Pig's blood in cigarette filters: how a single news release highlighted tobacco industry concealment of cigarette ingredients

The tobacco industry is not obligated to disclose ingredients and additives used in manufactured tobacco production. This paper describes global reaction to a press release highlighting evidence that porcine haemoglobin (“pig's blood”) was sometimes used in cigarette manufacturing while never being disclosed to smokers. The case study illustrates the power of press releases to ignite major interest in tobacco control issues.

[1]  A. Valavanidis,et al.  A comparative study by electron paramagnetic resonance of free radical species in the mainstream and sidestream smoke of cigarettes with conventional acetate filters and ‘bio-filters’ , 2001, Redox report : communications in free radical research.

[2]  C. Ramsay,et al.  Mass media interventions: effects on health services utilisation. , 2002, The Cochrane database of systematic reviews.

[3]  P. Toutouzas,et al.  Effects of Smoking of Conventional Cigarettes and of Hemoglobin Filter Cigarettes on Autonomic Cardiac Control , 2003 .

[4]  Norman Mailer,et al.  Marilyn: A Biography , 1973 .

[5]  E. Benelli.  The role of the media in steering public opinion on healthcare issues. , 2003, Health policy.

[6]  S. Chapman.  “Keep a low profile”: pesticide residue, additives, and freon use in Australian tobacco manufacturing , 2003, Tobacco control.

[7]  S. Chapman,et al.  Ensuring smokers are adequately informed: reflections on consumer rights, manufacturer responsibilities, and policy implications , 2005, Tobacco Control.

[8]  R. Blendon,et al.  Health News and the American Public, 1996-2002 , 2003, Journal of health politics, policy and law.

[9]  Thomais Vlachogianni,et al.  Tobacco Smoke: Involvement of Reactive Oxygen Species and Stable Free Radicals in Mechanisms of Oxidative Damage, Carcinogenesis and Synergistic Effects with Other Respirable Particles , 2009, International journal of environmental research and public health.

[10]  S. Chapman,et al.  A strategy for increasing news media coverage of tobacco and health in Australia. , 2001, Health promotion international.

[11]  J. Collin,et al.  “If we can just ‘stall’ new unfriendly legislations, the scoreboard is already in our favour”: transnational tobacco companies and ingredients disclosure in Thailand , 2004, Tobacco Control.