Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Tobacco Control logoLink to Tobacco Control
. 2004 Mar;13(Suppl 1):i20–i29. doi: 10.1136/tc.2003.004721

A tobacco industry study of airline cabin air quality: dropping inconvenient findings

K Neilsen, S Glantz
PMCID: PMC1766143  PMID: 14985613

Abstract

Objective: To examine an industry funded and controlled study of in flight air quality (IFAQ).

Methods: Systematic search of internal tobacco industry documents available on the internet and at the British American Tobacco Guildford Depository.

Results: Individuals from several tobacco industry companies, led by Philip Morris, designed, funded, conducted, and controlled the presentation of results of a study of IFAQ for the Scandinavian airline SAS in 1988 while attempting to minimise the appearance of industry control. Industry lawyers and scientists deleted results unfavourable to the industry's position from the study before delivering it to the airline. The published version of the study further downplayed the results, particularly with regard to respirable suspended particulates. The study ignored the health implications of the results and instead promoted the industry position that ventilation could solve problems posed by secondhand smoke.

Conclusions: Sponsoring IFAQ studies was one of several tactics the tobacco industry employed in attempts to reverse or delay implementation of in-flight smoking restrictions. As a result, airline patrons and employees, particularly flight attendants, continued to be exposed to pollution from secondhand smoke, especially particulates, which the industry's own consultants had noted exceeded international standards. This case adds to the growing body of evidence that scientific studies associated with the tobacco industry cannot be taken at face value.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (451.9 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Barnes D. E., Bero L. A. Industry-funded research and conflict of interest: an analysis of research sponsored by the tobacco industry through the Center for Indoor Air Research. J Health Polit Policy Law. 1996 Fall;21(3):515–542. doi: 10.1215/03616878-21-3-515. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Barnes D. E., Bero L. A. Scientific quality of original research articles on environmental tobacco smoke. Tob Control. 1997 Spring;6(1):19–26. doi: 10.1136/tc.6.1.19. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Barnoya J., Glantz S. Tobacco industry success in preventing regulation of secondhand smoke in Latin America: the "Latin Project". Tob Control. 2002 Dec;11(4):305–314. doi: 10.1136/tc.11.4.305. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bero L., Barnes D. E., Hanauer P., Slade J., Glantz S. A. Lawyer control of the tobacco industry's external research program. The Brown and Williamson documents. JAMA. 1995 Jul 19;274(3):241–247. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bialous S. Aguinaga, Glantz S. A. ASHRAE Standard 62: tobacco industry's influence over national ventilation standards. Tob Control. 2002 Dec;11(4):315–328. doi: 10.1136/tc.11.4.315. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Dearlove J. V., Bialous S. A., Glantz S. A. Tobacco industry manipulation of the hospitality industry to maintain smoking in public places. Tob Control. 2002 Jun;11(2):94–104. doi: 10.1136/tc.11.2.94. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Dearlove Joanna V., Glantz Stanton A. Boards of Health as venues for clean indoor air policy making. Am J Public Health. 2002 Feb;92(2):257–265. doi: 10.2105/ajph.92.2.257. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Drake J. W., Johnson D. E. Measurements of certain environmental tobacco smoke components on long-range flights. Aviat Space Environ Med. 1990 Jun;61(6):531–542. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Drope J., Bialous S. A., Glantz S. A. Tobacco industry efforts to present ventilation as an alternative to smoke-free environments in North America. Tob Control. 2004 Mar;13 (Suppl 1):i41–i47. doi: 10.1136/tc.2003.004101. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Drope J., Chapman S. Tobacco industry efforts at discrediting scientific knowledge of environmental tobacco smoke: a review of internal industry documents. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2001 Aug;55(8):588–594. doi: 10.1136/jech.55.8.588. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Hirayama T. Non-smoking wives of heavy smokers have a higher risk of lung cancer: a study from Japan. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1981 Jan 17;282(6259):183–185. doi: 10.1136/bmj.282.6259.183. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Hong Mi-Kyung, Bero Lisa A. How the tobacco industry responded to an influential study of the health effects of secondhand smoke. BMJ. 2002 Dec 14;325(7377):1413–1416. doi: 10.1136/bmj.325.7377.1413. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Muggli M. E., Forster J. L., Hurt R. D., Repace J. L. The smoke you don't see: uncovering tobacco industry scientific strategies aimed against environmental tobacco smoke policies. Am J Public Health. 2001 Sep;91(9):1419–1423. doi: 10.2105/ajph.91.9.1419. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Muggli Monique E., Hurt Richard D., Blanke D. Douglas. Science for hire: a tobacco industry strategy to influence public opinion on secondhand smoke. Nicotine Tob Res. 2003 Jun;5(3):303–314. doi: 10.1080/1462220031000094169. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Ong E. K., Glantz S. A. Constructing "sound science" and "good epidemiology": tobacco, lawyers, and public relations firms. Am J Public Health. 2001 Nov;91(11):1749–1757. doi: 10.2105/ajph.91.11.1749. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Ong E., Glantz S. A. Hirayama's work has stood the test of time. Bull World Health Organ. 2000;78(7):938–939. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Repace J. Flying the smoky skies: secondhand smoke exposure of flight attendants. Tob Control. 2004 Mar;13 (Suppl 1):i8–19. doi: 10.1136/tc.2003.003111. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Samuels B., Glantz S. A. The politics of local tobacco control. JAMA. 1991 Oct 16;266(15):2110–2117. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Traynor M. P., Begay M. E., Glantz S. A. New tobacco industry strategy to prevent local tobacco control. JAMA. 1993 Jul 28;270(4):479–486. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Tobacco Control are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES