A call to defenders of medicare

BOB HEPBURN Jan. 15, 2005. 01:00 AM

Once again, Canada's medicare is under assault — and unless its backers rally to its defence one more time, the publicly funded, not-for-profit system faces a real risk of collapse.

 Leading the charge this time is Alberta Premier Ralph Klein, who this week was promoting a "third way" of delivering health care that is somewhere between the current Canadian system and the private health-care system in the United States.

 Klein will hold an international symposium this spring looking at health- care systems around the world, including France, Switzerland, Australia and others, but excluding the U.S. He wants to find what works, and why.

 Klein insists he wants to retain our public medicare system, but also favours looking at "innovative" approaches to deliver health care. He talks of "publicly funded health procedures privately delivered."

 Clearly, Klein is a stalking horse for those who want a private, for-profit health system in Canada. Such people argue — seductively at times — that if you have enough money, why can't you buy health care?

 You can spend your own money on the car of your choice, the clothes of your choice, the dentist of your choice, they say. So why can't you spend it on health care, to buy a private MRI when you need one, to buy a hip replacement or get cancer treatment?

Backers of medicare have heard similar arguments for years — and have argued forcefully against them.

But Canadians, who still overwhelmingly support medicare, are becoming fatigued. And they are finding it harder to defend the system when they saw billions of extra dollars poured into it over the last decade without seeing any discernible improvements.

Also, seemingly every week, there are fresh horror stories about children with cancer forced to wait months for diagnosis or treatment, of elderly patients driving to Buffalo for specialized care, of overcrowded emergency rooms that turn away ambulances.

Despite fatigue, though, medicare defenders must not give up the fight.

They cannot let pro-privatization forces seize control of this debate.

 They must speak up for the system, acknowledge it is flawed, and propose ways of fixing it, such as reducing wait times, lowering the cost of prescription drugs and by increasing the number and availability of doctors.

 And they must concede that, cut to its core, this debate is not just over a question of more money for medicare versus privatization, but about delivering services differently.

 Both sides agree more money is needed. It's just that private sector backers would prefer to pay it directly out of their own pocket as they need it while medicare supporters want to pay for it through taxes so all can benefit.

 Klein is right to say there is another option. What it is, though, is not a parallel private system as he wants. In fact, we don't need to go the private route at all to improve our health care, if corrective action is taken now on medicare.

 The best way is to give a bit more money to medicare, enforce the Canada Health Act so provinces don't continue to encourage private operators to move more and more into the delivery of health care and, most importantly, to focus on quality and innovation.

 Already, Canada is a world leader in such areas as dealing with heart attacks and other emergencies. But it is not doing as well delivering chronic care in an era of an aging population.

 Health-care experts point to the need to find better ways to deliver chronic and palliative care, to better exchange medical information, to create more family practice teams, to allow greater use of nurses and nurse practitioners, thus giving doctors more time to deal with patients with serious illnesses.

 The list of remedies is endless.

 But unless the Canadian public becomes actively engaged in this debate, improvements will come too slowly to counter the tide of privatization that is sweeping across the land.

 The public must press politicians and health officials to answer the tough questions about why hospitals and clinics have been slow to implement innovations that will help the system.

 And just because they don't have all the facts or details about health issues, the public should not be intimidated by doctors, health industry officials and think-tank "experts" who act as if they have all the answers.

 Canada didn't get medicare in the 1960s because politicians and doctors pushed for it. Rather, medicare is here because the people wanted it.

 And if we are going to retain it, it will be because people still want it, want to improve it — and are willing to fight for it, once again.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&ci

d=1105743772332&call_pageid=968256290204&col=968350116795

KATE DUBINSKI, EDMONTON SUN

A couple of years ago, Justin Derush ended his bartending shifts tight-chested, a little wheezy and reeking of smoke. "There was constant smoke coming from all directions. It was like having an eight-hour cigarette," Derush, 32, said yesterday.

"You don't even realize until it's not there. Even the people who smoke (in the restaurant) noticed the difference."

Health Minister Iris Evans said she plans to table a provincewide smoking ban in public places by April, but similar efforts have been quashed in the past by Tory MLAs.

Derush said after an eight-hour bar shift, he would feel like he was coming down with a cold. Since a bylaw forced his employer to go smoke-free in July 2003, the relief is incredible, Derush said. And a sweeping ban on smoking in public places can only help.

For Amber Suchy, who fronts the band King Mustafa, singing in smoky bars is more than just annoying.

"It literally takes away my voice. I want to keep my voice healthy, but I have that smoker's cough even though I'm not a smoker," Suchy said.

"Even that cough can be rough on the vocal cords."

Suchy said she hasn't seen attendance decline in venues that have gone smoke-free.

