British American Tobacco ghost-wrote reports on tobacco advertising bans by the International Advertising Association and J J Boddewyn
2008

Ghost-Writing of Tobacco Advertising Reports

publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Davis R M

Primary Institution: Henry Ford Health System

Hypothesis

Did British American Tobacco ghost-write reports on tobacco advertising bans?

Conclusion

British American Tobacco was found to have ghost-written reports that claimed tobacco advertising bans did not reduce consumption.

Supporting Evidence

  • British American Tobacco ghost-wrote the IAA reports on tobacco advertising bans.
  • The reports claimed that advertising bans did not significantly reduce tobacco consumption.
  • Opponents of tobacco advertising used these reports to argue against advertising restrictions.

Takeaway

This study shows that a tobacco company secretly wrote reports saying that banning tobacco ads doesn't help people smoke less, which is not true.

Methodology

Analysis of tobacco industry documents and litigation transcripts.

Potential Biases

Potential bias due to the involvement of tobacco industry sources in the reports.

Limitations

The study relies on historical documents, which may not provide a complete picture.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1136/tc.2008.025148

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