The Philip Morris Nordic journalist program: strategies, implementation and outcomes

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Tobacco Control
• Media Studies

Background:

• Internal tobacco industry documents reveal Philip Morris's media strategies in Nordic countries.
• Examining the tobacco industry's efforts to influence public opinion and policy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe Philip Morris's media strategies in Nordic countries.
• To evaluate the implementation and outcomes of these strategies.

Main Methods:

• Systematic search of internal tobacco industry documents.
• Retrieval of media articles from Sweden and Finland.

Main Results:

• Philip Morris employed journalist trips, media briefings, and events.
• These strategies were largely unsuccessful in generating pro-tobacco industry coverage.
• Support for smokers' rights groups and cultural events yielded some positive publicity.

Conclusions:

• The Philip Morris Nordic journalist program largely failed to influence media coverage or prevent environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) regulation.
• Internal documents show industry intent but lack sufficient detail for full strategy evaluation.