British American Tobacco Documents Archive: Video Resources

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The videos featured on this page encapsulate tobacco industry concerns and resultant strategies regarding secondhand smoke (referred to by the industry as "environmental tobacco smoke" or simply "ETS.") They are a few of more than 400 videos housed in BAT's Guildford Depository. In 2008 the library acquired all of the videos; they are being processed and will be uploaded to the Internet Archive. More information about the project can be found here.

Clicking on a video title will take you to the UCSF Tobacco Industry Videos Collection on the Internet Archive, where you can view the video or download it to your computer to watch later. Additional tobacco industry videos are available at Internet Archive as well. View a browsable list of keywords.

To provide context and avenues for further exploration, links to related documents and references to related publications accompany each title.

Note that not all of the videos were created by BAT; some were produced by the Tobacco Institute or one of the U.S. companies.

Environmental Tobacco Smoke: BAT's Reply

BAT responds to efforts to limit individuals' exposure to secondhand smoke. The company questions the scientific validity of public health research about secondhand smoke, conducts its own research showing that secondhand smoke is not a danger to public health, and points to poor ventilation and filtration as the cause of indoor air pollution. The video features as experts long-time consultants to the industry without identifying them as such.

View documents about the activities of expert consultants, Gray Robertson and Francis Roe, by searching for "Gray Robertson" consultant and "Francis Roe" consultant.

Related articles:
Chapman S. Research from tobacco industry affiliated authors: Need for particular vigilance. Tobacco Control 2005;14:217-219.

Muggli ME, Hurt RD, Blanke DD. Science for hire: a tobacco industry strategy to influence public opinion on secondhand smoke. Nicotine Tob Res 2003;5:303-14.

The Other Side of the Coin - Part 1
The Other Side of the Coin - Part 2

Produced by BAT and Rothmans International, this video addresses, for a British audience, four issues: "smoking and health, tobacco smoke in the air, smoking in public and tobacco advertising."

Read a draft script and draft of a companion pamphlet, to see how the message was crafted. View the final pamphlet.

Read a document noting that this video, which questions whether active smoking causes disease, was shown in Bangladesh as late as 1997.

Related articles:
Michaels D, Monforton C. Manufacturing uncertainty: Contested science and the protection of the public's health and environment. American Journal of Public Health 2005;95 (suppl 1):s39-48.

Ong E, Glantz S. Constructing "Sound Science" and "Good Epidemiology": Tobacco, lawyers, and public relations firms. American Journal of Public Health 2001;91:1749-1757.

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Smoking in the Workplace

Smoking in the Workplace addresses the "controversy" surrounding secondhand smoke in the workplace. Citing a lack of evidence that secondhand smoke causes health problems, the video advocates a strategy of accommodation in response to tobacco control advocates' demands for restrictions on smoking in workplaces.

View the companion pamphlet and read what BAT was telling its own employees at about the time this video was produced (1988).

Related articles:
Drope J, Bialous S, Glantz SA. Tobacco industry efforts to present ventilation as an alternative to smoke-free environments in North America. Tobacco Control 2004;13(Supplement):i41-7.

Chapman S, Penman A. "Can't stop the boy": Philip Morris' use of Healthy Buildings International to prevent workplace smoking bans in Australia. Tobacco Control 2003;12(Supplement 3):iii107-12.

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Courtesy of Choice

Made for the hospitality industry by the International Hotel Association to promote the "Courtesy of Choice Program", the video begins with predictions of economic ruin if smoking bans are enacted. The video instructs restaurant and hotel managers on how to deal with a growing market for smoke free spaces by using a strategy of accommodation.

View the companion brochure Managing an Evolving Issue and a presentation on how to extend the Courtesy of Choice program into the United Kingdom.

View a document that describes the program's launch in Australia as "a major initiative in convincing politicians that there is no need for further restrictions on public place smoking."

Related articles:
Dearlove J, Bialous S, Glantz SA. Tobacco industry manipulation of the hospitality industry to maintain smoking in public places. Tobacco Control 2002;11:94-104.

Ritch W, Begay M. Strange bedfellows: the history of collaboration between the Massachusetts Restaurant Association and the tobacco industry. American Journal of Public Health 2001;91:598-603.

Related website:
Tobacco Scam: How Big Tobacco uses and abuses the restaurant industry

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