From Publishers Weekly
Rushed into print because of public interest in the troubles of the tobacco industry, this is less a single investigation than a fast-paced, rewarding tour by New York Times reporter Hilts through the recent revelations that have Big Tobacco on the run. He convincingly sketches an industry conspiracy to minimize public awareness of the dangers of smoking. As internal corporate documents leaked to Hilts show, while industry officials claim they don't manipulate levels of addictive nicotine in cigarettes, they have done so for years and this makes the firms increasingly vulnerable to lawsuits. Hilts's documents also reveal, chillingly, how tobacco companies target youths, their most crucial market. He untangles tobacco industry lies at Congressional hearings, tells the stories of several crucial whistle-blowers and points out the corruption of a Congress in thrall to tobacco bucks. In contrast with Richard Kluger, whose recent cigarette history, Ashes to Ashes (Forecasts, March 11), is more comprehensive but less up-to-the-minute, Hilts offers no specific plan for reform. He suggests that the momentum created by a government finally willing to regulate, revelations about corporate dishonesty and the willingness of tobacco companies to acknowledge the hazards of smoking and perhaps to develop a less dangerous cigarette could lead to "a workable social compact on tobacco." $100,000 ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
There are so many aspects to the controversies surrounding cigarettes and smoking that it will take a number of books to clear the air. Two recent titles [both reviewed in BKL Ap 1 96] include Richard Kluger's Ashes to Ashes, a survey of the history of tobacco and the social aspects of smoking from the perspective of Philip Morris, and Stanton Glantz's The Cigarette Papers, a study of the incriminating internal documents purloined from the Brown & Williamson (B & W) Tobacco Company. As a result of these books, Addison-Wesley has moved forward publication of Hilts' story, which documents decades of corporate deceit. As science and health writer for the New York Times, Hilts first broke the incredible story of intrigue behind the B & W papers, and he elaborates on that here. He begins this account in 1953, when the public first learned of a possible link between cancer and cigarettes. He shows how tobacco companies mislead the public, adulterate their product, target the young, and intimidate critics. The issue of smoking aside, Hilts' is a troubling look at the abuses of corporate power. David Rouse
