Death in the West is a 1976 documentary film directed by Martin Smith,[1] which is believed to contain the first recorded admission from a tobacco company representative that smoking causes health problems.
The film aired only once in the UK, from London in September 1976 on Thames Television, to an audience of approximately 12 million viewers, before a court order was obtained preventing it from being re-aired.
[1] The film interviews James Bowling, senior vice president and director of corporate affairs for Philip Morris, as well as Helmut Wakeham, vice-president for the company's USA science and technology department.
[1] The interview with Wakeham is believed to be the first recorded admission from a tobacco company representative that smoking causes health problems.
Both Mother Jones magazine and The Glasgow Herald doubted this claim, since Peter Taylor had previously made three films for television which portrayed cigarette use in a negative manner.
"Palmer Williams, then senior producer for 60 Minutes in the US, had expressed interest in airing part of the documentary, and the American Cancer Society had plans to use the film in their anti-smoking campaigns.