Introduction
This memorandum is submitted by Imperial in
response to a request from the Health Committee of the House of
Commons. It details Imperial's actions over the half century since
researchers raised the possible relationship between smoking and
chronic diseases, such as lung cancer. It demonstrates that, throughout
this period, Imperial acted as a responsible tobacco manufacturer.
IMPERIAL'S
BUSINESS
The tobacco business conducted by Imperial has
a long established history, dating back to 1901 when it was formed
by the merger of 13 independent British tobacco companies. Imperial
has been an independent company throughout the period since 1901
except for the period 1986-1996 when it was a wholly owned subsidiary
of Hanson PLC. Today Imperial is an integrated, international
tobacco company manufacturing and distributing a range of cigarettes,
cigars, roll your own and pipe tobacco, snuff and cigarette papers
to over 70 countries worldwide. The Company, which has its registered
office and head office functions in Bristol, is divided into seven
business units each headed by a managing director.
Imperial has 4,600 employees worldwide, of whom
2,700 are employed in the UK. The Company has 12 factories, four
of which are located in the UK in Nottingham (cigarettes), Bristol
(cigars), Liverpool (pipe tobacco, snuff and roll your own tobacco),
and Treforest (cigarette papers).
Imperial continues to make a significant investment
in technological innovations to improve productivity and reduce
costs. In excess of £80 million has been invested in its
UK factories over the last five years and productivity has risen
by 35 per cent in the same period. The Company is now established
as one of the world's lowest cost producers of high quality tobacco
products. In the 1998 financial year, Imperial's international
business comprised £300 million of turnover excluding duty
with its exports from the UK contributing £68 million to
the balance of payments.
In 1998, Imperial's UK turnover was £3,521
million of which £2,873 million (81.6 per cent) was paid
to the Government in duty. UK tobacco duty is the highest in the
world and as a result legitimate total market sales of cigarettes
and roll your own tobacco have declined rapidly in recent years
to 70.5 billion and 1,800 tonnes respectively in 1998. There has,
however, been a corresponding rise in the market for bootlegged
and smuggled tobacco products and non-UK duty paid sales.
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH INTO
SMOKING AND HEALTH
1. Since the publication in the early 1950s
of human population studies reporting that lung cancer occurred
more frequently in cigarette smokers than in non-smokers, a vast
amount of scientific research has been carried out into cigarette
smoking and its relationship to certain diseases and into the
causes and mechanisms of the diseases themselves.
2. From the early 1950s, Imperial monitored
developments in the field of smoking and health and actively contributed
to research:
— by carrying out its own research;
— by funding and assisting independent
researchers;
— through research carried out by TRC/TMSC
of which it was the principal member;
— by making available the results of
research; and
— by regularly consulting distinguished
scientists for their views about the state of scientific knowledge
and about Imperial's proposed actions.
EARLY RESEARCH
BY IMPERIAL
3. In the early 1950s, very little was known
about the chemical constituents of either tobacco or tobacco smoke
and, after consulting independent scientists, Imperial concentrated
its research in this important area. Imperial took the lead by
initiating a programme of chemical research into the constituents
of tobacco and tobacco smoke.
4. The research required the construction
of a new laboratory at Raleigh Road, Bristol in 1953 and 1954
and the development of new equipment and techniques to analyse
the minute quantities of compounds within tobacco leaf and smoke.
The equipment to undertake this research did not previously exist
and Imperial played a leading role in its development. A considerable
amount of work was necessary to develop an automatic smoking machine
which would resemble the conditions of human cigarette smoking.
This machine was developed by Imperial during 1954 and 1955 and
information about it was promptly shared with other UK tobacco
companies, independent scientific research institutions and the
scientific press. In addition, Imperial was the major supplier
of material (including cigarettes, cigarette smoke condensate
and cigarette smoke condensate fractions) required by independent
researchers who were carrying out both chemical and biological
research.
5. An enormous amount of research was carried
out to identify the compounds present in tobacco smoke which was
found to be a highly complex mixture. By the late 1960s, hundreds
of compounds had been identified in the smoke of a typical UK
cigarette.
GRANT TO
THE MRC
6. In 1953 Imperial, together with other
UK tobacco companies, consulted with the Minister of Health and
on his advice decided in 1954 to place £250,000 (about £4
million in today's terms) at the disposal of the Medical Research
Council ("MRC") to enable it to fund independent research
into the cause or causes of lung cancer. Imperial provided half
of this sum.
7. Projects funded included research to
identify compounds in tobacco smoke and research into the possible
biological effects of those compounds. This latter research mainly
used cigarette smoke condensate which was painted in large amounts
on the skin of individual animals, particularly mice.
TMSC/TRC RESEARCH
8. A significant further expansion of the
research effort occurred in June 1956 with the establishment of
the Tobacco Manufacturers' Standing Committee ("TMSC").
