Sea Island Research Conference, 1980

BAT's 1980 research conference was held in Sea Island, Georgia. The documents contain a list of proposed topics for the meeting, along with the comments of Dr. R. A. Sanford, then vice president of research and development at B&W {1132.01}. Sanford rated the various topics on a scale of 1 to 3 (1 = top priority; 2 = definite interest; 3 = little or no interest). He gave the lowest priority to topics such as short-term biological assays and studies of smoke irritation, topics that had dominated discussion at earlier conferences.

Dr. Sanford actually discouraged additional toxicological testing, as his comment on short-term bioassays indicates:

We need evaluation of externally developed methods for critique. We don't want GR&DC [that is, BAT itself] to develop methods [emphasis added]. {1132.01, table}

He has this to say about irritation and inhalation of smoke:

Dangerous area. Please do not publish or circulate. No more work needed on biological side [emphasis added]. {1132.01, table}

The initial enthusiasm for toxicology work to refine and perfect the product had been abandoned. In contrast, the areas ranked as top priority included the topics nicotine, basic combustion research, sidestream research, flavor research, and ventilated cigarette technology.

Sanford's choice of priorities suggests that by the early 1980s the tobacco industry had dramatically changed its focus: instead of trying to understand and eliminate the carcinogens and other toxins in tobacco smoke, it was now trying to avoid developing any potentially damaging knowledge of its products. Short-term bioassays remained of interest, but only if they were developed extramurally, possibly because of concern about the potential for discovery through litigation. By 1980 the R&D staff at B&W had seemingly come to regard continued research on the inhalation toxicology of tobacco smoke as potentially hazardous to the company.