JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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To understand how attorneys for the tobacco industry in general, and Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corporation (B&W) in particular, have responded to the threat of products liability litigation arising from smoking-induced diseases. ⋯ The documents demonstrate that the tobacco industry in general, and B&W in particular, were very concerned about the threat of products liability lawsuits, and they illustrate some of the steps taken by lawyers at one company to avoid the discovery of documents that might be useful to a plaintiff in such a lawsuit. These steps included efforts to control the language of scientific discourse on issues related to smoking and health, to bring all potentially damaging internal scientific documents under attorney work product and attorney-client privilege to avoid discovery, to remove "deadwood" documents, and to insulate B&W from knowledge of potentially damaging scientific information from other BAT companies.
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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.