United States v. Philip Morris USA Inc.: Amended Final Opinion · 2006
Defendants Publicly Denied that Nicotine Is Addictive and Continue to Do So
Defendants Publicly Denied that Nicotine Is Addictive and Continue to Do So
¶1146. Despite the extensive and detailed knowledge possessed by Defendants for decades about the addictive qualities of nicotine and smoking, Defendants have publicly made false and misleading denials of the addictiveness of smoking, as well as nicotine's role in causing that addiction, and have suppressed the research results and data they produced and possessed contradicting such denials.
476¶1147. As acknowledged by industry counsel Covington & Burling, in a once-confidential May 1988 summary, "Tobacco industry statements deal only sparsely with the issue of addiction. To the extent such statements exist they generally deny outright any addictive effect." BWX0007189-7297 at 7200 (US 36237).
¶1148. Defendants' statements denying addiction, as described in the May 1988 Covington & Burling memorandum, as well as the many other similar denials of smoking and nicotine addiction set forth, infra., were used to convey four important themes to the public:
- Smoking cigarettes is not addictive because some smokers can, and have, quit smoking on their own;
- Smoking cigarettes is not addictive because it does not produce physical "dependence";
- Smoking cigarettes is not addictive because it does not produce "intoxication"; and
- Smoking cigarettes is not addictive because cigarettes are not like other addictive drugs, i.e., they are not illegal and are not necessarily linked to an anti-social lifestyle; smoking cigarettes is merely a pleasurable "habit" like playing tennis, jogging, eating chocolate, listening to rock music, etc.
¶These statements are detailed below.
477Philip Morris
¶1149. Philip Morris Chairman James C. Bowling denied that cigarette smoking was an addiction in a July 18, 1973 "60 Minutes" interview. Instead, Bowling compared the choice to stop smoking to the choice to eat eggs or not. 503665743-5757 at 5752 (US 50417).
¶1150. In a 1992 pamphlet, Philip Morris stated that "those who term smoking an addiction do so for ideological, not scientific, reasons." 2023916742-6776 at 6745 (US 20396).
¶1151. In 1994, counsel for Philip Morris prepared a document titled "Smoking and Health Questions and Answers," in which an attachment titled "Smoking and Addiction" stated that smoking could only be classified as "addictive" if addiction did not require physical dependence (as evidenced by withdrawal) and cited the ineffectiveness of nicotine gum and patches as evidence that nicotine was not addictive. 682639225-9281 at 9277 (US 21028).
¶1152. In a 1994 published statement in the New York Times, Philip Morris asserted that it "does not believe cigarette smoking is addictive." 2023011263-1263 (US 20371).
¶1153. On April 14, 1994, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Philip Morris, William I. Campbell, testified under penalty of perjury in a nationally televised hearing before the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Health and the Environment. During this hearing, Campbell affirmatively denied that nicotine is addictive:
Rep. Ron Wyden: Let me ask you. . . . Do you believe that nicotine is not addictive?
¶Mr. Campbell: I believe nicotine is not addictive, yes.
478¶Regulation of Tobacco Products (Part I) Hearings before the Subcommittee on Health and the Environment of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, 103rd Congress April 14, 1994, 2023195738-5892 (US 21990).
¶1154. Campbell's prepared written statement made the same claim that "cigarette smoking is not addictive" and that "Philip Morris has not hidden research which says that it is." In response to accusations of addiction by Dr. David Kessler, head of the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") and others, Campbell wrote: "The presence of nicotine, . . . does not make cigarettes a drug or smoking an addiction" and "Smokers are not drug addicts." Campbell's statements made clear that he was speaking on behalf of both the industry and Philip Morris USA: "I would like to take this opportunity to set the record straight on charges that have recently been leveled against the industry and Philip Morris." ATC2746877-6887 (US 59009), Keane TT, 1/18/05, 10442:9-10442:24.
¶1155. On May 9, 1994, a telefax letter from Cathy Ellis, Director of Research at Philip Morris, was sent to Representative Henry Waxman, Chairman, Subcommittee on Health and the Environment, Committee on Energy and Commerce, denying nicotine's addictiveness under the definition of addiction which, although used in the 1964 Surgeon General's Report, was later rejected in the 1988 Surgeon General's Report. She claimed that nicotine could be described as addictive only if it caused smokers to experience "intoxication, pharmacological tolerance, and physical dependence in a manner that would impair the smokers' ability to exercise a free choice to continue or to quit smoking." 2029200293-0294 at 0294 (US 21537).
¶1156. After the 1994 hearing before the Congressional subcommittee, Philip Morris placed an advertisement in national magazines, as an open letter to "smokers and nonsmokers" titled
479¶"FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW." One of the "facts" was that "Philip Morris does not believe cigarette smoking is addictive. People can and do quit all the time." 2023011263-1263 (US 20371).
¶1157. In a lengthy August 2, 1994 submission to NIDA's Drug Abuse Advisory Committee, Philip Morris (along with the American Tobacco Company) once again asserted that "neither cigarette smoking nor the nicotine delivered in cigarettes is addictive" and denied that smoking was a "form of 'drug-seeking' behavior." 92486960-7040 (US 88560).
¶1158. Altria and Philip Morris Companies' employees Geoffrey Bible, Steve Parrish, Murray Bring, Marc Firestone, Victor Han, David Nicoli, and Charles Wall were all involved in crafting PM's 1994 submission to the FDA Drug Abuse Advisory Committee. 2047096727-6727 (US 26974).
¶1159. In Philip Morris's January 2, 1996 written submission in opposition to the FDA's assertion of jurisdiction over tobacco products, the company denied that it knew nicotine was addictive, denied that its documents showed that nicotine was addictive, and denied that smokers smoke to obtain nicotine. HHA0660489-0538 (US 87145).
¶1160. Philip Morris Companies' Corporate Affairs Senior Vice President Steven Parrish issued the January 2, 1996 "Industry Statement" accompanying the cigarette manufacturer Defendants' comments on the FDA rule; this statement also disputed the addictiveness of cigarettes. 2041220158-0163 (US 26936).
¶1161. In the May 12, 1997 issue of Time magazine, then President and CEO of Philip Morris, James Morgan, was quoted from his deposition testimony as stating, "If [cigarettes] are behaviorally addictive or habit forming, they are much more like . . . Gummi Bears, and I eat Gummi Bears, and I don't like it when I don't eat my Gummi Bears, but I'm certainly not addicted to them."
480¶Myron Levin, Jury Views CEO's "Gummy Bear" Tobacco Deposition: Philip Morris Executive Testifies Cigarettes Aren't Any More Addictive Than Coffee or Candy," Los Angeles Times, July 18, 1997, at D3; Morgan PD, Broin v. Phillip Morris, et al., 4/17/97, 77:20-78:23.
