Conclusion

During the 1950s research linking cigarette smoking to adverse health effects was reported. The tobacco industry responded to the growing public concern over the health effects of smoking by promoting filter cigarettes and by forming the Tobacco Industry Research Committee. Although the industry claimed publicly that both of these actions were being taken in the interests of the public health, the documents indicate that the true motivation behind them was to convince the public that the health hazards of smoking had not been proven. The release of the 1964 report of the US Surgeon General, Smoking and Health, created a crisis within the industry. The general counsel of B&W advised that the company should attempt to develop a "safer" cigarette, in part to protect itself against lawsuits. As discussed in chapters 3 and 4, during the 1960s and 1970s the industry conducted research to understand nicotine and to identify and remove harmful elements from tobacco smoke. Ultimately, however, the industry failed to make a safer cigarette.