This was jointly funded by the UK tobacco companies. Imperial
was a founding and principal member in that it supplied the largest
share of the funding. The TMSC's objective was to "assist
research into smoking and health questions, to keep in touch with
scientists and others working on this subject in the UK and abroad,
and to make information available to scientific workers and the
public."[142]
9. The TMSC set up a new fund to promote
and assist research into any question relating to smoking and
health. From 1958, the Scientific Advisory Committee of the British
Empire Cancer Campaign ("BECC") advised the TMSC on
what research should be funded. The TMSC also liaised with the
MRC and gathered and distributed information about smoking and
health. The basic objective was to find out more about the nature
of tobacco smoke and its possible effects upon smokers, the motives
for smoking and the factors associated with lung cancer and other
diseases. The research commissioned by the TMSC included epidemiological
studies and chemical and biological research. All grantees were
independent from the TMSC and had total freedom to decide what
research to carry out and whether to publish the results of that
research.
10. The role of the TMSC progressively expanded
particularly with the decision to set up a purpose-built research
facility at Harrogate in Yorkshire to conduct research relating
to smoking and health. This decision was taken by the TMSC in
1960 after consultation with external independent scientists including
Dr G F Marrian of the MRC and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund
and Sir Charles Dodds of the BECC and the Royal College of Physicians
("RCP"). The construction of the Harrogate laboratories
took almost two years and was a major commitment of resource by
Imperial and the other UK tobacco companies. Research began at
Harrogate in September 1962.
11. From 1 January 1963, the name of the
TMSC was changed to the Tobacco Research Council ("TRC")
to reflect its increased direct involvement in research.
12. The research at Harrogate concentrated
on the chemistry of tobacco smoke and biological testing and was
primarily directed at the possible role of cigarette smoking in
lung cancer. This research was carried out on the working hypothesis
that cigarette smoke might cause or contribute to the development
of lung cancer and mainly consisted of a programme of mouse skin
painting under the direction of Dr T D Day (previously of the
Department of Experimental Pathology and Cancer Research, School
of Medicine, Leeds University). The broad objective of this research
was to develop acceptable and quantitatively reliable tests for
measuring any biological activity of tobacco smoke condensate
in animals and to identify any potentially harmful constituents
in tobacco smoke and, if possible, remove them.
13. The mouse skin painting research undertaken
at Harrogate was discussed with the Minister of Health and with
Professor Sir Alexander Haddow (Chester Beatty Institute, Institute
of Cancer Research at the Royal Cancer Hospital), Sir Charles
Dodds, Dr G F Marrian, Sir Max Rosenheim (President of the RCP),
Professor H S B Atkins (President of the Royal College of Surgeons)
and Dr C M Fletcher (Postgraduate Medical School of London). In
1967, the studies were published in the British Journal of Cancer.[143]
14. The mouse skin painting research was
also directed at identifying potentially biologically active compounds
in cigarette smoke by fractionating whole smoke and cigarette
smoke condensate. However, by the 1970s, it became apparent that
the search had been taken as far as it reasonably could and the
decision was taken to discontinue the fractionation research and
the large-scale mouse skin painting experiments which had been
continuously in progress since the laboratories were set up in
1962.
15. In addition to chemical and biological
research, the TRC also carried out pharmacological research at
Harrogate under the direction of Dr A K Armitage, as well as research
into the reasons why people smoke. This research was also published.
16. In 1974, the laboratories at Harrogate
were sold to Hazleton Laboratories and from then on the TRC research
programme at Harrogate continued under contracts with Hazleton.
Research included inhalation and cardiovascular studies and basic
cell and tissue culture research. Grant-aided research by independent
workers also continued on a substantial scale.
CONSULTATION WITH
EXTERNAL INDEPENDENT
SCIENTISTS
17. Imperial and the TMSC/TRC consulted
and took advice from leading scientists on the direction of research
carried out and the interpretation of the results of research.
These scientists included:
— Sir Charles Dodds (President of the
RCP Committee of Air Pollution; Chairman of the Scientific Committee
of the British Heart Foundation, Courtauld Institute of Biochemistry
at Middlesex Hospital Medical School);
— Sir Ronald Fisher FRS (Professor
of Genetics, University of Cambridge);
— Sir John Richardson (President of
the Royal Society of Medicine);
— Lord Todd (Professor of Organic Chemistry
at Cambridge University);
— Professors Sir Alexander Haddow,
R D Passey and E Boyland (Chester Beatty Institute of Cancer Research
at the Royal Cancer Hospital, London);
— Professors Sir Ernest Kennaway and
J W S Blacklock (St Bartholomew's Hospital);
— Dr C M Fletcher (Co-author of the
1962 RCP Report on Smoking and Health); and
— Dr J W Cook and W Carruthers (MRC
Carcinogenic Substances Research Unit, University of Exeter).
PUBLICATION OF
RESEARCH
18. The TMSC published annual reports of
its activities for each year from 1957 to 1960. These reports
outlined the TMSC's objectives and summarised the research funded
during the year (including that administered by the MRC) and reported
other developments in the field of smoking and health. Between
1963 and 1975, the TRC published four reviews of its research
activities, each covering a number of years. The reviews summarised
the research funded by the TRC and listed the scientific papers
published by TRC staff and grantees.
