Forty years on: a war to recognise and win. How the tobacco industry has survived the revelations on smoking and health.

Nothing has significantly checked the growth of the tobacco industry since the introduction of smoking to Europe, and the industry has easily survived the 40 years since the first authoritative revelations about the health effects of smoking. Some explanations are offered and the tactics of the industry and the response of the UK Government are reviewed. The policies of British-American Tobacco and its subsidiaries, especially Brown and Williamson in the USA, are considered in detail, including the rejection of an early proposal for a pragmatic but honest deal. In particular, an internal document from 1970 is examined in which BAT purports to set policy for the whole industry. The document is revealed as showing far-sighted but cynical calculation, for instance, in limiting concessions to those countries where public and government awareness requires them. Examples of BAT activities are quoted to illustrate key points.