Tobacco Industry Fought Drugs' Marketing
The study, published in today's issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, describes how Philip Morris, the maker of Marlboro, Virginia Slims and other cigarettes, exerted financial leverage over the pharmaceutical divisions of giant chemical companies by threatening to cut off purchases from the companies' agricultural divisions.

The drug companies then toned down their marketing strategies, the study says, focusing on smokers who had already decided to quit rather than making broader appeals based on the health benefits of quitting.

What might otherwise be considered merely hardball business tactics was unethical in this case because the tobacco companies knew the health risks of smoking, said Dr. Lisa Bero, a professor of clinical pharmacy and health policy at the University of California at San Francisco and the senior author of the study.

"There was another product on the market designed to keep people from using their deadly product," Dr. Bero said. "They were attempting to keep people from using it."

Because of mergers and reorganizations in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, the makers of the quit-smoking products say their marketing is now free of tobacco industry influence.

For its part, Philip Morris says the incidents described in the paper are ancient history. "Basically, the actions that are described in the study do not reflect the actions we are taking on issues like this today," said Brendan McCormick, a spokesman. "Certainly we acknowledge smoking causes serious disease in smokers and is addictive."

The nicotine gum and skin patches curb cravings, increasing the chances of kicking the habit.

According to memorandums, when Merrell Dow, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical, introduced Nicorette nicotine gum in 1980, executives at Philip Morris wanted Dow to limit marketing to only people who needed to quit for health reasons. Dow canceled an antismoking newsletter to doctors after one issue.

Philip Morris executives were not satisfied and on May 7, 1984, canceled purchases of Dow chemicals that help moisten tobacco, an $8-million-a-year account.

"Dow was informed that the recent spate of activity can only be interpreted as a conscious corporate decision that Nicorette is more important than the Philip Morris (and other tobacco) business," an internal Philip Morris memorandum said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/14/health/14TOBA.html