The Power Of Paperwork: How Philip Morris Neutralized The Medical Code For Secondhand Smoke
7/12/2005 Bethesda, MD Daniel M. Cook et al. Health Affairs, Vol 24, Issue 4, 994-1004 A new medical diagnostic code for secondhand smoke exposure became available in 1994, but as of 2004 it remained an invalid entry on a common medical form. Soon after the code appeared, Philip Morris hired a Washington consultant to influence the governmental process for creating and using medical codes. Tobacco industry documents reveal that Philip Morris budgeted more than $2 million for this "ICD-9 Project." Tactics to prevent adoption of the new code included third-party lobbying, Paperwork Reduction Act challenges, and backing an alternative coding arrangement. Philip Morris’s reaction reveals the importance of policy decisions related to data collection and paperwork. Authors: Daniel M. Cook, Elisa K. Tong, Stanton A. Glantz and Lisa A. Bero