Anne Landman's Daily Document: ARISE: Associates for Research into the Science of Enjoyment
Daily Doc: ARISE
Associates for Research into the Science of EnjoymentPM, 1994
Bates No. 2022998523/8585
February 12, 2000
Of all the strategies the tobacco industry uses to push its will on the public and policy-makers, arguably the most insidious (and effective) is its use of front groups. Fully aware that it lacks any credibility in the scientific, social and cultural arenas, the Philip Morris Tobacco Company (PM) creates other organizations as "independent" third parties do its bidding in these forums.
First PM decides who it needs to influence, and then how it needs to influence these groups. Then it decides the type of rhetoric ("science" and polls) it needs to create to achieve this influence. PM then creates a "designer organization" to fill these needs. PM provides the "organization" with a name, letterhead, phone, fax lines, an operating budget and public relations support, and then solicits "experts" to join it--and often asks other companies to help the foot the bill. Once in place, the front group starts holding seminars and conferences (with controlled lists of invitees and presentations), issuing press releases, sending op-eds to newspapers for publication, holding press conferences, meeting with editorial boards, and even publishing best-selling books. These provide "vehicles to attract print and electronic media."
One such PM front group is ARISE (Associates for Research in the Science of Enjoyment.) PM created ARISE to help counteract the declining social acceptance of tobacco use worldwide. Among other applications for ARISE, PM clandestinely used ARISE to minimize the 1988 U.S. Surgeon General's finding that nicotine is as addictive as heroin.
ARISE "scientists" studied the "science of pleasure," finding, amazingly enough, that imbibing in coffee, tea, chocolate, sex and--yes--tobacco causes pleasure. This in turn reduces stress, thus improving work performance, stimulating the immune system and suppressing diseases like --yes--cancer and heart disease! Contrary to the Surgeon General's warning about the addictiveness of nicotine, ARISE found that "smoking is a controlled pleasure -- it does not take control." ARISE conferences were pre-promoted to the media through the release of polls (with predictable results) and the distribution of video news-releases. Topics at the conferences were carefully chosen to "align tobacco with food and drink," and staunchly oppose "forcing a uniform healthy society."
Through ARISE, PM was able to flood print media worldwide with articles with titillating titles like "Nine things more pleasurable than sex..." , articles that lumped fairly harmless human pleasures like sex, shopping and tea drinking with smoking, and articles containing highly emotional, loaded quotes like this:
"Puritanical health workers who dictate whether people should smoke or drink alcohol and coffee 'are trying to ruin the quality of life.' A group of academics grouped under the Associates for Research and Substance Enjoyment (Arise) said ..." [The Pretoria News, Daily, South Africa, September 25th 1993]
ARISE typically portrayed government as a tyrant trying to co-opt individual rights, and characterized health workers trying to increase public awareness of the deadly consequences of tobacco as mere neo-prohibitionist health nannies trying to meddle in peoples' pleasures.
Oh, and by the way, the proposed 1994-95 budget for ARISE was $773,750.
CITATION
Title: Associates for Research into the Science of Enjoyment
Type of Document: Speech, presentation
Date: 19940000
Author: N/A
Site: Philip Morris Document site http://www.pmdocs.com/
Bates No. 2022998523/8585
Page Count: 64
URL: http://www.pmdocs.com/getallimg.asp?DOCID=2022998523/8585
Much of this document is scanned in lengthwise. If you prefer to rotate pages for easier viewing, then access the document by the URL of the first page (this preserves your use of the "rotate" function for viewing): http://www.pmdocs.com/getimg.asp?DOCID=2022998523/8585&PGNO=2022998523&START=20&BOOL=2022998523+and+ARISE&docnum=23
QUOTES
THE OBJECTIVES of ARISE
To develop scientific research into the enjoyment of products that give pleasure using a wide body of academic opinion. To present relevant scientific research objectively. To contribute to the social acceptability debate. To develop these themes so that they are understood by a wide audience, including the public.
...THE SCIENCE OF "PLEASURE"
POSITIVE:
Pleasure - Cortisol levels drop - immune system becomes more effective
NEGATIVE:
Depression: Cortisol levels increase - immune system depressed...catecholamines increased, leading to: Increased disease levels including
Cancers
Heart disease
Ulcers
Infections
SCIENCE CONCLUDES
Pleasure promotes health by increasing our immune responses and thus increasing disease resistance. Depression conversely increases disease. The sensory and other effects of alcohol, chocolate, coffee, tea and tobacco Give pleasure and thus benefit health,
Have a calming/unwinding effect and benefit health, The effects of coffee, tea and tobacco
Improve attention and memory
Thus increase work achievement which also provides pleasure Personal control over your life gives pleasure. Lack of control over your life produces stress.
ARISE SUPPORTERS - Past and Present
Coca Cola
Philip Morris
Guinness
Kraft General Foods
European Duty Free Confederation
Miller
Rothman's International
British American Tobacco
Coffee Science Information Centre
R.J. Reynolds
European Advertising Agencies Association Nestle'
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Anne Landman, Regional Program Coordinator
American Lung Association of Colorado, West Region Office
Grand Junction, CO
(970) 245-2120
afoxland@gj.net
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