1991American Journal of Public HealthOpen access

What scientists funded by the tobacco industry believe about the hazards of cigarette smoking.

K. Michael Cummings, Russell Sciandra, A Gingrass, Roy Davis

Open full text 23 citations

Abstract

Despite overwhelming evidence documenting the hazards of cigarette smoking, the tobacco industry denies that smoking has been proven to cause disease. The industry professes a desire to clear up the smoking and health "question" and often points to its support of the Council for Tobacco Research (CTR) as evidence of its interest in investigating the health dangers of smoking. This paper presents results of a survey of CTR-funded scientists regarding their beliefs about the health dangers posed by smoking cigarettes. The vast majority of scientists funded by the CTR believe that cigarette smoking is an addiction that causes a wide range of serious, often fatal, diseases. This result suggests that the tobacco industry is unwilling to accept even the opinions of scientists it has deemed worthy of funding. Scientists should consider the ethical implications of accepting funds from the CTR and other tobacco industry-supported institutions.

About this research paper

What this paper is about

Despite overwhelming evidence documenting the hazards of cigarette smoking, the tobacco industry denies that smoking has been proven to cause disease. The industry professes a desire to clear up the smoking and health "question" and often points to its support of the Council for Tobacco Research (CTR) as evidence of its interest in investigating the health dangers of smoking. This paper presents results of a survey of CTR-funded scientists regarding their beliefs about the health dangers posed by smoking cigarettes. The vast majority of scientists funded by the CTR believe that cigarette smoking is an addiction that causes a wide range of serious, often fatal, diseases. This result suggests that the tobacco industry is unwilling to accept even the opinions of scientists it has deemed worthy of funding. Scientists should consider the ethical implications of accepting funds from the CTR and other tobacco industry-supported institutions.

Why it matters

OpenAlex reports 23 citations for this work. Citation counts describe recorded attention and do not establish research quality.

Key contribution

A contribution statement is not available in the OpenAlex record.

Method / approach

Method details are not available in the OpenAlex metadata.

Main findings

Findings are not separately available in the OpenAlex metadata.

Limitations

Limitations are not available in the OpenAlex metadata.

Applications

Application details are not available in the OpenAlex metadata.

Available abstract

Despite overwhelming evidence documenting the hazards of cigarette smoking, the tobacco industry denies that smoking has been proven to cause disease. The industry professes a desire to clear up the smoking and health "question" and often points to its support of the Council for Tobacco Research (CTR) as evidence of its interest in investigating the health dangers of smoking. This paper presents results of a survey of CTR-funded scientists regarding their beliefs about the health dangers posed by smoking cigarettes. The vast majority of scientists funded by the CTR believe that cigarette smoking is an addiction that causes a wide range of serious, often fatal, diseases. This result suggests that the tobacco industry is unwilling to accept even the opinions of scientists it has deemed worthy of funding. Scientists should consider the ethical implications of accepting funds from the CTR and other tobacco industry-supported institutions.

Key concepts: Tobacco industry, Tobacco in Alabama, Environmental health, Tobacco harm reduction, Cigarette smoking, Addiction, Medicine, Tobacco use

Related papers

Back to paper searchBrowse research topicsOriginal source
What scientists funded by the tobacco industry believe about the hazards of cigarette smoking. — Research Paper | ScholarLens