According to the MillerCoors Web site, in 1970 Miller Brewing was purchased by the tobacco company Philip Morris.1 In 2002 Philip Morris sold the controlling interest in Miller to South African Breweries which then formed a new company, SABMiller. According to Forbes, Philip Morris retained a 36 percent economic interest and a 25 percent voting interest in Miller after the sale, but gave up direct control.2 However, in 1995 when the International Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP) was founded, Miller was part of and controlled directly by Philip Morris. The quotations in my article about the reasons for Miller's involvement in ICAP are from the Philip Morris CEO Briefing Book for 1996.3 The tobacco connection to ICAP is clear, and part of the point of my article (as well as, I believe, that of other articles published in that issue) was to spell out that the tobacco industry's tactic of appropriating medical and public health authority to support its marketing is in use by other industries as well.4
References
- 1.MillerCoors History. 1959–1975 timeline. 2012. Available at: http://www.millercoors.com/who-we-are/miller-coors-history/timeline/panelid/4.aspx. Accessed December 7, 2011
- 2.Ackman D. Philip Morris Says No To Beer. Forbes.com. May 30, 2002. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/2002/05/30/0530topnews_print.html. Accessed December 7, 2011 [Google Scholar]
- 3.Firestone M. CEO Issues Book. January 8, 1997. Phillip Morris. Bates no. 2065405466. Available at: http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/wsv43a00/pdf?search=%22international center for alcohol policies%22. Accessed June 5, 2010
- 4.Rothman DJ. Consequences of industry relationships for public health and medicine. Am J Public Health. 2012;102(1):55. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]