THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY AND UNIVERSITIES
1
AlA 1 BAMA ONGOING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY AND UNIVERSITIES An Insidious Obstacle to Tobacco Control Alan Blum, MD, University of Alabama Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA ablum@ ua.edu PROGRESS ON SMOKE-FREE POLICIES, BUT SMOKING PREVALENCE STILL A PROBL.EM l1 1though more than 1,750 colleges and universities in the United States alone have become smoke free campuses over the past 20 years (incl 1 uding nearly 1,500 that claim to have adopted entirely tobacco-free policies), progress . in reducing cigarette , smokeless tobacco , and hookah use among U.S. university students has slowed . Prevalence may be as high as 25°/(). Globally , reported smoking preval,ence among university students ranges from 14% in Brazil to 60% in Bangladesh. A ! little-studied obstacle to reducing tobacco use among university students is the ongoing fi1nancial relationships between the tobacco industry and academia . Coordinated strategies to diminish the influence of the tobacco industry in academia are lagging and' require greater attention by tobacco control proponents. PARTICIPATION IN CAMPUS JOB FAIRS ·1'1 rr•~ .-:--, -·-Tr •- ~ ·, :,.:- , - ~•.-1t. I · •.""-,.1_- "! ,.·' ,.y 'l '. .· .. , . :, ,- , - Oc' .' ,·,:=\ -), .' At· :) ,,; l ·, ffil\ iil: .... --=-1 .- .• ,·,,. .JI \J.,.. -~ . , .. , -- ~- •- -, .~ -. 1 .. -~ · , I - - • :.,-......,.__ -- ·-• ••• ·, .·-;· • . ,,-. ,'_ i ,' ·;;·'-111 \- }) ·• 1 · -• , ' 7 _.I· -- ' ... ,.-' 1: . . . . -. . !WA'I'll IJ l;!H l!II O IA.D 'llJIJ ll'i.E • .UHi HOW SOON CAN YOU START? ......... - ..... ..--... ........ ..... - ..... , , 1,.,: ., ... , i . ..... ..,, • .., • •o:-..: ......... ... _.... ..... _.., .. , ....... ,._,., .... .., .... r,1-. PHILIP l"IORRI ! U~ .......... ....... •-"r• -'-'-""· ··-. ... .. ..... ... ,... ,..;:.,-. .. ...,. ........ ..,.. •. .,_........,_ .• .,.....N, ........ . _ ittlle attention has been paid by health organizations to the ongoijng involvement by cig.arette manufacturers Altria (Philip Morris USA, malkers of the number one brand Marlboro, and Reynolds American, maker of Newport, Camel, and Winston) in career centers at majo ir universities and at job fairs held on their campuses twice each year. Triese include the University of Virginia, the University of North Carolina, the University of Georgia, the University of Alabama, the U11iversi1ty of Texas, the Un1 iversity of Arizona, tlhe University of California at Berkeley, the University of Kansas, the 1 University of Wash iington, and dozens of others. At these job fairs, recruiters tout the com1panies' integrity and social responsibility and insist that cigarettes are marketed only to adults who already smoke The companies seek . . ' . . i ~•II' u ~ • ~-- • "-• 1~L• .•• ... ... --- · . fr .,. -:..,................ - ,,- -"--. rl.V' "T rl __ .,,., .... ......... . ... ........... ...., ..... .. . ...... IL.II .. • ...... - . .. ·- · ..... ___. - . •-.• ... ......,....,.. . ... • h • • .. ..... . .. .. . .....,. .._. ··-··- ·- ....... ... ...,,. ---+-' ,-.,;__, • .- ...' - •• ...... ... p ..... . ...... ... J,~ - -- ·,w 1, ., . _ ...... , . . .... ,., ......... .... ...,, ............... , L 1 1GMIW . , ............ ., • 1 .... ,1. • ., • .ii , ......... ......i;;,- ' ................... ·---· -· • . .......... -1 .... ... . ,_.,,, • ........ ""' .... . ............ , ....... -,_ .... ,.. .. .... . ..,_,. .,.,. ....... _ .... . ,.~ ., _.._,_ .. _ ... ......... __.. ...... ... ,.., , . ..... , ..... , .... .. .