Industry Documents Digital Library

Tuesday, March 10, 2015DRUG

New Seroquel Documents posted to DIDA

110 new documents have been added to the Seroquel collection on the Drug Industry Documents Archive (DIDA). This collection now contains 351 documents from litigation against UK-based AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, the maker of Seroquel, an antipsychotic medication used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The plaintiffs alleged the drugmaker failed to warn users of the drug's possibly harmful side effects, including the risk of diabetes and related medical complications.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015TOBACCO

Over 30,000 previously confidential documents now public on LTDL

We have added 30,329 new documents to the Industry Documents Digital Library.

The breakdown is as follows:

30;046 Philip Morris documents - a majority of these were previously confidential and have now been released as 'public'
170 DATTA documents - depositions and trial transcripts from the latest Engle Progeny lawsuits
2 Brown & Willamson documents
1 RJ Reynolds document

We have also added 110 new documents to the Seroquel collection on the Drug Industry Documents Archive (DIDA). This collection contains documents from litigation against UK-based AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, the maker of Seroquel, an antipsychotic medication used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The plaintiffs alleged the drugmaker failed to warn users of the drug's possibly harmful side effects, including the risk of diabetes and related medical complications.

Thursday, March 05, 2015TOBACCO

BAT and Promotion of the EU's Regulatory Reforms

Five new publications have been added to the Tobacco Documents Bibliography. Subjects range from the 2014 European tobacco products directive to corporate practices to promote "hyperconsumption" of specific products such as tobacco, alcohol and processed foods.

Reference Highlight

Smith KE, Fooks G, Gilmore AB, Collin J, Weishaar H. Corporate Coalitions and Policy Making in the European Union: How and Why British American Tobacco Promoted “Better Regulation”. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law 2015 February 02.

Over the past fifteen years, an interconnected set of regulatory reforms, known as Better Regulation, has been adopted across Europe, marking a significant shift in the way that European Union (EU) policies are developed. Drawing on documentary and interview data, the article discusses how and why large corporations, most notably British American Tobacco (BAT), worked to influence and promote these reforms. The authors show (1) how policy entrepreneurs with sufficient resources can shape the membership and direction of advocacy coalitions; (2) the extent to which “think tanks” may be prepared to lobby on behalf of commercial clients; and (3) why regulated industries such as tobacco may favor the use of impact assessments (IA) in policy making. The authors argue that "a key aspect of BAT's ability to shape regulatory reform involved the deliberate construction of a vaguely defined idea that could be strategically adapted to appeal to diverse constituencies."

Key Documents from LTDL

BAT began to consider ways to increase its influence over EU policy by promoting the need for a form of structured risk assessment to be embedded within the European legislative process. The view being policy requirement for a particular form of risk assessment could help the company defeat efforts to introduce policies restricting smoking

(BAT 1995)

BAT was advised by the consultancy company Charles Barker to construct a supportive coalition of interests, initially focusing on recruiting other businesses with potentially overlapping interests in risk assessment...Charles Barker also advised BAT to use a 'front group' to expedite the campaign to promote regulatory reform. (BAT 1995)

"The lack of official statistics will mean that greater attention and credibility will be [given] to the industry developed statistical series. This can be used to advantage in discussions and negotiations with government agencies as it means that the industry has access to information (potentially including economic assessment studies) that are unavailable to government officials. Officials will often be more willing to talk to industry in these circumstances." (BAT 1997)

Wednesday, February 25, 2015TOBACCO

25 years of Smokefree Skies!

On February 25, 1990, smoking was banned on all U.S. domestic airline flights. This fight for the health of flight attendants and passengers was achieved thanks to the hard work of health groups, Senators Lautenberg and Durbin, and the flight attendants who came forward for their right to breathe smokefree air. This ban eventually led to smokefree air on all flights to and from the U.S. and to smokefree policies for airlines worldwide.

For more in-depth information please check out ANR's 25th Anniversary of Smokefree Skies page - you will find press releases, a history of the groundbreaking legislation, and a variety of materials to help commemorate this milestone.

Videos to Watch:

Video of testimony before the US House Public Works Subcommittee on Aviation regarding the legislation banning smoking on all commercial flights
Former flight attendant Kathie Cheney on her experience on smoke-filled flights and her diagnosis of "smokers' throat" and subsequent surgery (produced by the Georgia Alliance for Tobacco Prevention).
Patty Young, former flight attendant, describes what it is like to work in a smoke-filled airplane. Video clip from the late 1980's.
1986 video from the Tobacco Institute on the testing of airline air quality and how safe it is
1990 Tobacco Institute video regarding the new law prohibiting smoking on domestic flights of six hours or less. TI points to carbon dioxide, faulty ventilation and other pollutants as the true culprit, not secondhand smoke.

Thursday, February 19, 2015TOBACCO

7000+ new tobacco documents added to LTDL

7,859 new documents were added to the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library this week!

Here's the breakdown:

Brown & Williamson documents - 6,748
Philip Morris documents - 343
Lorillard documents - 559
American Tobacco documents - 1
RJ Reynolds documents - 208

In addition, a number of new sites have been added to the UCSF E-Cigarette Marketing Web Archive hosted on Archive-It. This web archive curates, captures, and preserves websites related to the marketing of e-cigarettes, e-liquid, and accessories as well as vaping advocacy publications and organizations. If you know of a website you think belongs in this collection, please contact us and we can capture it!

Tuesday, January 27, 2015DRUG

New Celexa Collection posted

The Drug Industry Documents Archive has a new collection:
The Celexa and Lexapro Marketing and Sales Litigation collection contains 115 documents from a class action lawsuit alleging that Forest Pharmaceuticals misled consumers and the medical community about Celexa’s and Lexapro’s efficacy in treating pediatric depression.

*Please note the links now go to the new Industry Documents Digital Library site containing both LTDL and DIDA.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015TOBACCO

New documents posted to LTDL and DIDA

5190 new documents were added to the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library:

In addition we have added a new collection and documents to the Drug Industry Documents Archive:
The Celexa and Lexapro Marketing and Sales Litigation collection contains 115 documents from a class action lawsuit alleging that Forest Pharmaceuticals misled consumers and the medical community about Celexa’s and Lexapro’s efficacy in treating pediatric depression.

*Please note the links now go to the new Industry Documents Digital Library site containing both LTDL and DIDA.