Tobacco On Trial

Gentry, Jeffrey

US Fact Witness

Dr. Gentry is a chemist in the R&D Department at R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., working there continuously since receiving his doctorate in 1986. He has held the following positions with the company:

* Research & Development Chemist
* Senior Research & Development Chemist
* Senior Staff Research & Development Chemist
* Master Scientist
* Director of New Product Development

Dr. Gentry’s work has been in the areas of cigarette design and performance, including development of the Winston Select/EW product in the early 1990s.

Harris, Jeffrey M.D., Ph.D.

US Expert Witness

Dr. Harris is a tenured Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He joined the MIT faculty in 1976 and completed his medical training in 1977. During the past twenty-five years, Dr. Harris has taught a number of undergraduate and graduate courses at MIT, including health economics, microeconomics, industrial organization, antitrust economics, mathematical economics, statistics, law and economics, and toxicology and public policy. Since 1977, Dr. Harris has continuously served as a primary-care physician on the medical staff of the Massachusetts General Hospital (”MGH”). Since 1974, when Dr. Harris began his internship at the MGH, he has had more than 10,000 individual encounters with patients, a great many of whom smoked cigarettes and had smoking-related diseases. Since 1979, Dr. Harris has been a contributing scientific editor, contributor, or senior reviewer to several Surgeon General’s Reports. Since 1979, Dr. Harris has served as a consultant to a number of governmental agencies in connection with the health consequences and economic impact of cigarette smoking. Dr. Harris has given invited testimony concerning the health consequences of smoking, the economics of proposed tobacco-industry settlements, and the impact of proposed legislation before: the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee; the Joint Committee on Health Care, Massachusetts Senate & House of Representatives; the Massachusetts Department of Public Health; the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee; the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee; the U.S. House Judiciary Committee; and the U.S. Senate Democratic Task Force on Tobacco. Additionally, Dr. Harris has served on invited panels of the National Academy of Sciences and on a Council of the National Institutes of Health..

Hoel, Donald K.

US Fact Witness

Mr. Hoel was an attorney at the long-time tobacco industry law firm of Shook, Hardy & Bacon from 1958 to his retirement from the practice of law in 1993. Beginning in the 1960s and continuing to his retirement, Mr. Hoel represented Defendant members of the tobacco industry in smoking and health litigation and tobacco regulation. Mr. Hoel was involved in the selection of scientists and other consultants for use by the industry in litigation and regulatory actions in the United States and around the world. He also participated, among a number of industry outside counsel, in locating and managing Council for Tobacco Research (”CTR”) Special Project and Special Account 4 researchers. He was a member of the Tobacco Institute Committee of Counsel, in which role he was the head of the ETS Subcommittee, also known as TI ETS Advisory Group or the “Hoel Committee” from 1975 through 1988.

Schwartz, Sorell

US Fact Witness

Dr. Schwartz is a professor at Georgetown University, Department of Pharmacology. Dr. Schwartz was a tobacco industry consultant for many years. In 1982, Dr. Schwartz co-founded the Center for Environmental Health and Human Toxicology (”CEHHT”), a consulting firm that did significant work for the tobacco industry. Additionally, Dr. Schwartz was Chairman of the Indoor Air Pollution Advisory Group (”IAPAG”), a division of CEHHT devoted to ETS. Dr. Schwartz traveled throughout the United States and abroad at the Joint Defendants’ expense to testify at hearings and participate in conferences.

As a result of his close work with the tobacco industry, Dr. Schwartz has direct knowledge of (a) defendants’ misrepresentations regarding ETS, research projects and industry-sponsored conferences that related to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (”ETS”); (b) defendants’ development of scientific witnesses that they used to analyze, critique, and review ETS research, publications, and proposed legislation concerning ETS and indoor air restrictions; (c) attorney involvement in ETS research, including but not limited to, organization and/or support of conferences that addressed ETS, approval/disapproval of research, revision of research results, and whether to publish research results; (d) company or industry knowledge regarding research and/or the development of scientific witness teams to address ETS issues and public statements regarding same.

Robertson, John Graham “Gray”

US Fact Witness

Mr. Robertson, President of ACVA Atlantic, Inc., later Healthy Buildings International (”HBI”), from 1981 to present, “Gray” Robertson is expected to testify concerning:

* His activities and his companies’ activities related to defendants’ misrepresentations about second hand smoke;
* Second hand smoke and indoor air quality (IAQ) research projects that were funded by defendants
* Payments that were made by defendants and their attorneys to his companies;
* Defendants’ development of “scientific” witnesses that were used to analyze, critique and review second hand smoke research and proposed regulation regarding second hand smoke and indoor air quality;
* Defendants’ attorneys’ involvement in second hand smoke and IAQ research, including approval and disapproval of research, revision of the results of research, and publication and non-publication of results of such research; and
* Company or industry knowledge regarding research and/or the development of “scientific” witness teams to address issues related to second hand smoke and public statements on this topic.

