Tobacco Industry Political Strategies After the 1998 MSA

Institution:	University of California, San Francisco
Investigator(s):	Dorothy Apollonio, Ph.D.
Award Cycle:	2006 (Cycle 15)	Grant #: 15KT-0145	Award: $269,000
Subject Area:	Public Health, Public Policy, and Economics
Award Type:	New Investigator Awards

Abstracts

Initial Award Abstract

Historically, one of the two major barriers to passing tobacco control legislation has been the political activity of tobacco firms and trade associations. The 1998 Master Settlement Agreement between 46 state Attorneys General and the major U.S. tobacco firms placed restrictions on tobacco industry activities in order to serve multiple goals, one of which was to restrict the political power of tobacco firms. This project will provide data to determine the effectiveness of these restrictions. Reports in the popular press suggest that in the wake of the 1998 MSA and lacking a trade association, the major tobacco companies have at least occasionally been pursuing different political agendas. However, there has been no systematic evaluation of whether tobacco firms have changed their goals and activities in the wake of the 1998 MSA.

Therefore, this project will: (1) analyze changes in tobacco industry political strategies before and after the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement; (2) compare the extent to which tobacco firms continue to coordinate their political activities; and (3) survey perceptions of tobacco industry political influence in the wake of the settlement. The Master Settlement Agreement has made millions of internal industry documents available to the public as part of the intended reforms of tobacco industry corporate culture. This research will use these documents to identify the tobacco industry’s goals and intentions, and records of campaign contributions, as well as the perceptions of policy-makers, to judge whether their plans were executed.

It is important to address this issue because advocates for the 1998 MSA believed that the restrictions imposed on the tobacco industry would reduce its ability to present biased research and limit its political power. If the industry still engages in the kind of political behavior that led to the settlement, tobacco firms will continue to prevent the passage of effective tobacco control policies. In addition to identifying whether the industry has continued its past activities, this research will identify new strategies used by the tobacco industry to maintain its political influence. If the corporate culture reforms have been ineffective, tobacco control advocates may wish to seek additional restrictions on tobacco industry activities.

Publications

Wheat from Chaff: Third-Party Monitoring and FEC Enforcement Actions
Periodical: Regulation and Goverance			Index Medicus:
Authors: Lochner, T., Apollonio, D.E., Tatum, R.				ART
Yr: 2008	Vol: 2	Nbr: 2	Abs:	Pg: 216-233

Access and Lobbying: Looking Beyond the Corruption Paradigm
Periodical: Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly			Index Medicus:
Authors: Apollonio, D.E., Cain, B.E., Drutman, L.				ART
Yr: 2008	Vol: 35	Nbr:	Abs:	Pg:

Turning negative into positive: Public health mass media campaigns and negative advertising.
Periodical: Health Education Research			Index Medicus:
Authors: Apollonio, D; Malone R				ART
Yr: 2009	Vol: 24	Nbr: 3	Abs:	Pg: 483-495

The We Card program: Tobacco industry youth smoking prevention as industry self-preservation.
Periodical: American Journal of Public Health			Index Medicus:
Authors: Apollonio, D; Malone, R				ART
Yr: 2009	Vol:	Nbr:	Abs:	Pg:

Wheat from Chaff: Third-Party Monitoring and FEC Enforcement Actions
Periodical: Regulation and Goverance			Index Medicus:
Authors: Lochner, T., Apollonio, D.E., Tatum, R.				ART
Yr: 2008	Vol: 2	Nbr: 2	Abs:	Pg: 216-233

Access and Lobbying: Looking Beyond the Corruption Paradigm
Periodical: Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly			Index Medicus:
Authors: Apollonio, D.E., Cain, B.E., Drutman, L.				ART
Yr: 2008	Vol: 35	Nbr:	Abs:	Pg:

Turning negative into positive: Public health mass media campaigns and negative advertising.
Periodical: Health Education Research			Index Medicus:
Authors: Apollonio, D; Malone R				ART
Yr: 2009	Vol: 24	Nbr: 3	Abs:	Pg: 483-495

The We Card program: Tobacco industry youth smoking prevention as industry self-preservation.
Periodical: American Journal of Public Health			Index Medicus:
Authors: Apollonio, D; Malone, R				ART
Yr: 2009	Vol:	Nbr:	Abs:	Pg: