233729 Eliminating the tobacco industry's influence on academic research

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Kim Vagadori, MPH(c) , College Project Coordinator, California Youth Advocacy Network, Sacramento, CA
Stanton A. Glantz, PhD , Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
The tobacco industry has a 50 year history of manipulating universities to promote confusion about the science of smoking and passive smoking. Based on academic research and legal evidence, universities in the United States and around the world have made the decision to no longer accept tobacco industry funding for research. In partnership with university faculty and administrators, tobacco control advocates are working to further eliminate industry funding of academic research. This presentation will discuss how and why the tobacco industry funds academic research; illustrate how tobacco companies are different from other funding sources; and explain how the tobacco industry stands foursquare against the principles of academic freedom. The information presented was obtained through academic research and the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations findings. Session participants will benefit from the relevant experience as well as the extensive research of faculty and public health advocates who have been working to rid universities of tobacco industry funding of research for over seven years.

Learning Areas:
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Identify legal evidence supporting institutional policies that deny tobacco industry funding for research Discuss academic research that explains how and why the tobacco industry funds research to improve their public corporate image and create public confusion Describe effective advocacy efforts to support academic policies that deny research funding from tobacco companies

Keywords: Tobacco Industry, Torture

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I oversee a national project on industry funding of research and led an advocacy campaign to eliminate tobacco funding at the University of California from 2004 - 2007.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4133.0: Monitoring Tobacco Industry Activities