¶1162. In the October 2, 1997 so-called "Hatch Statement" (actually titled "Philip Morris' Statement of Position), issued on PMC letterhead, Philip Morris once again denied addiction and claimed that cigarettes were addictive only under definitional changes that can be used to "describe many different kinds of behavior." However, Philip Morris did agree to cease all public debate on the issue. 2063123083-3084 (US 39734).
¶1163. In January 1998, Geoffrey Bible, CEO of Philip Morris Companies, submitted testimony that stated in part:
We recognize that nicotine, as found in cigarette smoke, has mild pharmacological effects, and that, under some definitions, cigarette smoking is "addictive." The word "addiction" has been and is currently used differently by different people in different contexts, and the definition of the term has undergone significant changes over the past several decades. In 1964, for example, the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the United States concluded that smoking, although "habit forming," did not fit within its definition of "addiction." However, in 1988, the Surgeon General redefined the term, and concluded that smoking is "addictive." We have not embraced those definitions of "addiction" which do not include such historically accepted and objective criterion, such as intoxication and physical withdrawal, as important markers.
¶Bible admitted that Philip Morris Companies' position was "at odds . . . with the public health community," and said that for the sake of a consistent public health message, Philip Morris Companies would no longer debate the addictiveness of nicotine except insofar as it was "necessary to defend ourselves and our opinions in the courts." 83623323-3347 at 3343-3344 (US 21820).
481¶1164. As late as 2002, Philip Morris was admitting only that smoking, not nicotine, met the "physiological definition of addictiveness." Philip Morris's admission was premised on a broad definition of "addiction" to include anything that is habit-forming. Merlo PD, United States v. Philip Morris, et al., 6/12/02, 500:24-503:22.
¶1165. As of 2005, Philip Morris USA's website states that it now "agrees with the overwhelming medical scientific consensus that cigarette smoking is addictive."
R.J. Reynolds
¶1166. At hearings before a Congressional Subcommittee from March 5 through March 12, 1982, RJR Chairman and CEO Edward Horrigan stated under oath that "with regard to addiction, there is absolutely no proof that cigarettes are addictive." At the time of this statement, Horrigan was also chairman of the Tobacco Institute executive committee. 521056398-6557 at 6411 (US 85334); 201830983-0993 (US 36327).
¶1167. In a May 8, 1990 revised draft response to a letter from Elaine Moss, a cigarette smoker, Jo Spach, a Manager of Public Information for the RJR Public Relations Department, stated that: "The fact is that there is nothing about smoking, or about the nicotine in cigarettes, that would prevent smokers from quitting. Unlike heroin, cocaine or even alcohol, cigarettes do not impair a smoker's ability to think clearly -- about smoking or about quitting. If a smoker wants to quit, it may take will power, but that is all it takes." 507707454-7455 at 7455 (US 22069).
¶1168. In January 1992, two RJR employees, John Robinson and Walter Pritchard, published an article titled "The Role of Nicotine in Tobacco Use." The article compared nicotine to caffeine and absolutely denied that nicotine was addictive. The Robinson and Pritchard paper was cited in industry submissions to Congress in 1994 and to the FDA in 1996. 190211472-1482 (US 88561); 190211719-1724 (US 88562); 2505597781-7998G at 7804 (US 23028*).
482¶1169. The Cologne office of RJR International faxed a December 14, 1992 draft statement titled "Arguments Against The E. C. Cigarette Warning Label 'Smoking Causes Addiction'," which stated that "on an 'addiction scale,' nicotine is less addictive than food" and that "nicotine improves performance, renders the user more alert and increases the efficiency of performance and reduces anxiety." 400729374-9380 at 9376 (US 29354).
¶1170. Counsel for RJR prepared an anticipated "Q & A" for company Chairman and CEO James Johnston dated April 6, 1994, which said that nicotine was "not addictive," and that the term "addiction" was misused in the context of cigarette smoking. 512688562-8571 at 8564 (US 20849).
¶1171. On April 14, 1994, Johnston testified under penalty of perjury in a nationally- televised hearing before the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Health and the Environment. During this hearing, Johnston affirmatively denied that nicotine is addictive:
Rep. Ron Wyden: Let me ask you. . . . Do you believe that nicotine is not addictive?
Mr. Johnston: Congressman, cigarettes and nicotine clearly do not meet the classic definitions of addiction. There is no intoxication.
¶Regulation of Tobacco Products (Part I) Hearings before the Subcommittee on Health and the Environment of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, 103rd Congress April 14, 1994, 2023195738-5892 at 5780-5781 (US 36975).
¶1172. An article in the August 2, 1994 New York Times reported that RJR scientist John Robinson "contests the consensus view of nicotine as addictive." Robinson stated that he could not differentiate "crack smoking from coffee drinking, glue sniffing from jogging, heroin from carrots, and cocaine from colas." 970260581-0581 (US 85337).
483¶1173. A November 1994 RJR document titled "Media Tips" denied that smoking was addictive by using factors that are not relevant to any accepted scientific definition. The "Media Tips" binder was intended to be used by RJR employees to answer press inquiries. With respect to addiction, the document stated that:
Regardless of how you define addiction, cigarettes are clearly not in the same class as addictive, mind-altering drugs like heroin and cocaine. The physiologic, pharmacologic and behavioral effects of nicotine, like caffeine, are fundamentally different from drugs like alcohol, heroin and cocaine. . . .
Smokers do not become intoxicated. Their smoking does not cause them to hallucinate, have blackouts, commit immoral or criminal acts, abuse their families, or cause trauma and psychological damage to their loved ones.
¶525412344-2488 at 2374 (US 88563).
¶1174. The company prepared and distributed a similar document, called "Issues Guide," for use by company representatives worldwide in responding to media, public, and government inquiries. In this document, employees were instructed to deny addiction. 510345185-5358 at 5232- 5235 (US 88046).
¶1175. In a March 1995 article in the periodical World Tobacco, RJR scientist John Roinson stated that nicotine was not addictive because it did not cause any physical intoxication. 519274569- 4573 at 4572 (US 85339).