__... .. -· . , ............ . ..,._,i_._.. •• ·--·"- ... .... ....... . -v r.e .,....,.., ..., • 1.-. .. ,.. '- '--}" •h "- - .,.. •-!Y • .-.-• , """-':. 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These college graduates th 1 us continue the cycle of promo ting cigarettes to the poorest and the least educated . .... ....... . .,............ ., .. _.. .. --· • .......,......, .r,..,. ,i.,,,_ ONI B£A TDII EilUIBIKI .Ol"' . -·-• •~ lLTlliA .. ---'"' -!e: ""~'" ..... ...... OCi'll':.MB RESEARCH GRANTS On 1982, the University ot Sydney became the first university to reject Tl1b.1cco , com pa11y lloru1te.~ ,1} 9 .. ni • t . . tobacco industry fu1nding_ Few universities have followed the leader_ Indeed, ~P ..,,1 m.1 110n o m1u,·e1 ·s1 il)' the Univers ity of Califo rniia Faculty Senate and Board of Regents passed a policy that prohib its barri11gresearchers from accepting 1 tobacco money. In 1992, the American Medical Association rejected a policy statement urging .... ,.. ... UC regenrs delaytobal':Co l'und.<i voro ..,..,.._.,... _ .,...,.. • _,._, • ,._,_ _.., -· -. - .. _ • •• ••• ·· , -· • • !"'-::: ·· ·-· .... . ... . ~-·...- r·t --·-·.,•~·~ .;.·,tu~.;;;.;- •~ . .... - ..;r;-:.....;:"';;;:;.:;; .; ·,l_,"'L';"' ,'.;~;.:J."':: LK •. :;-...-.=a"k.; • ,!~T~ ......... • ...... '"?.~~ -.-• ~.~.•J,~~ medical schools to reject tobacco industry research grants. Duke Univers ity, 11.~;;. :~;;~ lrlt'1; :€:'!::: Virginia Com,monwealth University, the 1 University of Ca lifornia at Los Angeles, and the University of Virginia a ire among the dozens of universities that have accepted tens of millions of dollars in tobacco industry research grants in recent years_ The industry has long used selected findings from th,e researchers it funds in legal and legislative testimony. Some researchers have accepted funds from both the tobacco companies and the National Cancer !Institute. --Poe News and Via\lilS i!!. • .., , . , ._ • ._....., .. ._ ......._.. • .. . .,_. . ... ."•" .. n••--- .,._, _.,.,... . . .._. • •• .. ...... . • . .. ... 'J, .: • --·~ ·I"! ~-.-.r. · ... ... . ......... - . , .. • ..... . .... . _ , • • ,:-r .,. ·~ p .... . . , .... . ... .... ...,...... . ... - .,11'.:h ....... .. -..1...... .. . ... ... .... , ...... ,.,_. .. .. .... ... ... ,r • n •• ,.,_._ , .,.. ..:. I • 1-..- .... " .-._ ...,_ -. .-. "-L" -r · -. • "II n, w, ....,. · , ... , . , .... .. .. l.!t.- ~ --- - . .. . ,.,. -• - ·- ... JI£ :u,, ........... .. . . . ---_. ....... .... •--:- ......... .,. ........ ..... . .......-,. ......... .. .... ...... . .... .. . ......... ... •.• ..... .. ... • -- - .... • .... . ... ...... .. ... ~- • ....t,'a h. .-,,+J . ·- ...... , . ' .. ,__, ..:, "-' ....... .., • •• ,,.,._ .............. ., . ..... . .......... ...... • • .r.i.!L • .... . .-.. ., r=--•r.---' •.. ..- --., ..... ... , • .&-.. ' . ' ' , .......... .,..,. _,_ - IL, 11-.-r.. . ~• . •,._....._-.,. .,_,, ••,c,~• • ,.•. J .... hh,-.- tff )-. r,-_a,: ._. ..... • L• . • : ._ • •• 1 · -'1"1 .-...... - .-. ... ..... . ~ -?· ' ....... ....., :!"" ..... ..... . ,._., ...... . ,.., ... -'--"- ~- - ·-- .,... .... ~•·· .. .. ...... .. .......... • • ...,,"i"T'" -:•·-" •'-'- i. ...... ............... ,.. ..,r,; , •.,_..__. ,.,a, ...._ . ..,_.._ ._. I. • .... -. _. •c•----- ...,..•~ •• . - .- ....... ........... . ._. • .......... '. _... .., ..... .... ...., ... ... .. ..,. .d. , • • • • . ,. . ,_. ', •r .., ...- .., • ._.....,. ___, ._ • l:.6>t••h&.. -.- ~-n•..- • • .,.._.. , -r-,•l ·.:,::,, - •. ...,,1:,r.._.,., .... ... , ..... -. ....... . .. ........ ....... .. ..., . ,.,, _ _ D INVESTMENT IN TOBACCO STOCKS n 1984, the U.S physicians' activist group Doctors Ought to Care (DOC) created Project S.N.U .. F.F. {Stop Nox ious University Funding Forever) to influence universities with medical schools to divest tobacco stocks from their endowments. The University of Illinois and a handful of other institutions agreed. Most others did not. The pri:::lsident of Rice U11iversity,holder of the most tobacco industry stock by any university in the 1990s, defe11ded its investment by claim ing that the lucrative dividends helped keep down tuition costs. · ===-- --- ··· .. )._. ,,.':' ( "''~.i '" "'-' • [J':'>. ·i~':' Tv~1K~-0C:.m ~r .:;l\k r . .-: ·:rl::; ~1::.'TT1 1~.1•· .~~~':"...=... .. • j ·· - ... ~·"~-·-· ., -'"• "'"'"-'"" [E ther universities with 1prominent medical schools that divested their tobacco stocks include Johns ~! ~"' !}~I ... .. ··--·-- · . - -- --- ~ . Hopkins University (1991 ), Stanford University (1998), University of Washfngton (2000), and University 1 i~: 2 ~ -=~ ~-:-.:· ~;;;- .~~ ~.::n":. "-. ·~r.:: of California (2001 ). Not all divestment efforts were successful, however. lhe University of Texas (UT), 1 ~l{f~ with its world-famous reputation for the treatment of cancer at its MD Anderson Cancer Center, invested \;~::'fiti '.~ 1 ti~i~ .. - ·-·-····· ··· almost $50 mi Ilion in tobacco stocks. In 1991, a single student, aided by DOC, succeeded in persuading ,~#.~~.~~_;';:,"':;.:'.-:'.;~~~~::'. :~f~l~ •• ._. •.....,..._.,_.~ --•- •- -~ .. .. ,....._ .... ... j .......,._• nnrl ·-· • ·• ·•· ·• · half of the Board of Regents to vote to divest tobacco stocks , but the cha irman broke a 4-4 tie by voting s.~:;,,, ~---" ---~.;,:·.:::..--:::. :,-,:.i· ·---::-:;:,".-"'"" to retain the investment As a consolation , the board passed a resolution banning smoking on the entire campus . On 1986, the author, along with faculty members, students On 1990, DOC membeir Phil Huang, MD, MPH, led a and in1vestment managers from many U.S. colleges and successful effort to convince Harvard University to eliminate u11iversities, atte11deda meeting on ethical investing. They $40 million in tobacco stocks from its e11dowment fund discussed the ethics of holding shares in companies that investments. As a student at the School of P 1 ublic Health, produced items used in the manufact 1 ure of nuclear weapons Huang created a campus radio advertisement that pointed out or with ties to apa.rtheid South .Africa. When tlhe author the hypocrisy of President Derek Bok's call for university ch,allenged the participants to urge their institutions to divest leadership in demonstrating strong moral and civic values , thei r tobacco stocks because of the health toll caused by whi le Harvard continued to invest in the tobacco industry. smok ing, a 1 udience members voiced co11cerns about abrogating A news report further exposed the university's hypocrisy of freedom of choice a11d the right to smoke. Only when the author investing in tobacco companies whille receiving $54 millio11 in pointed out that Philip Morris held a maj or stake in the South research grants from the National Cancer Institute. African cigarette company IR.othmans did the group acknowledge that diivesting Philip Morris stock might merit consideration. _ ike the vastt maj ority of universities , US academia's largest retirement provider of financial services, TIAA (Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association), hasn t sold its tobacco stocks , which are simply too lucrative .. This means tha1l thousands of physic ians and other pub lic