Jump to full article: New Scientist, 2001-05-18
Intro: Philip Dalling, head of public affairs at Nottingham University, says that while the university respects Smith's point of view, it has no intention of returning the money.
"The University accepted the donation from BAT in December," he says. "BAT is a legal company wishing to support an important area of research. We believe that it is genuine support. There are no strings attached."
Dalling points out that the university acted within guidelines issued by the Cancer Research Campaign (CRC) and the UK's Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals (CVCP) which advise British universities on when and how it is acceptable to take money from the tobacco industry. "We followed that protocol to the letter," Dalling says.
But Jean King, Director of Education for the CRC, disagrees. "What they've done is turn around the fact that it doesn't contravene the letter of it to sound as if we're supporting them," she says. "It is totally against the spirit of the guidelines."
The CRC-CVCP protocol advises that funding that is "capable of showing the tobacco industry in a favourable light" should be rejected. Nottingham University point out that the research centre will not carry BAT's name, but King counters that the news of the donation was issued in a press release.
"The initial intention was to gain favourable publicity," she says. "[Tobacco companies] are trying to reinvent themselves as socially responsible when clearly they aren't."
BAT declined to comment on their motivation. "It is a matter for Nottingham University," says a spokeswoman. . .
Richard Nicholson, editor of the Bulletin of Medical Ethics, says he would find such grants acceptable if the money was put to good purpose and the donor had no say in how the money was used. . .
He says one way the University could convince observers that it will not be influenced by tobacco industry interests would be to make their first project an in-depth study of the social responsibility of the tobacco industry. But it remains to be seen whether the new centre will be willing to tackle such issues.
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