¶1176. In a proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on April 12, 1995, the Board of Directors of RJR Nabisco Holdings Corporation publicly stated: A group of shareholders filed a proposal to the Board that the company issue a public report regarding "whether nicotine content in and absorption from its tobacco products are deliberately controlled by the [c]ompany and if the reasons for any such control include the delivery of a reliable dose of nicotine to and/or the promotion of nicotine absorption by the customer." In recommending a vote against the proposal, the Board argued, "In RJRT's opinion, cigarette smoking does not meet the classic definitions of 'addiction,' and the forty-five million Americans who smoke are not 'addicts.' To call nicotine 'addictive' is to ignore significant differences between cigarettes and truly addictive drugs." The Board repeated these opinions in a proxy statement filed with the SEC in 1996, adding, "there is no accurate evidence establishing that any specific yield of nicotine causes 'addiction.'" Schedule 14A of RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp., -- Proxy Statement, Dated 4/12/95, Disclosure, 525735695-5730 at 5710 (US 88004); Schedule 14A of RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp., -- Proxy Statement, Dated 4/17/96, Disclosure; 2048767992-8041 at 8027 (87747*).
484¶1177. An undated RJR magazine advertisement used industry-funded, CTR Special Account-4 recipient, psychologist Dr. Theodore Blau, to deny that smoking is addictive. In the advertisement, RJR not only denied any addictive aspects of smoking, but also blamed smokers for not being able to quit: "It's not that they can't stop; it's because they don't want to." 501926233-6233 (US 87148); 517214542-4557 (US 87149).
¶1178. Along with Philip Morris, B&W, Lorillard, and the Tobacco Institute, RJR filed a joint submission on January 2, 1996, opposing FDA's assertion of jurisdiction over cigarettes. In its public statement on the FDA submission, RJR stated that, "Under scientifically verifiable criteria, nicotine and cigarette smoking are not addictive." 522626648-6651 (US 87150).
¶1179. In a September 9, 1997 draft document, RJR stated that
485if you broadly define "addiction" as engaging in an activity that is hard to quit once you start, then certainly, smoking can be considered addictive. The simple fact is many people find that once they have started smoking cigarettes, it can be difficult to quit. And some people find it extremely difficult.
¶The document added that
despite this difficulty, the number of Americans who have quit smoking is as large as the number who currently smoke. The 1990 Surgeon General's Report stated that nearly 45 million Americans had quit smoking, most of them on their own without any outside help. Based on this fact, we believe that any smoker with a sincere desire to quit smoking can -- and should -- quit.
¶RJR's position on addiction failed to mention nicotine at all. 522879046-9047 at 9046 (US 85340).
¶1180. A May 4, 1999 draft RJR document denied the addictiveness of smoking, stating that "the word addiction means different things to different people and to some people it is a very emotive word. It's true that some smokers may find it very difficult to stop smoking and there are some smokers who believe that they are addicted to cigarettes. But the fact is that cigarettes do not have the addictive qualities of hard drugs such as heroin." 321309118-9133 at 9118 (US 85341).
¶1181. RJR CEO Andrew Schindler testified in prior litigation and in this case in 1997 and 2000, respectively, that smoking is not an addiction like heroin or cocaine. Schindler WD, 31:22- 32:18. RJR made the same statement in responding to discovery requests in this litigation. Schindler WD, 34:24-35:7.
¶1182. In a May 2002 RJR document titled "Guiding Principles," the company stated its position regarding addiction in a section called "Quitting and Addiction." In this section, the company again demonstrated the cigarette industry's refusal to make an unqualified admission that cigarette smoking is addictive: "Many people believe that smoking is addictive, and as that term is commonly used today, it is. Many smokers find it difficult to quit and some find it extremely difficult." RJR later added that "[h]owever, we disagree with characterizing smoking as being addictive in the same sense as heroin, cocaine or similar substances." In addition, there was no mention of RJR's knowledge of the role of nicotine in maintaining addiction to smoking. 524946045-6088 at 6049 (US 52966).
486BATCo
¶1183. In comments published in the Wall Street Journal on October 31, 1996, the CEO of BAT Industries and Director of BATCo, Martin Broughton, denied any concealment of research linking smoking and addiction, saying that, "We have no internal research which proves that . . . smoking is addictive." State of Minnesota v. Philip Morris, Inc., et al., C1-94-8565, Exhibit No. 2909, 700428854-8856 at 8854 (US 85342). This statement, made to analysts, investors, and journalists, was confirmed in a BATCo "Company Notice" to employees dated October 31, 1996.
¶1184. The statement by Broughton had been earlier released by BATCo as a Press Announcement. 800113810-3812 at 3810 (US 85343).
¶1185. BATCo, along with several other major international tobacco concerns (including Defendants Philip Morris and RJR), was a member of INFOTAB (International Tobacco Information Center), a Europe-based pro-industry association similar to the Tobacco Institute. In April 1990, INFOTAB published a pamphlet called "Children and Smoking: The Balanced View," which contained the following on the subject of addiction:
Cigarette smoking is not addictive and cannot be equated to hard drug use. Many millions of smokers have been able to quit smoking.
487The smoker decides if, when and how much he wishes to smoke and is not motivated as is the hard drug user to get a "fix" by whatever
means possible, including criminal acts. Most smokers are able to quit without assistance.
¶2070052572-2578 at 2577 (US 87151).
¶1186. In a December 3, 1990 document, BATCo prepared "Q&As" to respond to public inquiries. The answer to expected questions denied evidence of the addictiveness of cigarettes:
Whilst the US Surgeon General has claimed that nicotine is addictive, he has also claimed that video games are addictive. This is a prime example of the misuse of the term "addiction". . . . [C]igarette smokers bear no resemblance to addicts . . . . Smokers smoke because they enjoy smoking.
¶536502262-2266 at 2262 (US 20930).
¶1187. In a similar 1992 document titled "Smoking Issues; Claims and Responses," BATCo denied that smoking was addictive and asserted that, "Smokers do not experience most of the symptoms of addiction." 601037850-7862 at 7853 (US 85345*).
¶1188. In a June 29, 1994 letter to the editor of The Daily Telegraph, responding to an earlier article published by the paper concerning the addictiveness of smoking, BATCo scientist Dr. Sharon Boyse (Blackie), stated the company's public position on addiction:
488As to the claim that smoking is addictive: this has been widely challenged by scientists working in the field. Those working with drug addicts in the USA, for example, complained that the US Surgeon General's claim that smoking was as addictive as heroin and cocaine back in 1988 trivialized the whole problem of drug addiction. It is easy to see why. Tobacco is not intoxicating, in direct contrast to any other substance that has been claimed to be addictive, from heroin and cocaine through to alcohol. Smokers are perfectly capable of continuing a normal social and family life and holding down a job -- there is little evidence of this with users of drugs of dependence. Nicotine does not induce physical dependence or tolerance (a fact recognised by the US Surgeon General when he attempted to redefine addiction to incorporate nicotine and decided to relegate these two previously crucial criteria to the bottom of the list!) and as even the
Surgeon General acknowledged, millions of smokers all around the world have given up without any professional help.
