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Firefighters and the Tobacco Industry: buying silence and support
by Anne Landman
Cigarettes are the number one cause of fatal fires in the U.S. and yet the firefighting industry has maintained an astonishing silence on this issue. This timeline will attempt to link evidence of how the tobacco industry bought the silence and cooperation of a sector of the population that would otherwise have been the country's most credible and powerful ally in the push to make the tobacco industry to manufacture self-extinguishing cigarettes.
- No date Tobacco company employees sent to "Tobacco College," learn how to deal with the "accidental fire issue"
- Tobacco College is where tobacco industry employees are sent to learn how to deal with the many touchy issues surrounding tobacco. Part of the course consists of Institute staff showing students "a short video dealing with the emotionalism of the fire issue" and then providing students with a briefing by a FIRE SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (Olin Greene, Oregon State Fire Marshal). What is a state fire service marshal doing teaching a class for the Tobacco Institute? Read on...
- 1981 (est.) The Tobacco Institute recognizes the potential threat of "fire scarred victims" testifying for fire-safe cigarette legislation
- The TI notes the high rate of fires in the U.S., and the concomitant increase in the introduction of fire-safe cigarette legislation. They note that the support from fire service agencies and testimony of the "fire-scarred victims" combine to make powerful motivators to legislators to enact such measures. Consequently, the TI proposes a public relations strategy to give the perception of concern about fire safety without actually doing anything to make cigarettes safer. Quote: "Of the many causes of fire, careless cigarette smoking seems to have increasingly caught the attention of politicians and journalists. The solution they and some fire officials propose is the creation of a self-extinguishing cigarette. Bills have been submitted at the federal level and in several state legislatures. As an issue, cigarette-related fires continue to rise in prominence.... To date, the industry response has been twofold: 1) The industry has said it can not make a self-extinguishing cigarette without unduly affecting the nature of the product, and that some substances will ignite even with a casual brush with a lit cigarette. 2) The industry had also worked with the nation's furniture manufacturers to promote fire resistant furniture... Neither industry response has been particularly effective in offsetting fire scarred victims interviewed by the news media and paraded before legislative committees. A strong, visible, positive tobacco industry effort -- at this time -- is needed to reverse the trend toward self-extinguishing cigarette legislation. "
- 19 Oct 1981 Tobacco Institute recognizes the need to give an appearance of concern about fires to the public and legislators
- Quote: "A causal role in fires is increasingly attributed to cigarettes (not to smokers). Our industry opposes regulation of cigarettes and disclaims liability. While correct, these postures alone give an appearance of lack of concern on our part about the overall fire problem. Action#3: Delivery of messages to the public along with promotion to the fire prevention authorities and legislators about our public interest efforts... Action #2:...Developing and submitting...public education messages about fire prevention which would be suitable for Institute support or disseminination. [No mention of plans to do something about the problem itself: cigarettes that keep burning even when left unattended].
- 13 Sep 1984 (est.) PM boasts about turning their biggest potential enemy--the national fire service--into allies by giving them "...SO MUCH HELP, IT'S MONUMENTAL."
- The speaker in this document boasts about arguably PM's biggest "success story" -- how PM manipulated one of its most credible and powerful potential enemies--the fire-response community--into being extraordinary allies FOR their cause who would support PM's interests over the public interest on the issue of self-extinguishing cigarettes: Quote: "Example. The self-extinguishing cigarette. Who would normally be involved in the self-extinguishing cigarette on the other side of the fence? Probably the fire-fighting community. As you know in the United States, we have put a huge amount of time into helping all the organized groups of professional and volunteer fire-fighters. They get such help from us that is monumental. And then when we need them to stand up and say, not cigarettes that cause fire in 99.9 percent of the cases, we get their cooperation. But that's because we have cultivated them and helped them achieve some of their goals and we have seen that they are a potential enemy that has real credibility. That's the greatest credibility, your potential enemy. We had turned them around and made allies, third party defenders for ourselves."
- 29 Mar 1985 Fireman's Association of NY and AARP enter into cooperative relationship with the Tobacco Institute
- The Institute starts a "fire safety program aimed at senior citizens," gaining support of the AARP. TI turns the Fire Service of NY, who once supported a self-extinguishing cigarette bill, into an ally.
- Jun 1985 Tobacco Institute drafts favorable articles for fire service trade publications for signatures of "friendly fire service officials"
- "Fire service hostility to our industry has subsided but is far from nonexistent." "Goal: Place at least five articles by fire service personnel in fire trade publications, each describing program supported by industry... Tactic: Draft articles for signatures of friendly fire service officials." "Strategy III: Continue to encourage discussion among fire service leaders and concerned public officials about the OVERALL accidental fire problem" [Same "broadening-the-issue" strategy the industry uses to deflect attention away from health issues, secondhand smoke, etc.]
- 10 Dec 1985 Grants and donations to fire service agencies were concentrated in districts of influential members of Congress...
- Grants, equipment donations and other favors to fire service organizations were concentrated in the districts of Congressmen who were on influential committees like the Commerce Committee and Ways and Means Committees.
- 19 Sep 1986 Five years into the Institute's Fire Safety Program, fire deaths in the U.S. jump
- The Tobacco Institute's "Fire Safety Program" appears to be a dismal failure as National Fire Protection Association statistics on Fire Deaths and Losses in 1985 showed that fire deaths jumped by 20% in residences and by 18% overall. Quote: "We can assume...that deaths from careless smoking will be sharply higher, too. Since smoke detectors are perceived by the fire service as close to saturating the market, there may well be pressure to turn to new approaches -- like fire safe cigarettes."
- 09 May 1989 Tobacco Institute staff member writes telltale note indicating intent to silence adversaries..
- A handwritten comment by Martin J. Gleason of the Tobacco Institute scrawled on this document about TI fire service programs says, "Cont[inue] support for hostiles -- Innoculation" indicating the that the industry's overwhelming level of financial support for the fire service carried with it the expectation that their activities intended to neutralize opposition.
- 22 May 1990 Tobacco Institute acts behind-the-scenes to promote and place Olin Greene
- Olin Greene was the Oregon State Fire Marshal mentioned above whom the industry brought in to speak at "Tobacco College" (an introductory course for new TI hires to famiiarize them with the issues). How did the Institute manage to get a state fire marshal to tow their line on this life-and-death fire issue? By giving career support to this key fire official and placing him in an influential position. As Martin Gleason states in his 1990 activity report, "[I} assisted in behind-the-scenes promotion of Oregon State Fire Marshal Olin Greene, which culminated in his nomination as the next U.S. Fire Administrator. The Fire Administrator could play a significant role in future 'fire-safe' activity should a federal bill be passed."
- 1991 Tobacco Instiute reveals massive finanicial support for firefighting organizations
- This document, Tobacco Institute, Public Affairs Division Proposed Budget 1991, reveals the tobacco industry's extraordinary level of financial support to fire fighting organizations. Their tactic, which Martin Gleason of the Institute referred to as "innoculating hostiles," effectively quelled criticism of the safety risks of cigarette design by fire service organizations across the country. It bought the tobacco industry support of what would otherwise have been their most formidable and credible adversary: the national fire service. This document reveals that the industry clearly recognized the scope of the problem of cigarette-caused fire deaths, yet it contains no mention whatsoever of concern for victims of cigarette-caused fires or for the safety of the firefighters who must respond to these fires.