The secret and ‘sleazy’ world of tobacco advertising was exposed yesterday by documents revealing the tactics used to ensnare the young and manipulate adults. In a unique initiative, the Cancer Research UK centre for tobacco control at Strathclyde University, in Glasgow, has created the first internet database of ‘evidence’. It reveals how the tobacco industry ‘cynically’ promotes products that kill 13,000 Scots each year. The launch of tobaccopapers.com provoked a scathing attack on advertising agencies, condemning them for ‘their weasel words’. Documents reveal strategies to ‘grab them young’.
David Hinchcliffe MP, the chairman of the Commons Health Select Committee, said: “These papers show what the industry thinks of its customers in its own words. It’s damning.” The 14,000 documents – briefings, brainstorming sessions, memos and outlines – were written by staff promoting brands such as Benson & Hedges, Hamlet cigars, Silk Cut, and low-tar cigarettes.
Professor Gerard Hastings, the director of the centre for tobacco control research at Glasgow, said: “The tobacco industry maximises commercial success at any cost.The documents can be viewed at: www.tobaccopapers.com

Source:The Scotsman, 17/12/03, Also reported in FT, Morning Star, BBC Online