Tobacco Industry Document Research Transdisciplinary Research Implications

1. Tobacco Industry Document ResearchTransdisciplinary Research Implications Michele Bloch, MD, PhD Medical Officer Tobacco Control Research Branch, NCI January 30, 2005

2. Why Transdisciplinary Research? • Transdisciplinary Research: A process by which researchers work jointly using a shared conceptual framework that draws together discipline-specific theories, concepts, and approaches to address a common problem. • Differs from other cross-disciplinary research by its degree of collaboration and conceptual integration. • Useful because tobacco use results from a mix of biological, genetic, psychological and environmental (social, cultural, policy) factors.

3. Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Centers (TTURCs) • To facilitate a transdisciplinary approach to the full spectrum of basic and applied research. • To help translate the results and implications of the work for policy makers, practitioners, and the public. • TTURC: minimum of three major projects; cores; train new investigators and developmental/pilot program. • 7 centers currently funded for 5 years by NCI, NIDA, NIAAA. • Visit http://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/tcrb/tturc/

4. Building the Evidence Base for Tobacco Control Policies, K. Michael Cummings, Roswell Park • Goal: Expand the science base for policy approaches for controlling tobacco by fostering transdisciplinary research that can lead to rigorous evaluation and a more fully developed and empirically based model of how and why policies influence tobacco related behaviors. Policies include: package warnings, advertising bans, product regulation, taxation, etc. • The recently adopted Framework Convention on Tobacco Control has set the stage for countries to implement a comprehensive set of tobacco control policies over the next few years.

5. K. Michael Cummings, Roswell Park CancerInstitute • Project 1: Multi-year study of 8,300 adult smokers (U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia) and how are impacted by tobacco control policies. • Project 2: Expand above to Thailand and Malaysia. • Project 3: Assess how cigarette design and smoke chemistries change in relationship to policies and how product modifications alter smokers' perceptions, behaviors, and exposures (with CDC's Tobacco Analysis Laboratory).

6. What are the Tobacco Industry Documents? Why do we have access? • Previously confidential working papers and other materials of the major tobacco companies and the T.I. and CTR. Includes material from outside law firms, advertising agencies, scientists, etc. • Material obtained through legal action: • Minnesota Settlement with tobacco industry, May 8, 1998 by Attorney General Hubert Humphrey. • Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), November 1998. • For next few years, new materials from litigation against tobacco industry must be added to MN depository and industry websites.

7. Executive Memorandum to DHHSPresident Bill Clinton, July 17, 1998 • Recognized the inherent value of the newly available documents, and that lack of access hampered their use. Directed Secretary of DHHS to “provide a strategy for coordinating a broad public and private review and analysis of the documents to gain critical public health information.” • 1999 NCI PAR, “Review and Analysis of Tobacco Industry Documents,” to stimulate research on a wide variety of scientific, technical, marketing and tactical undertakings by the tobacco industry.”

8. Tobacco Industry Document Research – Transdisciplinary Implications • Documents provide a unique window on tobacco industry efforts, relevant to diverse disciplines, including: • History, Law and Public Policy • Chemistry, Genetics, Biobehavioral • Psychology, Marketing • Health Communication, Linguistics • Ethics • International Health

9. Remedies for document destruction: Tales from the tobacco wars. Guardino S, Friedman L, Daynard R. “This Article examines the implications of improper document destruction in the context of smoking and health litigation, as well as the adequacy of existing penalties for such behavior. The Article reviews internal tobacco industry documents, including those discussing document “retention” policies that actually encourage destruction of internal documents, and correspondence discussing the contents of destroyed documents. For lawyers, legal scholars and judges, the tales from the “tobacco wars” provide an opportunity to consider the potentially serious consequences of document destruction, and the appropriate penalty or penalties a court should impose.” Source: The Virginia Journal of Social Policy and the Law, Fall 2004; 12: 1-60.

10. Assessing internal tobacco industry knowledge of the neurobiology of tobacco dependence. Wayne GF, Connolly GN, Henningfield JE. • Authors catalog internal research studies on pharmacological, psychosocial, and behavioral mechanisms underlying tobacco dependence. • “Our findings suggest extensive industry knowledge of mechanisms that determine smoker perception and behavior, and application of this knowledge in product development, including control of sensory response, uptake of nicotine and product effects. • …clinical research would greatly benefit from further examination of the decades of knowledge accumulated by tobacco manufacturers.” Nicotine & Tobacco Research 2004; 6: 927-940.

11. Emotions for sale: cigarette advertising and women’s psychosocial needsAnderson SJ, Glantz SA, Ling PM • Tobacco industry market research attempted to identify the psychosocial needs of different groups of women, and cigarette advertising campaigns for brands that women smoke explicitly aimed to position cigarettes as capable of satisfying these needs. • Cigarette brands for younger women stressed female camaraderie, self confidence, freedom, and independence; brands for older women addressed needs for pleasure, relaxation, social acceptability and escape from daily stresses. • Counter-advertising should attempt to expose and undermine the needs satisfaction messages of advertising campaigns directed at women. Tobacco Control 2005; 14: 127-135

12. Breaking and re-entering: BAT in China 1979-2000. Lee K, Gilmore AB, Collin J. • BAT has been committed to regaining its historically dominant position in China since the country reopened to foreign companies in 1979. • The documents suggest BAT strongly relied on illegal imports to expand market presence…only when risks to contraband sales increased…the company made greater efforts to establish a legal presence in the country, stressing its long history in China and a commitment to corporate social responsibility. • Governments need to understand and address the full range of market entry tactics by TTCs. Tobacco Control 2004; 13 (Suppl II): ii 88-ii95.

13. Conclusions • Diverse factors are responsible for tobacco use; diverse disciplines should be brought to bear to solve the problem. Transdisciplinary research is an effective, efficient way to integrate perspectives. • Tobacco industry documents provide access to literally millions of pages of material spanning many decades. • Materials provide insight for many research studies. • Use the industry documents! Read these research publications!