Cases / Lobbying, PR and greenwashing · United States · 1993–2003
TASSC, Tozzi and Milloy: a tobacco-funded 'sound science' campaign
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition (TASSC) was set up in 1993 by Philip Morris and the public relations firm APCO. Philip Morris also paid the consultant Jim Tozzi and the Weinberg Group.
about US$880,000TASSC spending in 1994
About US$320,000 was spent in its first 24 weeks in 1993 (Ong and Glantz, 2001).
About US$320,000 was spent in its first 24 weeks in 1993 (Ong and Glantz, 2001).
Status As of the sources reviewed (research dated October 2026): no court or regulatory finding about TASSC is recorded; the funding figures come from Ong and Glantz (2001).
What?
A coalition for 'sound science' founded by Philip Morris and a public relations firm, with associated payments to consultants. American Journal of Public Health
Where?
United States, with a European arm run by Burson-Marsteller. American Journal of Public Health
When?
Founded February 1993; spending recorded for 1993 and 1994; payments 1995–1998; Weinberg letter April 2003. American Journal of Public Health
Who?
Gained
- Federal Focus and Jim Tozzi — Received at least US$200,000 and US$40,000 a month respectively from Philip Morris in 1993. American Journal of Public Health
- Weinberg Group — Received US$50,000 in 1995 and US$250,000 in 1998 from Philip Morris.
Lost
None on recordHarmed
None on recordWhy?
The sources reviewed record Philip Morris's 1993–94 plan targeting food, chemicals, metals, cell phones and electrical, packaging, pharmaceuticals and forest/paper sectors. American Journal of Public Health
How?
Through a coalition run with a public relations firm, adaptation of the 'Good Epidemiology Practices' guideline, and paid consultants. American Journal of Public Health
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
TASSC was founded in February 1993 by Philip Morris and the public relations firm APCO. According to Ong and Glantz (American Journal of Public Health, 2001), about US$320,000 was spent in its first 24 weeks and about US$880,000 in 1994, and more than 20,000 invitation letters were sent. Burson-Marsteller ran its European arm. Steve Milloy was its first director and later founded the website junkscience.com; Frederick Seitz and Fred Singer also served in it.
Philip Morris paid Jim Tozzi's organisation, Federal Focus, at least US$200,000 in 1993 and paid Tozzi US$40,000 a month, according to the same source.
The Chemical Manufacturers Association, now the American Chemistry Council, published the 'Good Epidemiology Practices' guideline in 1991. Philip Morris adapted it in 1993–94. A Philip Morris lawyer named the food, plastics, chemicals and packaging sectors as natural candidates for TASSC; the company's 1994 plan targeted food, chemicals, metals, cell phones and electrical, packaging, pharmaceuticals and forest/paper.
The Weinberg Group, a consultancy, received US$50,000 from Philip Morris in 1995 for secondary-smoke projects and US$250,000 in 1998 for a risk-management conference, and helped the tobacco lawyers' international programme of scientist consultants. In an April 2003 letter to DuPont about PFOA, the firm proposed expert panels and reports on 'junk science' and said DuPont should shape the debate at every level.
- 1991Chemical Manufacturers Association publishes 'Good Epidemiology Practices'
- 1993TASSC founded by Philip Morris and APCO (February); Philip Morris pays Federal Focus and Tozzi
- 1994TASSC spends about US$880,000; Philip Morris plan targets food, chemicals, metals and other sectors
- 1995Philip Morris pays Weinberg Group US$50,000
- 1998Philip Morris pays Weinberg Group US$250,000 for a risk-management conference
- 2003Weinberg Group letter to DuPont on PFOA (April)
How it looked
What was shown, beside what was recorded.
Shown
- A coalition named for the advancement of sound science, which sent more than 20,000 invitation letters.TASSC, as described by Ong and Glantz (2001) · American Journal of Public Health
Recorded
- TASSC was founded in February 1993 by Philip Morris and APCO.
- TASSC spent about US$320,000 in its first 24 weeks and about US$880,000 in 1994.
- Philip Morris paid Federal Focus at least US$200,000 in 1993 and Jim Tozzi US$40,000 a month.
- Philip Morris paid the Weinberg Group US$50,000 in 1995 and US$250,000 in 1998.
Who gained
Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.
Reached nature or the ground
Not published
No figure published.
Gained elsewhere
Not totalled
TASSC spending, first 24 weeks≈ $0.32m
Ong and Glantz (2001).
TASSC spending≈ $0.88m
Ong and Glantz (2001).
Philip Morris payment to Federal Focus≥ $0.2m
Ong and Glantz (2001).
Philip Morris payments to Weinberg Group$0.05m
A further US$250,000 in 1998 for a risk-management conference.
Currency: USD · Window: 1993–1998. All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record The full TASSC membership list is not available in the sources reviewed; the claim that Dow, Exxon, 3M and Procter & Gamble were members could not be verified.