health professionals who teach in medical schools- including the author-also benefit from tobacco stock profits as members of TIAA. In 1996, at the height of the lawsuits brought by the state attorneys-general against the cigarette manufacturers and when public enmity toward th,e industry was growing, TIM created a separate investment fund, the Social Choice Account , as a tobacco-free vehicle for retirement investors. But TIAA has rebuffed all calls to sell its vast tobacco stock holdings. ln1 its 2017 annual report, TIAA lists ; investments totaling more than $450 million in Philip Morris International, maker of Marlboro, the world's best-selli11g cigarette, and its counterpartA ltriia, which controls over 50°/D of the US cigarette market. TIAA is thu1s one of the big1gest investoirs in Big Tobacco. Nor has 7rlAA stood with the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility in its snareho lder resolutions aimed at curbing the tobacco industry's aggressive expansion into Africa, Asia; and Eastern Europe_ NAMING OPPORTUNITIES r;J everal universities in the US have scholarsh ips, professorships, hospitals, and even medical schools that have been endowed by and 11amedin honor of tobacco industry figures. Duke University has at least 27 professorships e11dowed by the Duke Fou1ndation (established by toba.cco magnate James B. Duke} including one in radiation oncology, as well as an RJ Reynolds Professorship of !Medicine and Phrlip Morris Minority Sch1olarships Bowman Gray School of Medicine is named for a past president of RJ !Reynolds Tobacco Company . New York University's Tisch Hospital is named for the late controlling owner of Lorillard Tobacco, since absorbed into Reynolds American, US arm of Britiish1 American Tobacco (BAT) The Wharton School of th1e University of Pennsylvania has an endowed professorship of social responsibil ity named for a former head of the National Association of Tobacco Distributors. (In 2014 the university's board voted not to divest tobacco stocks.) Virginia Commo11wea.lth University has a Philip Morris Endowed Chair in lnternatio 1nal Business. Syracuse University has an endowed cha.ir in business and government policy named for a past presiden 1 t of United States Tobacco Company, which popu larized smokeless tobacco. In the UK, Cambridge University has an endowed chair named for a former chaJrman of the board of BAT.
Transcript of THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY AND UNIVERSITIES
AlA1BAMA ONGOING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY AND UNIVERSITIES
An Insidious Obstacle to Tobacco Control Alan Blum, MD, University of Alabama Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA ablum@ ua.edu
PROGRESS ON SMOKE-FREE POLICIES, BUT SMOKING PREVALENCE STILL A PROBL.EM
l1 1though more than 1,750 colleges and universities in the United States alone have become smoke free campuses over the past 20 years (incl 1uding nearly 1,500 that claim to have adopted entirely tobacco-free policies), progress .in reducing cigarette , smokeless tobacco , and hookah use among U.S. university students has slowed . Prevalence may be as high as 25°/(). Globally , reported smoking preval ,ence among university students ranges from 14% in Brazil to 60% in Bangladesh. A !little-studied obstacle to reducing tobacco use among university students is the ongoing fi1nancial relationships between the tobacco industry and academia . Coordinated strategies to diminish the influence of the tobacco industry in academia are lagging and' require greater attention by tobacco control proponents.
