The tobacco industry's use of Wall Street analysts in shaping policy.

OBJECTIVE To document how the tobacco industry has used Wall Street analysts to further its public policy objectives. METHODS Searching tobacco documents available on the internet, newspaper articles, and transcripts of public hearings. RESULTS The tobacco industry used nominally independent Wall Street analysts as third parties to support the tobacco industry's legislative agenda at both national and state levels in the USA. The tobacco industry has, for example, edited the testimony of at least one analyst before he testified to the US Senate Judiciary Committee, while representing himself as independent of the industry. CONCLUSION The tobacco industry has used undisclosed collaboration with Wall Street analysts, as they have used undisclosed relationships with research scientists and academics, to advance the interests of the tobacco industry in public policy.