Educational Media Reviews Online

In his personal statement on the Addiction Incorporated website, Victor DeNoble begins by saying, “Scientists do research with the hope that we will have a positive impact on people’s lives. I thought I would have that opportunity when I went to work at the Philip Morris Research Center. I never dreamed that our research would be suppressed for over ten years and that it would take a major federal investigation, congressional hearings, and acts of Congress before my hope would be fulfilled.” It is through this process of research, suppression, investigations, hearings and acts of congress that Charles Evans Jr. tells how the long held secrets of the tobacco industry were exposed and of their eventual federal regulation.

It was DeNoble who identified the chemical acetaldehyde in cigarette smoke as one that boosted the addictive properties of smoking beyond the addiction to nicotine alone. This discovery led to his termination at Philip Morris because DeNoble wanted to publish his discovery and Philip Morris executives wanted to use the information to “improve” their product, not to inform the public of the consequences of smoking. Because everyone employed by Philip Morris signs confidentiality agreement when they are hired the paper was not permitted to be published. It wasn’t until ten years later that an investigative reporter who was looking for evidence of the tobacco industry’s awareness of the addictive nature of tobacco that the research finally came to light. Evans chronicles the lengthy process with those involved in the eventual publication of DeNoble’s research. Multiple perspectives of the exposure of the tobacco industry are represented through interviews with scientists, investigative reporters, anti-tobacco attorneys, anti-tobacco government officials and people associated with the tobacco industry. The viewer is led to understand the complex issues of big business and government intervention.

Today DeNoble carries the message of how nicotine and cigarette smoking is addictive to young people paid for by the funds from lawsuits in all of the 50 US states. He does not tell his audiences not to smoke. He simply tells them about his research and lets them draw their own conclusions. DeNoble speaks to about 300,000 young people a year who very often choose not to use tobacco products as a result. A 60 page pdf with a preview summary, detailed classroom lesson plans based on the film, interactive activities, writing topics, discussion questions, scientific vocabulary, legal vocabulary, and a glossary of idiomatic terms for English learners further supports learning. Advocacy materials are available to the reader through the Adrienne Jules Foundation, a public education campaign that uses this film as a centerpiece.

The shorter version of the video, at 35 minutes, tells the entire story of the research and the legal proceedings but the longer one, 75 minutes, allows for more detail. The film would be appropriate for public, school, and academic libraries to support anti-smoking education and programs for sociology, law involving consumer protection, public health, and journalism.

Awards

• College on Problems of Drug Dependence/National Institute on Drug Abuse (CPDD/NIDA) media award awarded to Charles Evans Jr. for his work on this film