Jump to full article: Hartford (CT) Courant, 2008-04-07
Intro: The New York Times recently reported that Henschke's study was funded in part by the little-known Foundation for Lung Cancer: Early Detection, Prevention & Treatment. The foundation, it turns out, is financed by the parent company of a major cigarette manufacturer, Liggett Group. . . .
Who could forget the spectacle of seven tobacco executives swearing before Congress in 1994 that they didn't believe nicotine was addictive? The industry has a long history of underwriting research — sometimes through independent-sounding foundations — to make cigarettes seem less dangerous, the Times reported.
Dr. Murray Kopelow, chief executive of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, told The Times that an increasing number of doctors and institutions are setting up foundations to accept money from companies without having to disclose the source.
That practice has to stop. Federal authorities as well as journals and associations must require full disclosure of primary funding sources. Scientific research is too important to be subject to manipulation of any kind.
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