This is an image that the industry projects constantly. The “antis”. “Our critics”. “Our detractors”. As if some cabal out there, mysterious and powerful, were assaulting this nice, decent industry.

And now we’re to believe the only reason the industry made statements on smoking on health was when confronted by those horrible, terrible antis.

It’s a cozy fiction, featuring Big Tobacco as victim.

The reality: Big Tobacco initiated, funded, and ran a 50 year campaign of deception on smoking and health. Which was hardly in response to smokefree advocacy; it preceded that by decades. And which was hardly occasioned by questions; it was aggressive and spread by every avenue the industry could sink its money into.

Here’s one example from 1985:

http://tobaccodocuments.org/pollay_ads/TIIA07.06.html

Was the industry merely “communicating its views” in this ad?

Did the industry actually believe in 1985 that smoking didn’t cause heart disease?

Of course not. It was aiming to muddy the waters, confuse the public, fuel rationalization, increase initiation, decrease cessation. Keep doubt alive. Keep sales high.

Was the industry dragged kicking and screaming to place this ad, by the force of smoke smokefree advocate question?

Of course not. This ad was carefully planned by the industry as part of its massive PR campaign.

This industry was no more forced to lie about smoking and health than it was forced to lie about addiction. No one forced it to lie. It chose to lie.

The same way this industry chose to lie about secondhand smoke. And to lie about filters and “lite” product.

Let’s be clear: no one forces this industry to lie.

No one forces this industry to create front groups to push its lies.

No one forces this industry to fight smokefree policies.

No one forces this industry to engineer product for addiction.

No one forces this industry to buy influence and political power.

No one forces this industry to buy and spread junk science.

No one forces this industry to put its profits before public health.

No one forces this industry to undermine public health, at home and around the world.

This industry chooses to do that.

This industry has been forced to do little over the last 50 years.

And what little it has been forced to do, it then makes a big show of doing, taking credit as if it had volunteered. For example, claiming credit for Legacy’s ad campaign.

Yet this industry goes on and on about being the victim, poor little Big Tobacco, attacked unfairly.

Actually this goes all the way back to 1954, where we see the industry crying out in pain and outrage that some terrible people are saying awful things about our product! Can you believe, they’re going around saying it causes cancer! They’re causing a health scare!

What we don’t hear in 1954: oh my God, is it possible our product is killing our customers?

No, what we hear in 1954: this is a “serious problem of public relations”:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/smoke/webumentary/TEXT/The_Cig_Papers/CP.2

This set the tone for 50 years of industry response to the facts about what the product does to the customer: PR, denial, evasion, obfuscation, stonewalling, lies.

Smokefree advocates didn’t make the industry do this.

No one made the industry do this.

This industry CHOSE to do 50 years of PR, denial, evasion, obfscation, stonewalling, lies.

That’s why it’s on trial today.