As a result of civil smoking and health litigation in the United States, internal and confidential files from Philip Morris Inc., R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation (individually and as successor by merger to The American Tobacco Company), Lorillard Tobacco Company, The Council for Tobacco Research--U.S.A., Inc., and The Tobacco Institute, Inc. are publicly available.

Many of the documents resulted from the November 23, 1998, Master Settlement Agreement between the U.S. tobacco industry and 46 states' attorneys general. As of 05.24.99, the archives contain more than 24 million pages of documents. Users find instructions how to access these documents on each repository.

TobaccoFreedom.org provides an archive of documents, highlighting "actual words" and disclosed intent of leaders, capturing the tobacco industry's deception and manipulation of humankind. The archive contains a wide array of topics, including industry research and their scientists, manufacturing processes, nicotine addiction, health, and the advertising and promotion of their deadly products. This summary information assist new students as well as individuals wanting to know the truth about Big Tobacco -- Philip Morris Incorporated, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation, American Tobacco Company, Lorillard Tobacco Company, Council for Tobacco Research--U.S.A., Inc., and The Tobacco Institute. TobaccoFreedom.org maintains an open source information archive and provides document numbers to assist researchers in replicate analyses and locating related information.

Link to a central tobacco industry document network by visiting www.Tobacco Archives.com

No great works are accomplished solo. TobaccoFreedom.org wishes to recognize, and humbly thank, the following dedicated public servants:

Anne Landman, American Lung Association of Colorado, for her tireless efforts researching and making public key tobacco industry documents. These documents demonstrate the history of deception furthered by the tobacco industry. Anne presented important findings and provided insightful search tips for document researchers at the Fifth Annual National Conference on Tobacco and Health (Aug. 23-25, 1999) in Florida. See a summary of Landman Document Discoveries here.

Michael Tacelosky (Tac), President, Tobacco Documents Online, for his continuing efforts to help organize the millions of tobacco industry documents and for providing instructions on efficient search and location methods. Tac gave an energized presentation on tobacco document research at the Fifth Annual National Conference on Tobacco and Health (Aug. 23-25, 1999) in Florida. His efforts have opened the door for many other researchers and policy professionals.

Scott Goold, Director, TobaccoFreedom.com, for his tireless and enthusiastic persistence in tobacco-related research. Scott has poured thousands of volunteer hours into this project, as well as many other pro-health policy and youth advocacy programs. Scott has also made numerous presentations on the secret tobacco industry files, and speaks regularly to community groups about the malicious and deceptive nature of the tobacco industry strategies. You can also view his work about the tobacco industry influence in Texas politics, see Project Smokeout.

Stanton A. Glantz, John Slade, Lisa A. Bero, Peter Hanauer and Deborah E. Barnes for providing one of the most comprehensive, revealing and shocking examinations of tobacco industry documents. We provide summary information from their book, The Cigarette Papers. Their 1996 work also features a foreword by C. Everett Koop, former U.S. Surgeon General. An electronic version of The Cigarette Papers and 8,000 pages of source documents are available on the Internet at the University of California, San Francisco, Digital Library at www.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco.

David Kessler, former Commissioner, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for his dedication and hard work trying to institute sensible regulation of the tobacco industry. He provides incredible insight into the deceptive tactics of the tobacco industry in his recent book, A Question of Intent. This is a must-read for all. Kessler recommends tobacco companies be spun away from their corporate parents and that Congress create a tightly regulated, not-for-profit firm to manage manufacturing and sales, i.e., "The entity would supply tobacco products to those who want them but with no economic incentives for sales."