A 2000 report to the government of the Czech Republic, prepared by the consulting firm Arthur D. Little and provided by the tobacco company Philip Morris, International, appears to be one of the first direct acknowledgements by a tobacco company that smoking kills. The industry has previously recognized that cigarettes cause serious diseases, including cancer, but this report accepted without argument that smokers die prematurely. The report also acknowledged that second-hand smoke can be a health threat to nonsmokers.