More secret tobacco industry documents revealed

Tobacco industry scientists have known since the 1950s that smoking causes cancer while the industry publicly denied the link, according to documents published this week by the anti-smoking pressure group ASH.

The first comprehensive analysis and summary of internal documents released by whistleblowers and through US litigation also shows that the industry has known since the 1960s that tobacco's crucial selling point is its addictive nature.

The report, with hundreds of extracts from previously unpublished papers, was released at a meeting of doctors and lawyers on tobacco litigation at the BMA on Thursday. …