JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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To learn how nicotine has been regarded by a major tobacco company. ⋯ During a period of 22 years (1962 to 1984), employees of B&W and BAT conducted research and commented on the pharmacology of nicotine. They consistently regarded nicotine as the pharmacological agent that explained tobacco use. In the early part of the period under study, officials of the companies wrote about nicotine addiction explicitly. Inhalation of cigarette smoke by the consumer was recognized throughout the period as necessary for the normal function of a cigarette. The documents contain little indication that research was conducted on either the taste or the flavor of nicotine. The documents reveal an intention on the part of B&W and its corporate parent to affect the function of the body with nicotine.
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To examine the involvement of tobacco industry lawyers in the selection of tobacco industry scientific research projects and to examine how the research was used to influence public policy. ⋯ The involvement of tobacco industry lawyers in the selection of scientific projects to be funded is in sharp contrast to the industry's public statements about its review process for its external research program. Scientific merit played little role in the selection of external research projects. The results of the projects were used to generate good publicity for the industry, to deflect attention away from tobacco use as a health danger, and to attempt, sometimes surreptitiously, to influence policymakers.