Gio Batta Gori
Encyclopedia
Gio Batta Gori is an epidemiologist and fellow with the Health Policy Center in Bethesda, Maryland
where he specializes in risk assessment and scientific research.
He is well known for having consulted for the tobacco industry
and challenging specific scientific claims concerning the risks of tobacco use., p. 162, , p. 44 He is also known for advocating the regulation and taxation of cigarettes and other tobacco products based on their specific delivery of carcinogens and other hazardous substances, so as to promote risk reduction.
He is a frequent author for the libertarian
Cato Institute
, and was formerly an official with the United States National Cancer Institute
.
. Between 1968 and 1980, he was a scientist and top official at the National Cancer Institute
(NCI), where he specialized in toxicology
, epidemiology
, and nutrition
. He held several positions, including Deputy Director, Division of Cancer Causes and Prevention, Acting Associate Director, Carcinogenesis Program, Director of the Diet, Nutrition and Cancer Program, and Director of the Smoking and Health Program.
issues for the Tobacco Institute
in the Institute's ETS/IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) Consultants Project. In May 1993, Gori entered an exclusive consulting arrangement with B&W Tobacco, receiving $200/hour a day to $1,000/day for attending conferences. In the 118-page book Passive Smoke: The EPA's Betrayal of Science and Policy, Gio Gori and his co-author and fellow industry consultant, John Luik
, claim the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) used "junk science" to distort the health effects of secondhand smoke. The book was funded by B&W, which funneled the money through a third party, the Fraser Institute., p. 624
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
where he specializes in risk assessment and scientific research.
He is well known for having consulted for the tobacco industry
Tobacco industry
The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any warm, moist environment, which means it can be farmed on all...
and challenging specific scientific claims concerning the risks of tobacco use., p. 162, , p. 44 He is also known for advocating the regulation and taxation of cigarettes and other tobacco products based on their specific delivery of carcinogens and other hazardous substances, so as to promote risk reduction.
He is a frequent author for the libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
Cato Institute
Cato Institute
The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Edward H. Crane, who remains president and CEO, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the conglomerate Koch Industries, Inc., the largest privately held...
, and was formerly an official with the United States National Cancer Institute
National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute is part of the National Institutes of Health , which is one of 11 agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NCI coordinates the U.S...
.
National Cancer Institute
Gio Batta Gori has a doctorate in biological sciences and a masters degree in public healthPublic health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
. Between 1968 and 1980, he was a scientist and top official at the National Cancer Institute
National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute is part of the National Institutes of Health , which is one of 11 agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NCI coordinates the U.S...
(NCI), where he specialized in toxicology
Toxicology
Toxicology is a branch of biology, chemistry, and medicine concerned with the study of the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms...
, epidemiology
Epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...
, and nutrition
Nutrition
Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
. He held several positions, including Deputy Director, Division of Cancer Causes and Prevention, Acting Associate Director, Carcinogenesis Program, Director of the Diet, Nutrition and Cancer Program, and Director of the Smoking and Health Program.
Gori and the Tobacco Industry
In 1980 Gori became Vice President of the Franklin Institute Policy Analysis Center (FIPAC), a consulting firm funded initially by a $400,000 grant from the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation (B&W). Following its initial formation, FIPAC continued to receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding annually from B&W. Gori worked on Research & Development projects for B&W Tobacco, such as analysis of the sensory perception of smoke and how to reduce the amount of tobacco in cigarettes. By 1989, Gori was a full-time consultant on environmental tobacco smokePassive smoking
Passive smoking is the inhalation of smoke, called secondhand smoke or environmental tobacco smoke , from tobacco products used by others. It occurs when tobacco smoke permeates any environment, causing its inhalation by people within that environment. Exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke causes...
issues for the Tobacco Institute
Tobacco Institute
The Tobacco Institute, Inc. was a United States tobacco industry trade group, founded in 1958 by the American tobacco industry.It was dissolved in 1998 as part of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.-Founding:...
in the Institute's ETS/IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) Consultants Project. In May 1993, Gori entered an exclusive consulting arrangement with B&W Tobacco, receiving $200/hour a day to $1,000/day for attending conferences. In the 118-page book Passive Smoke: The EPA's Betrayal of Science and Policy, Gio Gori and his co-author and fellow industry consultant, John Luik
John Luik
John C. Luik is a senior fellow of the Democracy Institute. He was previously "a Senior Associate of the Niagara Institute with responsibility for its work in public policy and its Values and Organizational Development programmes." From 1977 to 1990 he taught philosophy and ethics at two Canadian...