¶500810940-0941 at 0940 (US 23036).
¶1189. In this same document, Dr. Boyse wrote that
It has been suggested that smoking must be addictive because it contains nicotine. So do many common vegetables, including tomatoes, aubergines and potato skins. Are vegetable eaters also drug users -- physically dependent on their ratatouille, perhaps, in the same way that heroin addicts are dependent on their heroin?
¶Id. at 0941.
¶1190. In 1994, BATCo spokesperson Michael Prideful stated that BAT's current position on nicotine was that cigarette smoking was habit forming, but not addictive. British Tobacco Companies Hushed up Health Dangers, The Independent, June 19, 1994 502576028-6030 (US 86882).
¶1191. BATCo promulgated a company notice on January 4, 1997, in response to Liggett's settlement obligation with a group of state attorneys general. The notice contained the following:
As to addiction, of course you can construct a broad subjective definition of addiction that includes cigarette smoking. Equally, under a meaningful objective definition, cigarette smoking is not an addiction. Regardless of the definition, smokers who want to quit do.
¶321007259-7260 (US 85344).
¶1192. In a March 21, 1997 statement posted for its staff on the British American Tobacco electronic bulletin board, BATCo again criticized Liggett's concession that nicotine was addictive, stating that Liggett's CEO was "simply brokering this deal in a desperate attempt to force one of the cigarette manufacturers to take over his financially troubled and failing tobacco interests." The statement added that "Liggett's action is not based on any new scientific discovery and does not affect British American Tobacco's attitude to its defense of litigation in either the US or other parts of the world." 321007261-7262 (US 46651).
489American Tobacco Company
¶1193. On April 14, 1994, the Chief Executive Officer of American, Donald S. Johnston, testified under penalty of perjury in a nationally televised hearing before the House Subcommittee on Health and the Environment. During this hearing, Johnston denied that nicotine is addictive:
Rep. Ron Wyden: Let me ask you . . . . Do you believe that nicotine is not addictive?
Mr. Johnston: And I too, believe that nicotine is not addictive.
¶Regulation of Tobacco Products (Part I) Hearings before the Subcommittee on Health and the Environment of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, 103rd Congress April 14, 1994, 2023195738-5892 at 5780-5781 (US 21990).
Brown & Williamson
¶1194. While B&W knew internally that smokers were addicts who smoked for nicotine, the company understood that the industry's "free choice" argument in litigation would be undermined by any suggestion that smoking and nicotine were addictive. In the words of long-time general counsel Ernest Pepples, in a February 14, 1973 "Confidential" memorandum to public relations director John Ballock, one of the "salient problems now facing the cigarette industry" was:
490ADDICTION - Some emphasis is now being placed on the habit forming capacities of cigarette smoke. To some extent the argument revolving around "free choice" is being negated on the grounds of addiction. The threat is that this argument will increase significantly and lead to further restrictions on product specifications and greater danger in litigation.
¶696001196-1199 at 1198 (US 85346).
¶1195. On April 14, 1994, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of B&W, Thomas Sandefur, also testified under penalty of perjury in a nationally televised hearing before the House Subcommittee on Health and the Environment. At this hearing, Sandefur, consistent with his fellow CEOs, denied that nicotine is addictive:
Rep. Ron Wyden: Let me ask you . . . . Do you believe that nicotine is not addictive?
¶Mr. Sandefur: I believe nicotine is not addictive. Regulation of Tobacco Products (Part I) Hearings before the Subcommittee on Health and the Environment of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, 103rd Congress April 14, 1994, 2023195738-5892 at 5780-5781 (US 21990).
¶1196. In a 1994 press release titled "The Media Frenzy. Truth vs. Distortions," B&W attacked the press coverage of its CEO's testimony before Congress, stating that he was merely providing his personal opinion that nicotine is not addictive. 800335973-5975 (US 31913).
¶1197. In its January 2, 1996 supplemental submission to the FDA in opposition to the FDA's assertion of jurisdiction over tobacco products, B&W (speaking for itself and BATCo) denied addiction and the prominence of nicotine in the smoking habit. The supplemental comments, signed by B&W's Director of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs Scott Appleton, stated, "[U]nder scientifically verifiable criteria, neither cigarette smoking nor the nicotine in smoke is addictive." 490107317-7366 at 7364 (US 87152).
¶1198. In 1999, B&W posted on its website a document called "Hot Topics: Smoking and Health Issues." While this document did admit that "by some definitions, including that of the
491¶Surgeon General in 1988, cigarette smoking would be classified as addictive," it went on to state that:
Brown & Williamson believes that the relevant issue should not be how or whether one chooses to define cigarette smoking as addictive based on an analysis of all definitions available. Rather, the issue should be whether consumers are aware that smoking may be difficult to quit (which they are) and whether there is anything in cigarette smoke that impairs smokers from reaching and implementing a decision to quit (which we believe there is not.)
¶Response of Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation to the United States' First Set of Requests for Admission to All Defendants, RFA# 390, April 19, 2002, USX6390001-0400 at 0094 (US 89555).
Lorillard
¶1199. On April 14, 1994, the Chairman and CEO of Lorillard, Andrew H. Tisch, also testified under penalty of perjury in a nationally televised hearing before the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Health and the Environment. During this hearing, Tisch also denied that nicotine is addictive:
Rep. Ron Wyden: Let me ask you . . . . Do you believe that nicotine is not addictive?
¶Mr. Tisch: I believe that nicotine is not addictive. Regulation of Tobacco Products (Part I) Hearings before the Subcommittee on Health and the Environment of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, 103rd Congress April 14, 1994, 2023195738-5892 at 5780-5781 (US 21990).
492¶1201. In an October 1, 1997 letter to Senators Edward Kennedy and Orrin Hatch, Lorillard Chairman and CEO Alexander Spears denied the need for a warning on cigarettes stating that cigarettes are addictive. Spears wrote, "Although Lorillard does not believe that cigarettes are 'addictive' in a stricter pharmacological sense, as the use of cigarettes does not result in euphoric intoxicating effects, we have no desire to engage in a public debate over the definition of the word 'addiction.'" 83699666-9668 (US 85348).
¶1202. According to Lorillard CEO Martin Orlowsky, Lorillard has recently "accepted" that cigarette smoking is addictive, but that "acceptance" is dependent on a loose definition that includes any "pleasurable activity that can be difficult to stop." Orlowsky WD, 116:14-23.
¶1203. With respect to nicotine, CEO Orlowsky stated that Lorillard does not "take a public position one way or the other" on whether nicotine is an addictive drug and that the company still does not know whether nicotine is addictive or not. Orlowsky WD, 121:15-22.