PARTICIPATION IN CAMPUS JOB FAIRS ·1'1 rr•~.-:--, -·-Tr •-~ ·, :,.:-, -
~•.-1t. I · •.""-,.1_-"! ,. ·' ,.y 'l '. .· .. , . :, ,- , - Oc' .' ,·,:=\-), .' At· :) , , ; l ·,
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!WA' I'll IJ l;!H l!II O IA.D 'llJIJ ll'i.E • .UHi
HOW SOON CAN YOU START? ......... -..... ..--... ............. -..... ,
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_ ittlle attention has been paid by health organizations to the ongoijng involvement by cig.arette manufacturers Altria (Philip Morris USA, malkers of the number one brand Marlboro, and Reynolds American, maker of Newport, Camel, and Winston) in career centers at majo ir universities and at job fairs held on their campuses twice each year. Triese include the University of Virginia, the University of North Carolina, the University of Georgia, the University of Alabama, the U11iversi1ty of Texas, the Un1iversity of Ar izona, tlhe University of California at Berkeley, the University of Kansas, the 1University of Wash iington, and dozens of others. At these job fairs, recruiters tout the com 1panies' integrity and social responsibility and insist that cigarettes are marketed only to adults who already smoke The companies seek
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public relations and marketing majors , athletes, debate team members, women, ,--------- -. and minorities to become territory sales managers, which consists of restocking
tobacco products i11 convenie11ce stores , drug stores, and supermarkets in a defined geographic area. These college graduates th1us continue the cycle of promo ting cigarettes to the poorest and the least educated .
. ... ....... . .,............ ., .. _.. .. --· • .......,......,.r,..,. ,i.,,,_
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RESEARCH GRANTS On 1982, the University ot Sydney became the first university to reject Tl1b.1cco, com pa11y lloru1te.~
,1} 9 .. ni• t . . tobacco industry fu1nding_ Few universities have followed the leader_ Indeed, ~P ..,,1 m .1 110n o m1u,·e1·s1il)'
the Univers ity of Califo rniia Faculty Senate and Board of Regents passed a policy that prohib its barri11g researchers from accepting 1 tobacco money. In 1992, the American Medical Association rejected a policy statement urging
.... ,.. ... ~
UC regenrs delay tobal':Co l'und.<i voro
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medical schools to reject tobacco industry research grants. Duke Univers ity, 11.~;;. :~;;~ lrlt'1; ~~t :€:'!::: Virginia Com,monwealth University, the 1University of Ca lifornia at Los Angeles, and the University of Virginia a ire among the dozens of universities that have accepted tens of
millions of dollars in tobacco industry research grants in recent years_ The industry has long used selected findings from th,e researchers it funds in legal and legislative testimony. Some researchers have accepted funds from both the tobacco companies and the National Cancer !Institute.
--Poe News and Via\lilS i!!. • . . , ,
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D INVESTMENT IN TOBACCO STOCKS n 1984, the U.S physicians' activist group Doctors Ought to Care (DOC) created Project S.N.U .. F.F.
{Stop Nox ious University Funding Forever) to influence universities with medical schools to divest tobacco stocks from their endowments. The University of Illinois and a handful of other institutions agreed. Most others did not. The pri:::lsident of Rice U11iversity, holder of the most tobacco industry stock by any university in the 1990s, defe11ded its investment by claim ing that the lucrative dividends helped keep down tuition costs. · ===-- --- ···
. . )._.,,.':' ( "''~.i'" "'-'• [J':'>.·i~':' Tv~1K~-0C:.m~r .:;l\k r . .-:·:rl::; ~1::.'TT11~.1• · .~~~':"...=... .. •j ~ ··- ... ~·"~-·-· ., -'"•"'"'"-'""
[E ther universities with 1prominent medical schools that divested their tobacco stocks include Johns ~! ~"' !}~I ... .. ··--·--· . - -----~.
Hopkins University (1991 ), Stanford University (1998), University of Washfngton (2000), and University ~{~~~it~ 1 i~:2~-=~ ~-:-.:·~;;;-.~~ ~.::n":."-.·~r.::
of California (2001 ). Not all divestment efforts were successful, however. lhe University of Texas (UT), -~~~ 1 ~l{f~ with its world-famous reputation for the treatment of cancer at its MD Anderson Cancer Center, invested \;~::'fiti ~ '.~1ti~i~
.. - ·-·-····· ··· almost $50 mi Ilion in tobacco stocks. In 1991, a single student, aided by DOC, succeeded in persuading ,~#.~~.~~_;';:,"':;.:'.-:'.;~~~~::'. :~f~l~
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half of the Board of Regents to vote to divest tobacco stocks , but the cha irman broke a 4-4 tie by voting s.~:;,,, ~---"-- -~.;,:·.:::..--:::.:,-,:.i··--- ::-:;:,".-"'"" to retain the investment As a consolation , the board passed a resolution banning smoking on the entire campus .
