In 1953 the tobacco companies, tired of being at war with each other,
met to form a common front. Although they knew then that 94 percent of
lung cancer deaths were among smokers they issued “The Frank Statement”
in which they denied that smoking causes cancer. This is described as
the biggest public relations campaign in all history. They promised that
if cigarettes proved dangerous they would be pulled off the market.
While this was a clear lie there was no political opposition until the
1990s. At a hearing organized by 46 American states in 1998 each of the
seven tobacco company executives who were called to testify deny that
nicotine is addictive. The resolution was that they would pay 201
billion dollars to avoid a verdict. They were also forbidden to market
to children (in the United States) and to make available to the public
all of their documents. No documents could be destroyed until 2008.
While they released millions of pages of useless information dogged
research unearthed some interesting admissions: “Nicotine is addictive.
We are in the business of selling an addictive drug.”
A history of the tobacco industry’s lies and scams. From the US in
1953 to Africa today, the controversy between individual responsibility
and corporate greed is portrayed in a lucid, undaunted manner.
"From
scientific frauds to working with organized crime", tobacco companies
show their hidden agenda more clearly than ever in this theatrically
released documentary.
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