Simmons, Reginald

US Fact Witness

Mr. Simmons worked for ACVA Atlantic, later known as Healthy Buildings International (collectively referred to at “HBI”) as a field technician and project team supervisor from 1986 until 1989. During his career, he served in the following positions:

* 1981-1985: Sole proprietor, Freedom Solar Engineering
* 1986-1989: Field technician and project team supervisor, HBI;
* 1989-current: Sole proprietor, Comprehensive Environmental Strategies, Ltd.

Mr. Simmons worked at HBI for approximately three and one-half years when he was approached by a vice president of the Tobacco Institute. Thereafter, HBI became very busy with projects from the Tobacco Institute (”TI”) and tobacco became its biggest client. HBI was paid a monthly retainer of $20,000 from TI, and TI paid an additional $1500 per building by tobacco interests to take ETS studies of building they were inspecting. The analytical cost of the ETS tests to HBI was $200.

TI sent Mr. Simmons and others on several assignments to inspect buildings. These assignments were controlled by Gray Robertson and Peter Binnie. In 1986-87, HBI started dealing with Fleishman Hillard, a public relations firm, and Covington and Burling, both of whom were representing the Tobacco Institute. Certain ground rules were imposed by Robertson and Binnie: 1) when taking air samples for nicotine tests, technicians were instructed to take air samples in lobbies and other easily accessible areas where circulation was best, thus reducing the readings; 2) if asked, always recommend to clients that any air pollution problems could be solved by better ventilation; 3) banning or restricting tobacco use or smoking was never to be recommended; and 4) every inspection report was to be reviewed and undergo final editing by Mr. Binnie or Mr. Robertson before it was sent out.

Mr. Simmons worked on hundreds of inspections and wrote inspection reports but never saw the final product before it was send to a client. Reports were always edited by Mr. Binnie or Mr. Robertson. Simmons would later see the inspection reports in the main files and note that Mr. Binnie or Mr. Robertson had changed the data and conclusions. Recommendations to restrict or ban smoking would be edited out of inspection reports, and it was standard practice to reduce the actual results of two significant tests that were done on buildings (the test for airborne particle count and the test for weighting airborne particles). One particular study involved 240 studies of restaurants and offices during the time that New York City officials were considering anti-smoking legislation. The analysis of the inspections and results were controlled by TI officials and none of the businesses were advised that the inspections were funded by TI or its members.

(This is the DOJ’s idea. Judge Kessler is not sure we need all six of them.)

Blackie, Sharon

US Fact Witness

formerly Sharon Boyse

Dr. Blackie began working for BATCo in 1986 as a Senior Scientific Advisor in the Corporate R&D Department. In 1991 she moved to the Corporate Affairs Department where she was Manager of Smoking Issues, and then Head of Smoking Issues from 1993 to 1994. From 1994 to 1996 she left the company and worked as an industry consultant. From 1996 to 2000 she worked for Brown & Williamson as the Director of Scientific Issues, and then as Director of Applied Research from 2001 to 2002. In 2002 she returned to BATCo to the position of Head of Strategic Research.

Rupp, John P.

US Fact Witness

Mr. Rupp has been an attorney with the tobacco industry law firm Covington & Burling from 1977 to present. He has performed work for all Defendants save Council for Tobacco Research (”CTR”) and Liggett. Mr. Rupp’s services for Defendants intensified in the 1980s as the issue of secondhand smoke began to become more and more important both in the public health community and for Defendants. Mr. Rupp coordinated and unified the efforts of the cigarette manufacturers around the world through the establishment of the ETS Consultancy Programme. He took a lead role in the recruitment and handling of scientists and other consultants who were willing to speak or work on behalf of the tobacco companies. He was counsel for the Center for Indoor Air Research (”CIAR”) from 1988 to 1998, assisted in the review/selection of projects for industry funding, and attended meeting of the Board of Directors. Mr. Rupp has also worked extensively on behalf of the industry with respect to lobbying and providing witnesses to testify at regulatory and other hearings. He continues to perform services for Covington & Burling, the Tobacco Institute, British American Tobacco, and the Imperial Tobacco Company.

Weitzman, Michael M.D.

US Expert Witness

Dr. Weitzman received his B.A. from Brooklyn College in 1968 and his medical degree from the State University of New York, University Medical Center in 1972. He is licensed to practice medicine in the States of New York and Massachusetts and has been board certified in Pediatrics since 1978.

