Blowing Smoke Rings

By George Monbiot, AlterNet. Posted February 13, 2006.

How the tobacco industry duped both academic journals and the media.

Three weeks ago, while looking for something else, I came across one of the most extraordinary documents I have ever read. It relates to an organization called Arise, which stands for Associates for Research into the Science of Enjoyment. Though largely forgotten today, in the 1990s it was one of the world's most influential public health groups. First, I should explain what it claimed to stand for.

Arise was founded in 1988 and seems to have been active until 2004. It described itself as "a worldwide association of eminent scientists who act as independent commentators." Its purpose, these eminent scientists claimed, was to show how "everyday pleasures, such as eating chocolate, smoking, drinking tea, coffee and alcohol, contribute to the quality of life."