Bryan C Simpson

Bryan C Simpson was one of the global tobacco industry's most important lobbyists during the period 1975 to about 1993. During that time he held a number of top positions beginning with his role as chairman of the Australian Media Council at a time when he was also a marketing manager at the Melbourne newspaper group, the Herald and Weekly Times (based in Melbourne, Victoria). At this time the Australian tobacco industry was fighting politically to be allowed to retain cigarette advertising, and almost all of the country's newspaper groups supported the industry's actions.

Simpson was sent to New Zealand for a time to manage Wellington Newspapers, but then returned to head the Australian newspaper industry's Media Accreditation Authority. This organisation was now concerned with countering the increasing Government interference with the newspapers right to advertise an even wider range of products, notably alcohol, cigarettes and analgesics.

However the main battle was over cigarette advertising, and later in the same year (1978), Bryan Simpson became the inaugural head of the new Tobacco Institute of Australia, which had been set up by the (then) four local tobacco companies (led by Philip Morris and British American Tobacco) to coordinate their defensive strategies. The tobacco industry sent him to the USA to learn the ropes from the US Tobacco Institute. He also visited Brussels, where he had policy discussions with Julian Doyle (an Australian ex-Liberal member of parliament also from Melbourne) who ran the first International tobacco lobby organisation known as ICOSI (International Committee on Smoking Issues).

ICOSI was transformed into INFOTAB, the International Tobacco Information Center operation in December 1980. It had greatly increased funding and its main purpose was to attack the World Health Organisation (WHO) which ran anti-smoking programs, and also keep under control the International Labor Organisation (ILO) which was becoming involved in workplace/second-hand smoke and worker health issues. These agencies were both based in Geneva as part of the United Nations; while Brussels was the center of the relatively new European Commission

As a lobbyist, Simpson was highly successful in Australia to the point where he was transferred (by Philip Morris mainly) to run the Brussels-based INFOTAB when Julian Doyle resigned. By April 1985 he had a staff of 17 working on a range of pro-tobacco defensive policies.

Rupert Murdoch, who's father had edited and controlled the Herald & Weekly Times, was highly active in promoting the "Freedom to Advertise" message in Europe, and both Murdoch and his deputies Brian Matthews and Ken Cowley, became part of this program, and the Australian relationship with Simpson proved to be important for the tobacco companies.  

Shortly after, Murdoch joined his two Australian friends R William Murray and Geoffrey C Bible on the board of Philip Morris; he had been associated with Philip Morris from about 1983 because of his active lobbying to retain cigarette advertising. Murdoch also gave the company a direct link to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the UK.

By 1989 Simpson was back in Australia, working now as a "consultant" to the Tobacco Institute of Australia, but also still attending the International INFOTAB Conference in Hong Kong.

The Australian anti-tobacco lobby was one of the most persistent and aggressive in the world. In 1992 the Australia State Health Ministers met in a Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy (MCDS) and decided unanimously to introduce strict design for cigarette packets (the MCDS standard). This virtually covered the packet with warnings, plus a Quitline phone number, and tar and nicotine content information. The aim was clearly to destroy the attractive-packet-display aspect of tobacco promotion which relied on images of colour, athleticism and sophistication to identify each brand and promote the product. By this time Simpson was still working as a consultant.

Early Timeline

1963-64: President of the New Zealand Amateur Swimming Association

1964: Manager of NZ Olympic Swimming Team at Tokyo Games

1973: Australian Advertising Man of the Year (News Ltd.)

1976-77: General Manager Wellington Newspapers Ltd.

1977-78: Chairman of the Media Accreditation Authority (comprises the major press groups), promoting Freedom to Advertise cigarettes.

1978 Sept 21: He was in the USA on tour with the Tobacco Institute, along with Philip Morris and the Council for Tobacco Research. This was a training program for taking over the TIA job. He then did some more training in Canada and then moved to Europe.

1978 Dec 1: the Tobacco Institute of Australia (TIA) was established by the industry to defend the rights of tobacco to radio and TV advertising. He was director with staff of two. This was set up following an Industry Assistance Commission Inquiry.

1978 Sept: Mary Covington of ICOSI (The Brussels-based lobby group) and Philip Morris have provided this Background Information for a visit of Mr Bryan Simpson, now the Director of Tobacco Institute of Australia. He was to officially create the TIA on December 1978 with two staff.

References

This article "Bryan C Simpson" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

---