The Bat Research Program

BAT's intramural research activities, Sir Charles explains, are devoted mainly to a detailed investigation of the physics and chemistry of tobacco smoke.

Now, as regards work in our own laboratories on chemistry and physics. Our objective must be to prepare ourselves as fully as possible to utilize any result the moment it appears from these biological and medical experiments. In effect, this means that we would like to know the origin of all the compounds that we currently think may be important, whether they are wholly or partially distilled from the tobacco or formed in some of the pyrolytic reactions, and at what temperatures. We might then hope to be in the position of being able to enhance or suppress certain classes of compounds by either pre-treatment or additives once we knew which compounds had to be so influenced.

This of course is precisely what we have been doing and are doing, and in my opinion progress is excellent. {1102.01, p. 24}

These comments indicate that a goal of R&D at BAT in 1962 was to reduce the toxicity of its cigarettes as rapidly as possible.

Sir Charles concludes his conference remarks with the following analysis and exhortation:

We must admit that the threat to our industry is serious and very real, and it is of little help to us that it is based on an emotional guess and not on reasons. I believe we are now starting on a sound programme of investigation that in a few years will make it possible to see the situation and judge the future much more clearly. I hope to-day's discussion will start your active participation in this particular section of Group Research, and that the measures we propose will enable it to continue and grow. {1102.01, p. 25}

Unfortunately, this optimistic view that cigarette toxicity could be largely eliminated through research and engineering proved to be wrong.

Participants at the conference also discussed the feasibility and development of a safer cigarette. It emerged that BAT knew how to make a cigarette with low levels of what was regarded at the time as the major carcinogen (benzpyrene) but had not marketed it. There was concern about how to make claims for safer products that would not indict other products, and there was a keen appreciation of the difference between product innovation for public relations purposes and product innovation to reduce the hazard of the product. Finally, there was an appreciation of the spirit of sharing and comity among the British companies as regards "health-oriented" innovations in contrast to the competitive turn that had just emerged in this area in the United States.

The following exchange, during the discussion following Sir Charles's talk, illustrates the tension that knowledgeable spokesmen for tobacco companies were under at the time, because they were denying the scientific evidence that smoking is dangerous while, at the same time, they knew that the evidence was sound and that internal studies such as mouse skin-painting experiments were consistent with the publicly available results.

Mr. Reid suggested that no industry was going to accept that its product was toxic, or even believe it to be so, and naturally when the health question was first raised we had to start by denying it at the P.R. level. But by continuing that policy we had got ourselves into a corner and left no room to manoeuvre[.] [I]n other words if we did get a break through and were able to improve our product we should have to about-face, and this was practically impossible at the P.R. level. If we could ease the approach a bit, then when we did make positive contributions we could at least say so without having to crawl behind the door .

Mr. McCormickdid not quite agree that we in this country had got ourselves into that position, although it might be true of other countries [presumably, the United States]. We had more room to manoeuvre because, whatever we had said initially, in the last year or two we had been prepared to admit that there was a working hypothesis which ought to be examined. The fact that we had started with a donation to the MRC [Medical Research Coun-

cil] had indicated that we thought there might be something in it. But it was very difficult when you were asked, as Chairman of a Tobacco Company, to discuss the health question on television. You had not only your own business to consider but the employees throughout the industry, retailers, consumers, farmers growing the leaf, and so on, and you were in much too responsible a position to get up and say: "I accept that the product which we and all our competitors are putting on the market gives you lung cancer", whatever you might think privately [emphasis added]. {1102.01, p. 45}