¶1204. Dr. Christopher Coggins, Lorillard's Senior Vice President of Science and Technology agreed that cigarette smoking falls only within the loose definition of addiction relied on by Orlowsky and added that cigarette smoking is only as addictive as "sugar and salt and Internet access." Coggins PD, United States v. Philip Morris, 8/16/01, 116:22-117:14.
493¶1205. Coggins claimed the same lack of knowledge of whether nicotine was addictive, adding that nicotine may or may not be an addictive agent in tobacco. In fact, according to Dr. Coggins, the addictiveness of smoking may be the result of a "simple physical repetitive pleasurable activity." Coggins PD, United States v. Philip Morris, et al., 8/16/01, 117:15-120:11.
Liggett
¶1206. On April 14, 1994, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Liggett Group, Inc., Edward A. Horrigan (formerly of RJR), also testified under penalty of perjury in a nationally televised hearing before the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Health and the Environment. During this hearing, Horrigan denied that nicotine is addictive:
Rep. Ron Wyden: Let me ask you . . . . Do you believe that nicotine is not addictive?
¶Mr. Horrigan: I believe nicotine is not addictive. Regulation of Tobacco Products (Part I) Hearings before the Subcommittee on Health and the Environment of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, 103rd Congress April 14, 1994, 2023195738-5892 at 5780-5781 (US 21990).
Tobacco Institute
¶1207. The Tobacco Institute was by far the Defendants' most vocal spokesperson in the industry's campaign to deny addiction and conceal internal research and knowledge. Over the decades, the Tobacco Institute, on behalf of the cigarette company Defendants, publicly disseminated countless false, deceptive, or misleading statements denying the addictiveness of nicotine and cigarette smoking. The following instances exemplify the many statements made by TI employees in the organization's attempts to deceive and mislead the American public about smoking, the role nicotine played in smoking, why quitting was so difficult, and whether people who could not quit smoking merely lacked will-power.
494¶1208. When the Director of NIDA, Dr. William Pollin, testified before the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources in 1982 that the agency had concluded that nicotine met all the standard criteria used by NIDA, the Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA"), the FDA, and the WHO, to define a dependence-producing drug, Defendants did not come forward with their internal research, as detailed in the preceding Section, supporting NIDA's conclusion. Instead, Defendants, through the Tobacco Institute and outside counsel, sent representatives and paid researchers to testify that NIDA was wrong and that nicotine did not cause addiction or dependence. (US 58808); Henningfield WD, 132:10-134:22.
¶1209. One of the witnesses Defendants produced at the Congressional Committee hearing was Theodore Blau, who stated on behalf of the Tobacco Institute and its members that, "There is no scientific basis for a statement that cigarette smoking is addictive." 680584197-4204 at 4201 (US 85349); TIMN0170757-0765 (US 85351).
¶1210. On March 12, 1982, the Tobacco Institute's William D. Toohey issued a press release summarizing the tobacco company-funded testimony of Blau before a Congressional Subcommittee. According to the release, Blau criticized the characterization of smoking as addictive, claiming that he placed the "attachment" to smoking in the same category as "tennis, jogging, candy, rock music, Coca-cola, members of the opposite sex and hamburgers." The press release went on to claim that "removal of these activities, persons or objects can cause sleeplessness, irritation, depression and other uncomfortable symptoms, similar to those felt by some with abstinence from tobacco." TIMN0120729-0730 (US 65625).
495¶1211. The March 1982 Tobacco Institute press release failed to state that Blau was paid by the cigarette company Defendants to testify and that he was a member of, in Tobacco Institute President Sam Chilcote's words, the "Tobacco Institute Team." Instead, the press release indicated only that Blau was a "Florida psychologist," leaving the false impression that he had no ties to the tobacco industry. TIMN0120729-0730 (US 65625).
¶1212. In fact, as noted earlier, Blau was a CTR Special Account 4-recipient of thousands of cigarette company Defendant dollars through the law firm of Shook, Hardy & Bacon. Moreover, he was one of the many industry-funded scientists whose testimony was reviewed and approved by Shook, Hardy & Bacon prior to presentation before Congress. 1005125796-5796 (US 36096); 01335087-5087 (US 85352); 01335086-5086 (US 26842); TIMN197541-7581 (US 85353); 1005064612-4612 (US 85354); 01335102-5102 (US 26483); 1005061616-1625 (US 35959); 03746309-6316 (US 85355); 503655215-5215 (US 85356); 1005125795-5795 (US 85357).
¶1213. The April 1982 edition of TI's newsletter, The Tobacco Observer, also quoted Dr. Blau's addiction denial before Congress in an article titled "Smoking Said Not Addictive." TIMN0126427-6438 (US 85358).
¶1214. When the Department of Health and Human Services' Office on Smoking and Health produced a pamphlet stating that cigarette smoking was addictive, the Tobacco Institute went to the media with a statement denying addiction. The Tobacco Institute President informed industry general counsel in a memorandum dated March 7, 1983, that the Tobacco Institute "drilled" the media with the industry message that cited "substantial refutation of the addiction claim," including the 1982 testimony of Blau. Once again, the Tobacco Institute press release failed to reveal that Blau was an industry paid spokesman for the Tobacco Institute and its members. TIMN0350773-0775 at 0773 (US 85359).
496¶1215. The Tobacco Institute then sent Curtis Judge, Lorillard President and Chairman of the Tobacco Institute Executive Committee, to speak for the industry before the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources on March 12, 1983, in opposition to legislation that would require additional warnings on cigarette packages, including a warning that smoking was addictive. Accompanying Judge were several industry-paid scientists, including Blau, who once again denied and disputed addiction and the mounting scientific evidence behind the NIDA pamphlet and the basis for the warning. TIMN0049411-9548 (US 85360).
¶1216. On March 17, 1983, Blau submitted a written statement denying addiction to the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Health and the Environment considering the same issue. In the statement, he made no mention of his tobacco industry funding and ties. TIMN0384222-4231 (US 85361).
¶1217. On the same date, the Tobacco Institute distributed a press release to newspapers and other news outlets across the United States, quoting Blau, with no industry attribution, again denying the addictiveness of cigarette smoking. TIMN0138444-8446 (US 85362).
¶1218. A May 12, 1983 Tobacco Institute press release quoted Dr. Blau's apparently "independent" denial of addiction. He had again been paid by the industry to testify before a Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources: "Dr. Theodore H. Blau, a clinical psychologist in Tampa, Florida, and past president of the American Psychological Association, sharply disputed an assertion in pending legislation that cigarette smoking is 'addictive.'" The Tobacco Institute did not tell the general public that Blau had testified on behalf of the tobacco industry and the Tobacco Institute. TIMN0120772-0773 (US 85363).