Dr. Weitzman has spent his entire career on promoting and improving the health of children. Dr. Weitzman is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Rochester School of Medicine. He also currently serves as the Executive Director of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Center for Child Health Research, a position he has held since 1999. The Center is an independently operated branch of the American Academy of Pediatrics, a professional organization of pediatricians dedicated to funding and conducting groundbreaking research into children’s health issues. Under Dr. Weitzman’s leadership and supervision, the Center has conducted research on issues such as tobacco and kids (namely, the reduction of Environmental Tobacco Smoke exposure and the identification of smoking parents in an effort to reduce smoking rates), minority children health issues, children’s mental disabilities and disorders, and the improvement of childcare environments in an effort to prevent disease and promote health.

During his career, Dr. Weitzman has published dozens of articles and book chapters, all of which relate to critical pediatric health issues. His articles have appeared in journals such as the Journal of the American Medical Association, Lancet, Pediatrics, the Journal of Adolescent Health Care, and the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

Before this case, Dr. Weitzman had served as an expert witness in several lead paint exposure lawsuits. In each case, he testified on behalf of the plaintiff child on the issue of the exposure of children to excessive levels of lead in paints in their homes.

Ward, Mary

US Fact Witness

Ms. Ward is the Senior Counsel for Research & Development at RJR, a position she has held since 1995. Before being promoted, Ms. Ward was Associate General Counsel at R.J.Reynolds, where she has worked since 1985.

Ms. Ward has, among other projects at R.J. Reynolds, participated in the ETS expert witness project, designed to review epidemiological principals and positions, and was involved with the Tobacco Institute ETS Advisory Group, which was not organized by the Tobacco Institute group, rather was a group with representatives from four tobacco companies (R.J. Reynolds, Philip Morris, Lorillard, and Brown & Williamson), who recommended scientific projects and research regarding environmental tobacco smoke for funding. The group also included scientists and members of the Tobacco Institute. Ms. Ward was intimately involved in recommending funding for science at R.J. Reynolds, as well as formulating public statements about smoking and health.

Prior to her employment at R. J. Reynolds, Ms. Ward worked at House Blanco Randolph & Osborn, a Winston-Salem law firm.

Wulchin, Gregory A.

US Fact Witness

Mr. Wulchin worked for ACVA Atlantic, later known as Healthy Buildings International (collectively referred to at “HBI”) as a field technician from 1988 through 1993. Mr. Wulchin, as a field technician, was responsible for traveling to job sites, collecting the data, and returning the information to HBI. He did not write final reports, as those were written by Gray Robertson or Peter Binnie, Simon Turner, and John Maderis. Mr. Wulchin believed that HBI’s equipment, which included the piezo-balance machine, the particulate counter, and the carbon monoxide machine, was not used to their full potential and that the ACVA filters involved by HBI in buildings were useless. He participated in the Swiss study and understood that it was their job to show that secondhand smoke was not a problem in the buildings at issue. This study, as well as others, were paid for by TI or Philip Morris. Technicians were advised to always focus and recommend ventilation as being the key to indoor air quality. Mr. Wulchin will testify that HBI routinely altered his reports regarding ETS from unacceptable levels to acceptable levels. For example, with regard to a study of the Imperial Bank Building in San Diego, California, Wulchin examined eight of his field reports and found that false, nonsensical entries had been made by Gray Robertson. The readings of two of his field reports demonstrated unacceptably high levels of particulates from cigarette smoking in rooms where there was good ventilation. Specifically, Robertson changed the particulate measurement that Wulchin made regarding a specific sample from 150 to 75. While reviewing other reports for the Subcommittee on Health and the Environment, he found that HBI altered the results of other field measurements made by him.

* Will testify that HBI stressed that field staff should focus on ventilation and that ETS could be eliminated by good ventilation practices, even though such an assertion was at odds with inspections he performed by HBI.

Eisenberg, Max

US Fact Witness

Dr. Eisenberg was Executive Director of the Center for Indoor Air Research (”CIAR”) from its inception in 1988 until its apparent dissolution in 2000. As Executive Director, Dr. Eisenberg’s responsibilities included establishing the organization and the procedures under which it operated and overseeing its daily activities. Upon CIAR’s dissolution, Dr. Eisenberg formed and became the sole principal of the Research Management Group, LLC, a firm that manages Philip Morris’s External Research Program.

Dr. Eisenberg played a major role in defendants’ initiatives and misrepresentations concerning secondhand smoke, including, for example, research projects funded by defendants and defendants’ development of scientific witnesses used to analyze, critique and review passive smoking research and proposed smoking legislation. In addition, Dr. Eisenberg closely worked with industry lawyers regarding environmental tobacco smoke research, including approval of research, revision of results of such research, and whether to publish the results of such research.