19. These TMSC annual reports and TRC reviews
of activities describe a comprehensive research programme which
was planned and implemented by highly-qualified scientists. It
included:
— pharmacological research;
— in vivo and in vitro tests;
— cardiovascular studies;
— epidemiological studies;
— product modification research;
— human smoking behaviour research.
20. TMSC/TRC scientists and independent
researchers funded by the TMSC/TRC published in excess of 400
papers in prestigious scientific journals. The many articles published
covered the broad range of research funded by Imperial and the
other UK tobacco companies.
FURTHER RESEARCH
BY IMPERIAL
21. In addition to the research carried
out at Harrogate and funded through the TRC, Imperial's own Research
Department continued throughout the 1960s and 1970s to undertake
both chemical research and research into product modification
in the following broad areas:
— development and application of methods
for the analysis of tobacco smoke;
— studies of tobaccos from different
countries of origin;
— the mechanism of filtration of the
particulate and vapour phases of smoke;
— studies of selective filtration and
of ventilated filters;
— studies of the constituents of smoke
which contribute to flavour and aroma;
— human smoking characteristics by
direct and indirect measurement and observation;
— work on standardisation of measurement
of tar and nicotine yields; and
— testing of consumer acceptability
of experimental cigarettes.
22. Vast amounts were expended by Imperial
on product modification research and the development of a tobacco
substitute called New Smoking Material ("NSM"). Imperial
employed one of the largest contract research laboratories in
the world, Huntingdon Research Centre ("HRC"), to carry
out research into product modification and a bioassay test system
which would assist quantitative comparison of modified and unmodified
cigarettes. HRC and Imperial's Research Department also conducted
research relating to the development of NSM and research recommended
by the Independent Scientific Committee on Smoking and Health
("ISCSH"). The ISCSH had been established by the Government
in 1973 "to provide unbiased and objective advice to health
ministers (who appointed the members) and, where appropriate,
to the tobacco companies, on the health aspects of smoking tobacco".[144]
Imperial's co-operation with the ISCSH is detailed below.
23. From 1980, Imperial and the other UK
tobacco companies provided the ISCSH with £1 million per
annum for three years for "independent monitoring of research
proposed by the ISCSH into the effects on health of product modification".[145]
TOBACCO PRODUCTS
RESEARCH TRUST
24. In 1982, after consultation between
the ISCSH, the Government and the UK tobacco companies, the Tobacco
Products Research Trust ("TPRT") was established as
a charitable trust to administer funds made available by Imperial
and the other UK tobacco companies through the Tobacco Advisory
Council ("TAC"). The TAC had replaced the TRC in 1978.
25. The TPRT operated from 1982 to 1996.
The objective of the TPRT was to promote independent research
into the possible health effects of modifications to tobacco products.
Under the TPRT, 36 projects were completed and over 100 articles
were published in scientific journals. Over £8 million was
committed by the UK tobacco companies (45 per cent of which was
provided by Imperial) to research funded by the TPRT. In addition,
three international symposia were held, two of which were organised
and funded jointly with the Department of Health. The Chairman
of the TPRT was Sir Peter Froggatt who, in 1996, wrote:
"The sole monies available to the Trust
were the principal sums from the tobacco industry through the
Tobacco Advisory Council and the interest earned on these in the
hands of the Trust and, for a time before that, in those of the
ISCSH. Without these funds there would have been no research programme
and no Trust! The industry, especially though not exclusively
the companies' scientific research staff, took a healthy interest
in the progress and results of the research programme, and in
all ways relationships between the Trustees and the industry were
amicable and constructive. This contributed greatly to the success
of the research programme. I like to think that also in a wider
sense both parties benefited. I certainly did and I believe the
others did as well.".[146]
26. The UK tobacco companies funded a second
independent charitable research trust, the Health Promotion Research
Trust chaired by Sir John (later Lord) Butterfield. This was established
in 1984 under a voluntary agreement with the Government. The UK
tobacco companies provided £11 million over a three and a
half year period to sponsor research into "health promotion
in fields other than smoking".[147]
CONCLUSION
27. Since the early 1950s, Imperial has
made a very substantial contribution to scientific research into
smoking and health and the causes of diseases associated with
smoking.
28. Initially, Imperial's research concentrated
on identifying potentially harmful constituents of cigarette smoke
with a view, if possible, to removing them. This line of enquiry
was taken as far as it reasonably could and, after many years
and a massive research effort by Imperial and others, it was discontinued.
The focus of interest then moved to tar yield reduction and Imperial's
research effort increasingly addressed product modification and
the development of tobacco substitutes.
29. Imperial consulted leading scientists
on the direction of its research and the interpretation of the
results of research into smoking and health. It also worked closely
with Government appointed independent scientific advisors and
public bodies such as the ISCSH and TPRT.
141 