497¶1219. The Tobacco Institute also denied that smoking and nicotine are addictive in its submissions and testimony leading up to the 1988 Surgeon General's Report. Henningfield WD, 134:23-136:1.
¶1220. In 1988, the Surgeon General released a report titled "The Health Consequences of Smoking: Nicotine Addiction." While the issuance of the 1988 Surgeon General's Report certainly represented a consensus in the scientific and public health community, there can be no doubt that the industry had reached an internal consensus on the addictiveness of smoking decades earlier. See Section V(B)(3), supra. The Tobacco Institute quickly responded to the Report with a series of advertisements, press releases, and public statements attacking and denying the Surgeon General's findings, even though these findings reflected the overwhelming medical and scientific consensus on the subject. For example, on May 16, 1988, the Tobacco Institute, on behalf of the cigarette company Defendants, issued a press release stating:
CLAIMS THAT CIGARETTES ARE ADDICTIVE CONTRADICT COMMON SENSE . . . Smoking is truly a personal choice which can be stopped if and when a person decides to do so. . . . The claim that cigarette smoking causes physical dependence is simply an unproven attempt to find some way to differentiate smoking from other behaviors. In fact, any feelings persons might have upon giving up smoking are those that would be expected when one is frustrated by giving up any desired activity. . . . The claims that smokers are "addicts" defy common sense and contradict the fact that people quit smoking every day.
¶TIMN0019963-9963 (US 21239); Dawson WD, 38:18-23.
498¶1221. A second Tobacco Institute press release dated May 16, 1988 carried the headline, "CLAIMS THAT CIGARETTES ARE ADDICTIVE IRRESPONSIBLE AND SCARE TACTICS." This press release also attacked the Surgeon General's Report and specifically denied any dependence on nicotine, stating:
After years of well-funded research, it has not been established that cigarette smoking produces a physical dependence to nicotine. In fact, it has been impossible to establish that the feelings persons have upon giving up smoking are anything but that which would be expected when one is frustrated by giving up any desired habit.
¶TIMN0019964-9965 at 9964 (US 85366).
¶1222. In a July 29, 1988 press release, the Tobacco Institute stated that the Surgeon General's declaration that smoking is an addiction was "[an escalation of anti smoking rhetoric . . . without medical or scientific foundation." TIMN0125189-5189 (US 77065).
¶1223. The 1988 press release also utilized Tobacco Institute spokesmen/scientists Blau and Stephen Raffle to deny addiction. For example, the Tobacco Institute quoted Raffle in the press release, stating, "Clinically, cigarette smoking does not result in addiction-like behavior." Blau was quoted in the press release as saying that the Surgeon General's report was "misleading and unfortunate." TIMN00125189-5189 (US 77065).
¶1224. Raffle also provided a statement to the House subcommittee denying addiction. The statement was made at the Tobacco Institute's request, but contained no mention of any Tobacco Institute connection or sponsorship. TIMN207378-7384 (JD-080049).
¶1225. The July 29, 1988 press release failed to indicate in any way that Raffle and Blau were industry selected, managed, and paid consultants to Defendants and their law firms. Nor did the press release mention that their statements to the House subcommittee had been reviewed by
499¶Covington & Burling lawyers and several Defendants prior to being delivered to Congress. Instead, the press releases implied that both scientists testified independently before the House Subcommittee. TIMN0125189-5189 (US 77065); 506419103-9103 (US 85372); 87701893-1903 (US 32065); 2025875995-5997 (US 85375).
¶1226. In a 1989 nationally broadcast interview on "Good Morning America," Tobacco Institute spokesperson Brennan Dawson stated: "I can't allow the claim that smoking is addictive to go unchallenged. . . . The majority of people who smoke make that decision, they can quit if they want to do it. It's a matter of willpower." TIME 389474-9479 at 9476 (US 21286).
¶1227. The Tobacco Institute published a brochure in March 1989 titled "The Anti-Smoking Campaign: Enough is Enough." In this document, the Tobacco Institute denied that smoking is addictive, emphasizing that: "The fact is that there is nothing about smoking, or about the nicotine in cigarettes, that would prevent smokers from quitting. . . . If a smoker wants to quit, it may take will power, but that's all it takes." TIMN0130559-0578 at 0574 (US 85376).
¶1228. In another nationally-broadcast interview, in 1990 on "Larry King Live," Ms. Dawson stated on behalf of the Tobacco Institute:
About 95 percent of those people have quit cold turkey. They've walked away from cigarettes and they've not gone through formal treatment centers or anything else. It's not like alcoholism or drug abuse. It's not an addiction. . . .
There's nothing about nicotine that prevents you from quitting. And that's the whole difference.
¶TIMN341405-1422 at 1420 (US 21363).
¶1229. On February 20, 1990, the Tobacco Institute issued a press release stating that Charles Whitley had appeared before the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources on behalf of the Tobacco Institute, had criticized proposed legislation, and had stated that requiring an addiction warning label on cigarette packages and advertisements "defies all logic, when, according to the Surgeon General, nearly half of all Americans who ever smoked have quit and most of the 41 million smokers who quit did so without formal treatment programs or smoking cessation devices." TIMN341503-1504 (US 85377).
500¶1230. During a February 27, 1990 appearance on the program, "Nightwatch," Ms. Dawson stated on behalf of the Tobacco Institute that
Well, the fact is that now in the United States there are as many ex-smokers as there are smokers. And 95 percent of the people who have quit smoking have done it cold turkey. That is, they've just put down their cigarettes and walked away. And that's not the picture of the addictive drugs that we see, at least certainly not with the illegal substances, much less alcohol, that we see in terms of problems in society.
¶CORTI1731-1738 (US 87735).
¶1231. The Tobacco Institute published another press release dated July 12, 1990, stating that Blau had once again testified before a House Subcommittee denying the addictiveness of cigarettes. The Tobacco Institute provided the following in its press release, once again omitting any mention of the tie between Blau and the cigarette manufacturer Defendants:
501The proposed "addiction" warning label is likewise unjustified. Dr. Theodore H. Blau, a practicing clinical psychologist from Tampa, Florida, said that, "In my view, labeling tobacco use 'addictive' is misleading and potentially harmful to the American public." Blau noted that -- unlike heroin addicts, cocaine addicts and alcoholics who are in the process of giving up these drugs -- the alleged "withdrawal symptoms" which some smokers report when giving up smoking are "generally the same kinds of frustrations that one would expect to see when someone discontinues any well-established and well liked habit. Such symptoms as missing the habit and mild
irritability are similar to the reactions experienced by those who give up coffee or sweets.
¶TIMN0026755-6757 at 6757 (US 85379).
