The Fire Safe Cigarette: Assessing Industry Actions

1. The Fire Safe Cigarette: Assessing Industry Actions Presenter: Geoffrey Ferris Wayne, Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program Contributors: Mushtaq Gunja, Greg Connolly, MTCP Anne Landman, ALA-Colorado Andrew McGuire, Trauma Foundation

2. The Issue: Cigarette Caused Fires • Cigarette caused fires are responsible for 1000 deaths and billions of dollars in other damages in the U.S. each year. • Cigarettes account for 30% of all U.S. fire deaths. • The United States suffers one of the highest fire death rates in the industrialized world.

3. Background: Fire Safe Legislation • 1979- Congressman Moakley introduces bill to give the Consumer Product Safety Commission ability to regulate cigarettes as fire hazard • 1985- Compromise bill passed, formation of Technical Study Group (3-year feasibility study) • 1987- TSG concludes fire safe cigarette both technically and economically feasible

4. Background (continued) • 1990- New bill passed, Technical Advisory Group formed to create method for testing ignition propensity • 1993- Two tests proposed, but criticized by members of tobacco industry • 2000- State of NY passes legislation requiring fire safe cigarettes by July 2003; Philip Morris introduces Merit cigarettes with fire safe paper

5. Tobacco Document Research • ~4,000,000 internal tobacco industry documents made available as part of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement • Keyword search of document indexes, as well as OCR when available • Approximately 250 documents indexed, which can be accessed at <tobaccodocuments.org>

6. Industry Research on Fire Safety • All major tobacco companies had begun internal programs for development of a fire safe cigarette by the 1970’s • Two different approaches: • self-extinguishment • reduced ignition propensity when applied to substrate

7. Summary of Early Patents (pre-1980) Source: Industry Documents

8. Summary of Industry Projects Source: Industry Documents

9. Summary of Successful Consumer Tests Source: Industry Documents

10. Results of Industry Research • Self-extinguishment • Focused on changes to cigarette paper (bands, etc.) • Project Hamlet (PM) successful 1980’s • Banded paper= Merit introduction, 2000 • Ignition propensity • RJR identifies factors affecting IP in 1979; TSG identifies same factors after 3 year study in 1987 • Successful prototype in 1980’s; acceptability at issue

11. Arguing Against Fire Safe Cigarette • Consumer acceptability • PM, BW, RJR all developed acceptable prototypes • Increased toxicity • no meaningful change compared to regular cigarette • Testing protocols • internal protocols successful • Responsibility of smoker • RJR study refutes claims of behavioral changes

12. Reasons for Blocking Adoption of Fire Safe Cigarette • Economic • Requires changes across all brands for all manufacturers • 1988 RJR estimate- new facilities will cost $200-300 million • Product liability • “...recent decision taken by the Tobacco Institute not to work actively in the development of self extinguishing cigarettes (for product liability reasons)…” (Bates #109840413-0424)

13. Summary of Political Strategies • Alter public perception of the fire safe issue • Broaden issue to one of fire safety in general • Co-opt firefighters, neutralize natural enemies and make allies where possible • Delay adoption through development of protocols, definitions, etc.

14. Industry Political Strategies: Co-option “Who would normally be involved in the self-extinguishing cigarette on the other side of the fence? Probably the fire-fighting community. As you know in the United States, we have put a huge amount of time into helping all the organized groups of professional and volunteer fire-fighters. They get such help from us that is monumental. And then when we need them to stand up and say, not cigarettes that cause fire in 99.9 percent of the cases, we get their cooperation. But that's because we have cultivated them and helped them achieve some of their goals and we have seen that they are a potential enemy that has real credibility. That's the greatest credibility, your potential enemy. We had turned them around and made allies, third party defenders for ourselves. All of this involves a process of logic. To find common ground, to find your natural friends; to find your natural enemies and if possible, the ways in which you can neutralize them…” Source: Bates #2025421934/2000

15. TI Spending: Fire Organizations Source: Bates #TIMN0390579-0803

16. Impact of Political Strategies Source: Industry Documents

17. Summary/Recommendations • We now know that fire safe paper is technologically and commercially possible • Thousands of lives can be saved with the adoption of fire safe cigarettes • The industry has not voluntarily placed fire safe cigarettes on the market • It is critical that state and/or federal fire safe legislation be passed

18. Industry Research on Fire Safety • Use clear language to state point. • Use evidence both verbal and visual to support your point. • Amplify your point with an incident or anecdote. • Develop a logical transition or bridge to your next point.