Why Philip Morris Hates Trial Lawyers
On September 19, 1996, the widow of the original
Marlboro Man filed a lawsuit in Texas charging that her husband died from using
the product that made him a household word.
 David McLean
was hired in the early 1960s to portray the "Marlboro Man" in television and
print ads. He was obligated to smoke Marlboros as he posed for television and
print ads, smoking up to five packs per take in order to get the right look.
Afterwards, Philip Morris continued to send him gift boxes of cigarettes.
In 1985, McLean
developed emphysema, followed by lung cancer in 1993. Following unsuccessful
attempts at chemotherapy and other treatments, he died on October 12, 1995.
McLean's death actually made him the second Marlboro Man to die of lung
cancer. Another actor, Wayne McLaren, died in 1992 at the age of 51.
"Even the
'Marlboro Man' was not immune from the effects of cigarette smoking," said Don
Howarth of the Howarth & Smith law firm, which is representing McLean's widow in
the lawsuit against Philip Morris. "Mr. McLean's widow and son hope by this
action to strike a blow for the countless others whose lives have been ravaged
through the tobacco industry's aggressive campaign of fraud and deceit."
Many people
have sued the tobacco industry before, of course, and to date they have not
collected a dollar in damages. During the second quarter of 1996, in fact,
company profits were up 18% over the same quarter in 1995, making the first half
of the year a "blockbuster" according to PM CEO Geoffrey Bible.
In order to
maintain its profitability in a hostile environment, Philip Morris spends
staggering sums on lobbying and public relations. According to an internal SAC
report from 1995, PM "contributed $50 million to tax-exempt organizations
through the nation during 1992 and is the largest contributor to the arts. ...
PM also sponsored the 54th annual Convention of the National Newspapers
Publishers Association" and "helps fund The American Civil Liberties Union--they
gave $100,000 in 1991 and 1992."
Among groups
that reported political lobbying in the first half of 1996, Philip Morris led
the pack at $11.3 million, almost six times the amount reported by its
arch-nemesis, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. Consumers
organizations and membership-funded citizen groups spent almost nothing by
comparison. With the exception of the Christian Coalition, which spent $5.9
million, virtually every big-spending lobbyist represented a corporation or
wealthy financial interest--the AMA, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, General
Motors, General Electric, the Chemical Manufacturers' Association and AT&T. By
comparison, the nation's largest membership organization, the American
Association of Retired Persons, spent only $3 million.
The "California Thing"
"An interesting insight into Philip Morris's efforts comes from Victor
Crawford, a former . . . lobbyist for the Tobacco Institute," observes an
internal report by the State Affairs Company.
Crawford became
an outspoken enemy of the tobacco lobby after developing lung cancer which led
to his death earlier this year. The SAC report quotes him as saying, "If you
ever want to see a bunch of cowboys work, watch Philip Morris. They are tough. I
mean they shoot from the hip. It was Philip Morris who did the California thing
[Proposition 188] after they were advised not to. That California thing was
dumb, because they had their name attached to it. They should have never done
that ... and they're getting bolder. It's a take-no-prisoners fight. You're
talking about $100 billion a year in gross profits ... And man, anything goes.
And anything will go."
The "California
thing" was PM's outrageous attempt, organized through two PR firms, the Dolphin
Group and Burson-Marsteller, to sucker California voters into passing a pro-tobacco
initiative disguised as a smoking restrictions law. "Specifically, Proposition
188 would have overturned about 300 local smoking ordinances," observed the SAC
report. "Besides spending about $15 million dollars in lobbying and expenditures
in a failed effort to pass 188, PM "was responsible for the $968,710 in
independent expenditures contributed by the National Smokers Alliance."
The National
Smokers Alliance is PM's version of "grassroots lobbying"--the rapidly growing
practice of using advertising, fax machines, mail and telephone banks to create
phony "grassroots" front groups in order to stir up public support for its
corporate objectives.
SAC operates
much of the National Smokers Alliance account, which PM founded with an initial
contribution of $7 million dollars to Burson-Marsteller. NAS's current budget
exceeds $10 million annually, primarily from Philip Morris.
In July, SAC
led a PM-funded effort by the National Smokers Alliance in Virginia attacking
the Motorola corporation's smoking policy, which they depicted as "the most
mean-spirited and punitive ... of any we have yet encountered in this country."
Thomas Humber, a Burson-Marsteller executive who is the nominal head of the
National Smokers Alliance, wrote to SAC's David McCloud: "Enclosed is a check
for $5,000 for the Motorola effort. . . . You are great Americans, and you
understand raising hell and having fun."
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