¶1232. The Tobacco Institute paid Dr. Raffle to speak out again in 1994 following the sworn testimony of FDA Commissioner Dr. David Kessler that smoking was addictive. In a March 25, 1994 Tobacco Institute press release, the Tobacco Institute Media Relations department restated Raffle's industry-funded and industry-prepared comments that smoking was not "truly addicting" and that "in order to include smoking as an addiction, one must redefine that term, water down its meaning, and ignore critical differences involving every aspect of these behaviors." The press release did not disclose any connection between Raffle and the Tobacco Institute or the cigarette manufacturer Defendants. TIMN328214-8215 (US 77090).
¶1233. During the nationally broadcast news show "Crossfire" on March 10, 1994, Brennan Dawson, Vice President of Public Affairs at the Tobacco Institute, was asked by host Michael Kinsley, "Is nicotine addictive?" Dawson responded, "Absolutely not. Nicotine is first of all- I mean nicotine occurs naturally in cigarettes. Nicotine is also found in things as scary as potatoes." TI10720452-0464 at 0455 (US 87155*).
¶1234. During this same interview, Ms. Dawson admitted making the following statement regarding the addictiveness of nicotine:
502Well, first of all, let's understand that -- that sometimes we use the word "addiction" in very broad terms. We talk about being, you know, news junkies. We talk about being chocoholics. We -- you know, we -- we put all these broad terms[.] . . . But when we talk about addiction in a classical sense, we're talking about things like, you know, heroin and alcohol, for example, where you're either intoxicated and you can't make a decent decision, or you're in such
physical withdrawal that you're probably in the hospital. And there's nothing about nicotine specifically that classifies it as such.
¶Id. at 0459-0460; Dawson WD, 45:7-48:23.
¶1235. She added that "[t]here is no chemical addiction" to nicotine. TI10720452-0464 at 0460 (US 87155*), Dawson WD, 45:7-48:23.
¶1236. During the nationally broadcast news show "Face the Nation" on March 27, 1994, Ms. Dawson was asked by host Robert Schieffer, "[D]oes the industry take the position that cigarettes are not addictive?" She responded, "The industry does take that position." (US 89319).
¶1237. During an April 1, 1994 appearance on the "MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour," when asked, "[d]o you -- do you, in the industry, concede that nicotine is an addictive drug?" Ms. Dawson responded, "[n]o we don't." (US 89300), Dawson WD, 45:7-48:23.
¶1238. On April 13, 1994, Dawson again appeared on the CNN program "Larry King Live." When she was asked whether nicotine was addictive, she responded, "No, nicotine is not addictive." TIMN0010649-0650 at 0650 (US 62778).
¶1239. In this litigation, Ms. Dawson testified that the Tobacco Institute's public position was that smoking and nicotine were not addictive and that this position remained unchanged over the years. Dawson WD, 36:8-13; Dawson TT, 1/12/05, 9938:3-9940:19.
¶1240. Dawson, on behalf of the Tobacco Institute, also admitted that there was no scientific basis for the public statements denying the addictiveness of nicotine, Dawson WD, 49:5-50:4, and that the cigarette manufacturer Defendants never provided the Tobacco Institute with information that nicotine was a drug with a variety of physiological effects and was thought to be responsible for the addictive properties of cigarette smoking. Dawson WD, 53:9-12, 54:8-12, 55:10-14; Dawson TT, 1/12/05, 9958:1-11.
503¶1241. The Tobacco Institute joined Defendants Philip Morris, RJR, B&W, Lorillard, and Liggett in opposing the Food and Drug Administration's assertion of jurisdiction over cigarettes as drug (nicotine) delivery devices in 1996. In Volume III of the filing prepared and submitted on behalf of the Tobacco Institute and the cigarette manufacturer Defendants, the group denied that nicotine in tobacco was addictive, denied any significant pharmacological effects of nicotine, denied that smokers smoke primarily for nicotine, denied any "threshold" amount of nicotine necessary for addiction, and denied compensation by smokers of low tar products. 2505597781-7998G (see, e.g. 7793-7795) (US 23028*).
¶1242. The submission of the Tobacco Institute and the five manufacturers named above was publicized at a Tobacco Institute press conference on the morning of January 2, 1996. While the Tobacco Institute's Brennan Dawson led the press briefing, she was accompanied by Philip Morris' Steven Parrish, RJR's Charles Blixt, and Lorillard's Arthur Stevens. TI01750819-0820 (US 87156).
CTR
¶1243. Sheldon Sommers, Research Director of CTR and member of CTR's Scientific Advisory Board, told a Congressional subcommittee in hearings held in April 1969 that "smoking tobacco is not considered an addiction." 500925974-5998 at 5976 (US 85382); BWX0007189-7297 (US 36237).
¶1244. Robert Hockett, a subsequent CTR Research Director, stated during Congressional hearings held October 5 and 6, 1978, that while "there is an adjustment " to smoking over time, the issue of tobacco dependence was "a very tough question." 500925974-5998 at 5976 (US 85382).
504¶1245. Statements such as these were misleading and are contradicted by decades of scientific research conducted by or funded by Defendants, and by a myriad of internal statements by company representatives.
Defendants' Conduct Continues
¶1246. Even today, although certain Defendants have acknowledged, to varying degrees, the overwhelming evidence that smoking is addictive, no Defendant accepts the Surgeon General's definition of addiction, no Defendant admits that nicotine is the drug delivered by cigarettes that creates and sustains addiction, and no Defendant acknowledges that the reason quitting smoking is so difficult, and not simply a function of individual will power, is because of its addictive nature.
¶1247. In 1999, Philip Morris first posted on its website a statement that "[w]e agree with the overwhelming medical and scientific consensus that cigarette smoking is addictive" and that it can be difficult to quit smoking. However, there is no mention of the established fact that the nicotine in cigarettes is what causes the smoker's addiction. TLT0770066-0088 (US 72408); Szymanczyk WD, 63:3-7; Parrish TT, 1/25/05, 11038:23-11039:8.
¶1248. On its current website, BATCo states that "[w]e accept the common understanding today that smoking is addictive." Yet, when discussing quitting smoking, the company makes no mention of the role nicotine plays in maintaining the addiction, downplays the success of nicotine replacement therapy in helping smokers quit, and still states that the most important factor in successful quitting is "having the motivation and the self-belief that you can quit." http://www.bat.com/oneweb/sites/uk3mnfen.nsf/wwPageswebLive/BEDB4BB/FDD4F7CE8025 6BF4000ee157?open document, TLT0231984-1984 (US 86692); (US 89563).