, claim the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) used "junk science" to distort the health effects of secondhand smoke. The book was funded by B&W, which funneled the money through a third party, the Fraser Institute., p. 624
External links
Following are links to tobacco industry documents from the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library showing work done by Gori for tobacco companies between 1980 and 1999:| Period | Link | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| 1980-85 | Document pak01c00 | Brown and Williamson funded projects B&W pays Gori $400,000 for the establishment of the Policy Analysis Center. Other payments follow: - 1981: $300,000 - 1982: $300,000 plus another $300,000 - 1983: $76,000 - 1984: $465,000 - 1985: $253,000 |
| 1981-83 | Document lhp33f00 | B&W pays Franklin Institute Operating Fund (Dr. Gori) - 1981: $540,000 - 1982: $1,275,000 |
| 1985-86 | Document urj23f00 (page 16) |
B&W budget: Dr. Gio Gori - 1985: $100,000 - 1986: $100,000 |
| 1986 | Document pup33f00 (page 3) |
General Corporate matters: Dr. Gori: $121,111 |
| 1986 | Document uue21f00 | "Dear Dr. Gori: Enclosed is the consultancy agreement between you and Brown and Williamson ... It has been signed for Brown and Williamson by our President, T. E. Sandefur, Jr." |
| 1986 | Document eue21f00 | One of many B&W vouchers for Gori lists him as "General Corporate Matters Consultant" Month of September totals about $4K for that month. Credited "as per Gori contract." |
| 1988 | Document ksp13f00 | B&W pays Gori $150,000 |
| 1989 | Document fif20f00 | B&W pays Gori $132,000 Total amount budgeted for Gori in '89: $1,152,000 |
| 1990 | Document miq13f00 | B&W pays Gori $130,000 |
| 1991 | Document yiq13f00 | B&W pays Gori $130,000 |
| 1991 | Document hai91f00 | Tobacco Institute pays $150,000 to get a white paper written: " author" Gori. Also pays Flamm and Gori $5,000 to write op-ed on the costs of regulation for the Wall Street Journal. Also pays Flamm and Gori $10,000 for another paper. |
| 1992 | Document wvp33f00 | Gori bills B&W through B&W's legal firm Covington & Burling Covington & Burling Covington & Burling LLP is an international law firm with offices in Beijing, Brussels, London, New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, San Diego, and Washington, DC. The firm advises multinational corporations on significant transactional, litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters... for $10,737 of "consultation services" |
| 1993 | Document xjq13f00 (page 19) |
B&W pays Gori $40,000; 1994 budget: another $40,000 for "S&H, Regulatory, GTP" |
| 1993 | Document npk93f00 | "You will be paid for those services at the agreed rate of $200 per hour for each project assigned to you ... and at the rest of $1000 per day for conference-type work" Letter from Ernest Pepples, VP B&W, to Gio Gori |
| 1999 | Document sxy15d00 | "Please find enclosed Lorillard check for $6000" |
Books
- Gio Batta Gori, Virtually Safe Cigarettes: Reviving an Opportunity Once Tragically Rejected, Ios Pr Inc, January 2000. ISBN 1586030574 ISBN 978-1586030575
- Gio B. Gori, John C. Luik Passive Smoke: The EPA's Betrayal of Science and Policy, The Fraser Institute, 1999. ISBN 0-88975-196-X
Source
- Text adapted from http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Gio_Batta_Gori under the GFDL