On 1986, the author, along with faculty members, students On 1990, DOC membeir Phil Huang, MD, MPH, led a and in1vestment managers from many U.S. colleges and successful effort to convince Harvard University to eliminate u11iversities, atte11ded a meeting on ethical investing. They $40 million in tobacco stocks from its e11dowment fund discussed the ethics of holding shares in companies that investments. As a student at the School of P1ublic Health, produced items used in the manufact 1ure of nuclear weapons Huang created a campus radio advertisement that pointed out or with ties to apa.rtheid South .Africa. When tlhe author the hypocrisy of President Derek Bok's call for university ch,allenged the participants to urge their institutions to divest leadership in demonstrating strong moral and civic values , thei r tobacco stocks because of the health toll caused by whi le Harvard continued to invest in the tobacco industry. smok ing, a1udience members voiced co11cerns about abrogating A news report further exposed the university's hypocrisy of freedom of choice a11d the right to smoke. Only when the author investing in tobacco companies whille receiving $54 millio11 in pointed out that Philip Morris held a major stake in the South research grants from the National Cancer Institute. African cigarette company IR.othmans did the group acknowledge that diivesting Philip Morris stock might merit consideration.
_ ike the vastt majority of universities , US academia's largest retirement provider of financial services, TIAA (Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association), hasn t sold its tobacco stocks , which are simp ly too lucrative .. This means tha1l thousands of physic ians and other pub lic health professionals who teach in medical schoolsincluding the author-also benefit from tobacco stock profits as members of TIAA.
In 1996, at the height of the lawsuits brought by the state attorneys-general against the cigarette manufacturers and when public enmity toward th,e industry was growing, TIM created a separate investment fund, the Social Choice Account , as a tobacco-free vehicle for retirement investors. But TIAA has rebuffed all cal ls to sell its vast tobacco stock holdings. ln1 its 2017 annual report, TIAA lists ;investments totaling more than $450 million in Philip Morris International, maker of Marlboro, the world's best-selli11g cigarette, and its counterpartA ltriia, which controls over 50°/D of the US cigarette market. TIAA is thu1s one of the big1gest investo irs in Big Tobacco.
Nor has 7rlAA stood with the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility in its snareho lder resolutions aimed at curbing the tobacco industry's aggressive expansion into Africa, Asia; and Eastern Europe_
NAMING OPPORTUNITIES r;J everal universities in the US have scholarsh ips, professorships, hospitals, and even medical schools that have been endowed by and 11amed in honor of tobacco industry figures. Duke University has at least 27 professorships e11dowed by the Duke Fou1ndation (established by toba.cco magnate James B. Duke} including one in radiation oncology, as well as an RJ Reyno lds Professorship of !Medicine and Phrlip Morris Minority Sch1olarships Bowman Gray School of Medicine is named for a past president of RJ !Reynolds Tobacco Company . New York University's Tisch Hospital is named for the late controlling owner of Lorillard Tobacco, since absorbed into Reynolds American, US arm of Britiish1 American Tobacco (BAT) The Wharton School of th1e University of Pennsylvania has an endowed professorship of social responsibil ity named for a former head of the National Association of Tobacco Distributors. (In 2014 the university's board voted not to divest tobacco stocks.) Virginia Commo11wea.lth University has a Philip Morris Endowed Chair in lnternatio 1nal Business . Syracuse University has an endowed cha.ir in business and government policy named for a past presiden 1t of United States Tobacco Company, which popu larized smokeless tobacco. In the UK, Cambridge University has an endowed chair named for a former chaJrman of the board of BAT.
