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Undermining Scientific Integrity: The Tobacco Industry’s Renewed Attack on Research and Reality

Undermining Scientific Integrity: The Tobacco Industry’s Renewed Attack on Research and Reality

Join Truth Initiative for a virtual discussion about how researchers, scientific journals, media publications and regulatory agencies can protect the integrity of credible public health research.

October 25, 2022 | On Demand

The tobacco industry's renewed attack on research and reality

The tobacco industry is boldly intent on rehabilitating its image in response to the existential threat posed by the long-term decline of its deadly core product — combustible cigarettes. A product that is still marketed aggressively with trillions consumed each year around the world. To obfuscate this, tobacco companies are overtly co-opting the language and look of public health organizations to make claims about the health impact of e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, and nicotine products that are not supported by peer-reviewed research. These tactics have led to tobacco companies presenting opinion and commercially influenced perspective as fact at scientific conferences and in paid advertising in prestigious media outlets. This Truth Initiative Impact Series will explore how researchers, policymakers, media companies and thought leaders can work to end the influence of the tobacco industry and the harms of its products.

As detailed in the Truth Initiative report “Spinning a New Tobacco Industry,” the tobacco industry is compromising scientific integrity by sponsoring entire issues of prestigious research journals and participating in tobacco control research conferences, where they present tobacco industry-sponsored research alongside independent, credible public health science, and gain critical insight into tobacco control evidence and strategy.

In addition, the industry is infiltrating major news outlets. Truth Initiative research published in Tobacco Control shows that the companies Philip Morris International and Altria, the makers of Marlboro, spent nearly $12 million — a likely vastly understated amount — between January 2020 and August 2021 on corporate advertising concentrated in national newspapers, including the very same publications that made a commitment 20 years ago not to accept tobacco industry advertising. The sponsored content closely resembles and appears near legitimate editorial content, clearly designed to leverage the influence and credibility of major news organizations to help the industry sell its self-interest story.

Moderated by Ben Stockton, an investigative journalist at The Bureau of Investigative Journalism who has reported on the tobacco industry and global health, this discussion will illustrate the absolute need for transparency in order to protect public health.

Additional resources:

Spinning a new tobacco industry: How Big Tobacco is trying to sell a do-gooder image and what Americans think about it

Tobacco Industry Marketing

How Big Tobacco is trying to makeover its image and protect its bottom line at the expense of public health

Tobacco Industry Marketing

The American public’s opinion of Big Tobacco

Tobacco Industry Marketing

How tobacco companies use experiential marketing

Tobacco Industry Marketing

Featured Speakers Include:

Robin Koval

Robin Koval is CEO and President of Truth Initiative®, the national public health organization dedicated to achieving a culture where all young people reject smoking, vaping, and nicotine. An acclaimed leader in the advertising and marketing world, and New York Times best-selling author, Koval joined Truth Initiative in 2013. She’s led the successful re-launch of the award-winning and lifesaving truth® youth tobacco prevention campaign and expanded the organization’s world-class research, public education, youth activism, and digital cessation programs to also combat the youth e-cigarette epidemic.

Ben Stockton

Ben Stockton is an award-winning freelance reporter and US correspondent for the non-profit newsroom the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. His reporting on the tobacco industry has appeared in major outlets in the US and UK.

Barbara Schillo

Dr. Barbara Schillo has over 25 years of experience in designing and conducting applied research, managing research and public health programs, and providing organizational leadership. As a senior vice president at Truth Initiative Schroeder Institute, she leads research that examines the impact of tobacco-related policies on youth and young adults.

Robert Jackler

Dr. Jackler is principal investigator of the interdisciplinary research group Stanford Research Into The Impact of Tobacco Advertising which conducts research into the promotional activities of the tobacco industry. SRITA collected 50,000 original tobacco advertisements which now resides in the National Museum of American History of the Smithsonian Institution.

Shawn Otto

Shawn Otto speaks to audiences worldwide about the scientific foundations of democracy and the causes and dangers of anti-science authoritarianism. He is author of the award-winning nonfiction book The War on Science, which predicted the rise of anti-science authoritarians and the threat they pose to democracy. The book has been called "a game changer, and probably the most important book you'll read this year." He has advised candidate science debate efforts in many countries.

Pebbles Fagan

Dr. Fagan is a tenured Professor and the Director of the Center for the Study of Tobacco in the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, Department of Health Behavior and Health Education at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. For over 25 years, Dr. Fagan has conducted research that seeks to understand how to reduce tobacco use in racialized and ethnic groups, women, people who live in low resource and rural communities, and in youth/young adult populations. Dr. Fagan has spent much of her career focusing on how to reduce flavored tobacco use, including menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars, and electronic cigarette use among young people and in racialized groups.

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Truth Initiative Impact Series

The Truth Initiative Impact Series is a robust, recurring event that brings together key stakeholders and experts to engage in thought-provoking conversations about ways we can innovate and inspire action to achieve a culture where young people reject smoking, vaping, and nicotine. The goal of this thought leadership series is to convene diverse partners in tobacco control and other public health organizations, parents, teachers, and policy makers, who can benefit from Truth Initiative’s work.