Media reports, stoked by alarmists, had exaggerated the role that aluminum might play in the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, and raised unwarranted fears about exposure to aluminum.

Medical research scientists have for years explored whether or not there is a link between aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease. But a causal link has never been established, and medical opinion is that aluminum is far down the list of probable causal factors. Nevertheless, the persistence of claims – particularly in Canada and the UK – that aluminum was a significant contributor to the disease led to unjustifiable fears about exposure to aluminum. The industry’s communications activities were having little positive impact. Consequently, Alcan, the world’s largest primary aluminum producer, retained Smith & Harroff in 1989 to develop and implement a strategy to deal with the issue.

Extensive public opinion and stakeholder research conducted by Smith & Harroff showed that the aluminum industry had little credibility with the public in the debate over Alzheimer’s disease. We therefore advised against communicating directly to the public, and instead proposed an information program targeted specifically to health care professionals, related news media and company employees to build third-party endorsement for the consensus scientific position.

Smith & Harroff placed experts on scientific and medical panels at professional symposia and conferences to speak directly to the issue, and distributed information from highly qualified scientists to the medical news media and health care professionals. To open and maintain a pipeline of information to these audiences on Alzheimer’s disease, Smith & Harroff created and distributed a bi-monthly "Infowatch" newsletter summarizing articles and other information about Alzheimer’s disease.

THE RESULTS

The information campaign resulted in measurable improvements in media coverage, new and stronger relations between the aluminum industry and Alzheimer’s disease organizations in both the U.S. and Canada, and professional peer pressure on the few scientists responsible for sensationalizing the link between the product and the disease.

From this targeted campaign came improved public opinion. Pre- and post-campaign polling in Canada and in the U.S. showed significant declines in the percentages of people who believed aluminum was a cause of Alzheimer’s disease.