Simon Chapman
University of Sydney

Tobacco Use as Informed Risk Taking: implications for tobacco control arising from the tobacco industry's public re-birthing.
In the face of the damning internal revelations in the Master Settlement Agreement industry documents, the tobacco industry was snookered into changing its public position on health effects of smoking and on addiction. The resultant “re-birthing” of the industry positions smoking as a potentially addictive, high risk activity to which sentient adults willingly consent in full knowledge of the risks they face. As such smoking is said to be little different to other risks chosen in free societies (motorcycling, extreme sports etc). This strategy requires parallel accelerated vigilance from the industry to their time-honoured public policy of denying interest in children and engagement in symbolic anti-smoking campaigns said to validate that commitment. The industry continues to deny that passive smoking poses any significant health risks.

This paper will review contrast the old with the “new” industry, analyse the strategic strengths and weaknesses of the re-born industry policy, and consider the challenges the policy poses to anyone in tobacco control concerned to ensure that public health interventions proceed from ethically based principles.

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