- None on record The names of the 11 corporate supporters of the 1997 Weinberg conference are not available in the sources reviewed.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: Milloy received US$180,000 in consulting payments from Philip Morris in 2000–2001 and US$40,000 from ExxonMobil in 2000–2003 for his organisations, and was named in the American Petroleum Institute's 1998 climate communications plan.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: in 2000 Tozzi was among the architects of the Data Quality Act, and in 2002 he used it with Syngenta against the atrazine assessment.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: Frederick Seitz directed a US$45 million R.J. Reynolds biomedical research programme in 1979–1985 and later became founding chairman of the George C. Marshall Institute.
- Unclear Whether Hill & Knowlton also worked for the Chemical Manufacturers Association has not been established; the confirmed 1974 work was for a Plastics Industry committee on vinyl chloride.
- None on record No direct coordination document between Philip Morris's 1993 plan on the International Agency for Research on Cancer and the American Chemistry Council's 2017 campaign has been found; the similarity is in the method.
Did the harm stop?
The sources reviewed do not state when TASSC ceased to operate.
Who paid?
Philip Morris and APCO founded TASSC; the sources reviewed record Philip Morris's payments to Federal Focus, Tozzi and the Weinberg Group but do not itemise who paid TASSC's spending.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society✓ Researchers
Communities and civil society
- Beyond Pesticides daily news archive, 2004 (on Tozzi and the Data Quality Act)Beyond Pesticides · 2004
Researchers
- Ong EK, Glantz SA. Constructing 'sound science' and 'good epidemiology': tobacco, lawyers, and public relations firmsAmerican Journal of Public Health · 2001
Connected cases
Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
- DuPont PFOA (C8) at Washington Works, Parkersburg, and the Tennant farm United States · 1981–2026
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- DuPont (Company) — here: Recipient of the Weinberg Group's 2003 letter on PFOA; there: Plant owner and PFOA user
- 3M agrees to pay US public water suppliers $10.3bn over PFAS United States · 2023
- DuPont (Company) — here: Recipient of the Weinberg Group's 2003 letter on PFOA; there: company; settling party
- American Chemistry Council proposed Kenya as Africa's plastics hub in 2020 Kenya · 2019–2021
- American Chemistry Council (Association) — here: Successor to the Chemical Manufacturers Association, which published the 1991 guideline; there: Sent the April 2020 letter proposing Kenya as a plastics hub
- Chemours spin-off liabilities United States · 2015–2025
- DuPont (Company) — here: Recipient of the Weinberg Group's 2003 letter on PFOA; there: Parent company that spun off Chemours
- DuPont CFC phase-out and the ozone treaty United States · 1974–2019
- DuPont (Company) — here: Recipient of the Weinberg Group's 2003 letter on PFOA; there: CFC producer
- DuPont, Chemours and Corteva: PFAS cost-sharing and water-system settlement United States · 2015–2025
- DuPont (Company) — here: Recipient of the Weinberg Group's 2003 letter on PFOA; there: Party to the cost-sharing agreement and the water-systems fund; alleged by Chemours to have received a dividend at the separation
- GenX chemical found in Cape Fear River, a DuPont and Chemours replacement for PFOA United States · 2009
- DuPont (Company) — here: Recipient of the Weinberg Group's 2003 letter on PFOA; there: Producer of PFOA and related chemicals; party to the 2021 resolution
- Harrison campaign against Silent Spring and Burson-Marsteller crisis PR United States · 1962–1997
- Burson-Marsteller (Company) — here: Ran TASSC's European arm; there: Public-relations firm (now BCW, part of WPP)
- Ocean Conservancy withdraws 2015 plastic incineration recommendation Global · 2015–2022
- American Chemistry Council (Association) — here: Successor to the Chemical Manufacturers Association, which published the 1991 guideline; there: Co-funder of the 2015 report
- PFAS insurance disputes (3M, Chemours, DuPont) United States · 2020–2026
- DuPont (Company) — here: Recipient of the Weinberg Group's 2003 letter on PFOA; there: Co-settling company
- PFAS water utility settlements by 3M, DuPont, Chemours and Corteva United States · 2023–2036
- DuPont (Company) — here: Recipient of the Weinberg Group's 2003 letter on PFOA; there: Co-party to the June 2023 water-systems settlement; former parent of Chemours
- UN plastics treaty negotiations (INC-5, Geneva, Nairobi, Bangkok) Switzerland · 2024–2026
- American Chemistry Council (Association) — here: Successor to the Chemical Manufacturers Association, which published the 1991 guideline; there: Trade association; seven registered lobbyists at Geneva
- Verra suspends three REDD+ schemes in Brazil's Portel over public land overlap Brazil · 2023–2025
- Philip Morris (Company) — here: Co-founder of TASSC; paid Federal Focus, Tozzi and Weinberg Group; there: Company that used Pacajaí credits in emissions reports