CMAJ • November 10, 2009; 181 (10). First published October 14, 2009; doi:10.1503/cmaj.080566
© 2009 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors
All editorial matter in CMAJ represents the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of the Canadian Medical Association.
This Article
Right arrow Figures Only
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Online Appendices
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
cmaj.080566v1
cmaj.080566v2
181/10/691    most recent
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow View responses
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Hammond, D.
Right arrow Articles by Collishaw, N.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Hammond, D.
Right arrow Articles by Collishaw, N.
Related Collections
Right arrow Other public health
Right arrowRelated Article

Destroyed documents: uncovering the science that Imperial Tobacco Canada sought to conceal

David Hammond, MSc PhD, Michael Chaiton, MSc, Alex Lee, BSc and Neil Collishaw, MA

From the University of Waterloo (Hammond, Lee), Waterloo, Ont.; The University of Toronto (Chaiton), Toronto, Ont.; and Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada (Collishaw), Ottawa, Ont

Correspondence to: Dr. David Hammond, Department of Health Studies & Gerontology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave. W, Waterloo ON N2L 3G1; fax 519 886-6424; dhammond{at}uwaterloo.ca

Abstract

Background: In 1992, British American Tobacco had its Canadian affiliate, Imperial Tobacco Canada, destroy internal research documents that could expose the company to liability or embarrassment. Sixty of these destroyed documents were subsequently uncovered in British American Tobacco’s files.

Methods: Legal counsel for Imperial Tobacco Canada provided a list of 60 destroyed documents to British American Tobacco. Information in this list was used to search for copies of the documents in British American Tobacco files released through court disclosure. We reviewed and summarized this information.

Results: Imperial Tobacco destroyed documents that included evidence from scientific reviews prepared by British American Tobacco’s researchers, as well as 47 original research studies, 35 of which examined the biological activity and carcinogenicity of tobacco smoke. The documents also describe British American Tobacco research on cigarette modifications and toxic emissions, including the ways in which consumers adapted their smoking behaviour in response to these modifications. The documents also depict a comprehensive research program on the pharmacology of nicotine and the central role of nicotine in smoking behaviour. British American Tobacco scientists noted that "... the present scale of the tobacco industry is largely dependent on the intensity and nature of the pharmacological action of nicotine," and that "... should nicotine become less attractive to smokers, the future of the tobacco industry would become less secure."

Interpretation: The scientific evidence contained in the documents destroyed by Imperial Tobacco demonstrates that British American Tobacco had collected evidence that cigarette smoke was carcinogenic and addictive. The evidence that Imperial Tobacco sought to destroy had important implications for government regulation of tobacco.


Related Article

Highlights
Can. Med. Assoc. J. 2009 181: 657. [Full Text] [PDF]



eLetters:

Read all eLetters

Destroyed documents and disinformation
georgina wilcock
CMAJ, 16 Nov 2009 [Full text]
Opinion about tobacco lawsuits
Neil E. Collishaw
CMAJ, 19 Nov 2009 [Full text]