intended to reshape its corporate image. Company officials said they will spend about $100 million annually on the effort, which will include television advertisements emphasizing the company's charitable activities.
As part of the campaign, Philip Morris will also downplay its role as a cigarette producer. For example, while the company Web site will contain the logos of two of its major divisions, Kraft Foods and Miller Brewing, it does not show the distinctive logo of the Philip Morris tobacco division or the red-and-white chevron of its leading brand, Marlboro.
Steven Parrish, a senior vice president at Philip Morris, said another major goal of the campaign would be to redirect the often-acrimonious debate about smoking into a constructive one.
``This is a serious and good faith effort on our part to try to engage in a dialogue,'' he said.
Last year, Brown liamson revised its Internet site to reflect its stance on smoking and health issues. The site states the company ``believes that it is appropriate for the public health community to conclude and warn the public that cigarette smoking causes certain diseases.''
Tommy Payne, an official at R.J. Reynolds, said that producer was also creating an Web site that will speak ``more directly and candidly'' about the issues of smoking and health. Payne said he thought the industry effort followed a recently settled round of lawsuits between cigarette makers and state attorneys general.
In those lawsuits, the states argued that cigarette makers should reimburse them for the cost of smoking-related health-care costs because they had misled the public by vigorously disputing government findings about smoking and disease.