505¶1249. On its current website, RJR states that, "Many people believe that smoking is addictive, and as that term is commonly used, it is." However, RJR later equivocates on this statement, stating its disagreement with the opinion in the health and scientific communities that smoking is as addictive as heroin or cocaine. RJR does not disclose the role of nicotine in the addiction. TLT0770095-0128 (US 72410); Beasley WD, 67:16-23.
¶1250. On its current website, B&W recites its new public position that it "agrees that, by current definitions of the term 'addiction,' including that of the Surgeon General in 1988, cigarette smoking is addictive." Two paragraphs down from this, however, B&W reverts to its former denials, omitting any reference to nicotine and stating the following :
Although smoking can be very difficult to quit, we do not believe that the term "addiction" should be used to imply that there is anything in cigarette smoke that prevents smokers from reaching and implementing a decision to quit. Smoking may indeed be difficult to quit, but people can quit and do so in large numbers. The scientific literature demonstrates that smokers who believe they can quit, and who believe that the benefits of quitting outweigh the enjoyment of continuing to smoke, can do so.
¶TLT1020158-0158 (US 87157); Ivey WD, 94:16-96:1.
¶1251. B&W's current Nicotine and Addiction section does not even discuss nicotine or its effects on the human body. In sum, the B&W current, post-MSA position continues to deny that any aspect of smoking "prevents" a smoker from quitting. Moreover, this position continues to confuse and distort the facts on addiction, namely that smoking is very difficult to quit primarily because of nicotine and that quitting is not simply a question of willpower and motivation. At the same time, the position refers to "the enjoyment of continuing to smoke," suggesting that smokers smoke simply for continued "enjoyment," as opposed to a physiological craving or need for nicotine. TLT1020158-0158 (US 87157); Ivey WD, 94:16-96:1.
506¶1252. Susan Ivey, former president and CEO of B&W and current CEO of RJR and Reynolds American, stated in 2004 that while B&W believed that nicotine is a "significant contributor to addiction," the company would not agree that nicotine is an addictive drug. Ivey TT, 11/16/04, 6194:21-6195:5.
¶1253. Lorillard's current position, as of 2005, is that smoking is addictive but only in the same way as "repetitive pleasurable activities that can be difficult to stop." Lorillard believes that smoking is not addictive in a "pharmacological sense." Orlowsky WD, 116:14-117:18. With respect to nicotine, President and CEO Martin Orlowsky stated, on behalf of Lorillard, that the company does not take a public position" and does not know if nicotine is an addictive drug or not. Id. at 121:15-22.
¶1254. The Lorillard website has recently added a statement that includes the sentence, "Cigarette smoking can also be addictive." However, this statement does not define the term "addictive," and omits any reference to nicotine. (JD-024979).
¶1255. Martin Orlowsky agreed that Lorillard's position was that smoking is addictive, but he "did not know what a 'drug addiction' is." Orlowsky WD, 119:21-121:6. Orlowsky would only say that "nicotine is an important part of smoking" and refused to accept the fact that nicotine was the ingredient in cigarettes that made cigarette smoking addictive. Orlowsky WD, 119:21-121:6, 121:15-122:6. Orlowsky was a particularly evasive and unresponsive witness in this litigation. His testimony was not credible.
507¶1256. While Philip Morris now appears to have accepted that smoking and nicotine are addictive, that new position was not adopted until 2000, after the filing of this lawsuit. After decades of consistent public denials by different corporate executives, Philip Morris USA President and CEO Michael Szymanczyk first admitted in June 2000 that nicotine was addictive. Philip Morris USA subsequently added a statement to its website in October 2000 agreeing that "cigarette smoking is addictive, as that term is most commonly used today." That statement has since been modified to read, "We agree with the overwhelming medical and scientific consensus that cigarette smoking is addictive." However, the Philip Morris USA website still omits any information on nicotine. Szymanczyk PD, United States v. Philip Morris, et al., 6/13/02, 249:15-254:8, 267:10-270:3.
¶1257. Philip Morris International changed its public position to agree with the public health community's conclusions that smoking is addictive at the same time (October 2000) that Philip Morris USA did so. 2078850517 (US 45218).
¶1258. Philip Morris adopted its current position that nicotine when found in cigarette smoke is addictive for the first time in January 2003, in a pleading filed in this case. USX639001-0400 (US 89555). The company's present definition of addiction is "a repetitive behavior that's associated with an adverse outcome." The "adverse outcome" is disease associated with smoking. Philip Morris believes that if the risk of disease were eliminated, cigarette smoking would no longer be an addiction. In addition, Philip Morris continues to dispute that nicotine is in and of itself an addictive drug. Carchman PD, United States v. Philip Morris, et al., 6/6/03, 14:6-15:12, 22:3-23:3, 23:19-20, 25:4-26:24, 29:1-13, 85:17-86:10.
¶1259. According to Denise Keane, general counsel for Defendant Philip Morris USA, Philip Morris never publicly explained its position that cigarette smoking is not addictive because the company believes it should properly be characterized as a drug dependence. Keane TT, 1/18/05, 10447:23-10448:7.
508¶1260. Ms. Keane also admitted that when Philip Morris purchased three Liggett brands in 1999, L&M, Lark, and Chesterfield, it removed the pre-existing package labels stating that smoking is addictive. Keane TT, 1/18/05, 10457:5-10460:16.
¶1261. While Philip Morris replaced the pre-existing package labels with onserts, these onserts did not contain the statement that Philip Morris agrees that smoking is addictive, even though Philip Morris had publicly stated this view in 2000 as already noted. Keane TT, 1/18/05, 10460:17- 10462:15.
¶1262. While Philip Morris told people that it agrees that cigarette smoking is addictive, it has not told the public that it agrees that it is the nicotine delivered in cigarette smoking that is addictive. Ms. Keane, Philip Morris' general counsel, admitted this was material information that the public should possess. Keane TT, 1/18/05, 10533:5-10534:4.
¶1263. In spite of the overwhelming medical and scientific evidence, only one cigarette manufacturer Defendant, Liggett, has placed a warning on its packages flatly and clearly stating that nicotine is addictive. Liggett advertising and packaging state, "Smoking is Addictive." LeBow TT, 2/7/05, 12375:21-12376:1.
¶1264. Moreover, no cigarette company Defendant other than Liggett and Philip Morris, has admitted that nicotine in cigarette smoke is addictive. Liggett is the only Defendant to do so publicly.
¶1265. Geoffrey Bible, former CEO of Philip Morris Companies, was the ultimate authority on the content of public statements on smoking and health made by Philip Morris Companies' subsidiaries, including Philip Morris USA. Bible PD, United States v. Philip Morris, et al., 8/22/02, 83:9-84:9, 85:22-86:25.
509