Anti-smoking advocates yesterday applauded Evans's move, but aren't about to start holding their breath.

"We've seen it before. I can't tell if this batch (of MLAs) will pass it," said Doug Baker, the regional director for the Canadian Cancer Society, admitting that the minister's push could be just for show.

"Mr. Klein and the government he's led - it's always been consistently hands-off - and he knows about the ravages of smoking and about personal choice, personal decision," Baker said.

Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut have all passed provincewide bans. Ontario and Quebec are in the process of passing such legislation.

"It takes a longer time to have a lasting impact on Albertans' health because we have to go jurisdiction-to-jurisdiction" to lobby for smoking laws, Baker said.

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/EdmontonSun/News/2005/01/14/898213-sun.html

It appears compliance with the City's no-smoking by-law has been strong. As of January 1st, city officials said they would stop handing out warnings to violators of the ban. But two weeks into the new year, there still have not been any fines issued.

Licensing and Enforcement manager Ron Bourret says so far, every local workplace has been complying voluntarily after being caught in violation of the smoking ban. The city hired a special smoking bylaw officer last summer to inspect local businesses, and provide information along with a warning.

Bourret says that officer will now be doing more undercover surveillance work over the next few months, and he expects some fines will be issued as a result. The charge for smoking in a public place or workplace ranges from 75 to 150 dollars, with a maximum fine of 5000 dollars.

http://www.tbsource.com/Localnews/index.asp?cid=72512

WHITEHORSE - Whitehorse's head of bylaw enforcement says bar owners flouting the no-smoking bylaw will pay the price.

John Taylor says the city has received complaints about a number of bars violating the smoking ban that took effect Jan. 1.

• FROM: Jan. 5, 2005 Bars doing bare minimum to stop smoking

• LINK: Smoking Bylaw (City of Whitehorse)

He says that's not fair to the bars that are doing their best to implement the bylaw – and he promises the city will step up its enforcement by laying charges as early as the end of the month.

"It's not going to go away," Taylor says. "The bylaw was passed by a duly elected council of the City of Whitehorse. The majority of the people wanted it, it's passed, so let's work together, let's see how we can implement it and make it the best we can."

Taylor says four bar operators have been spoken to about violating the bylaw, and follow-up letters were also sent.

He says if they keep flouting the law, the letters will be used in court to show that the operators were given an opportunity to comply with the law.

http://north.cbc.ca/regionalnews/caches/smoking-bylaw-01132005.html

Quebec Tobacco-Free Week 2005 - The Canadian Cancer Society: more active than ever in protecting the rights of non-smokers and in the fight against tobacco

    MONTREAL, Jan. 14 /CNW Telbec/ - During the Quebec Tobacco-Free Week (January 16 - 22), the Canadian Cancer Society calls on the importance of protecting the rights of non-smokers, given that secondary smoke is even more harmful than directly inhaled smoke and increases the risks of non-smokers to develop lung cancer by 20%.
    Lung cancer is the deadliest of all cancers, killing close to 6,000 people in Quebec every year. Over 5,000 of these deaths are due to smoking and second-hand smoke. According to the 2004 Canadian Cancer Statistics, lung cancer is the most common form of cancer among men in Quebec, while prostate cancer continues to predominate in the rest of Canada. There has been an increase of 30% in lung cancer instances in women all across
Canada since 1988.
    "The dangers of smoking and uncontrolled exposure to second-hand smoke are very much current issues, even though the percentage of smokers has decreased from 29% to 21% between 1994 and 2003. The Canadian Cancer Society applauds the public consultation project announced by Quebec's Health Minister to make Quebec smoke-free like other provinces in Canada", stated Nicole Magnan, Executive Director of the Quebec Division of the Canadian Cancer Society.

    For many years, the Canadian Cancer Society has been leading a tireless fight against smoking and the dangers associated with smoking, at all levels of government, and by defending the Tobacco Act from its detractors.

    -  In response to the public consultation project announced by the Quebec government, the Society will post a memorandum to support the ban on smoking in public places in order to protect workers and the non-smoking population.
    -  In January 2005, the Canadian Cancer Society will participate in a pivotal court case before the Supreme Court of Canada to discuss the validity of Saskatchewan's anti-tobacco legislation.
    -  In December 2004, the Society supported the Tobacco Act before the Quebec Court of Appeal where three main Canadian tobacco manufacturers challenged the constitutional validity of the Act.

    Besides advocating anti-tobacco legislature, the Society is leading theight against tobacco on all fronts by:

    -  Subsidizing innovative research projects: Dr. Jennifer O'Loughlin, a McGill University researcher, recently demonstrated that a simple variation in one gene may increase a teen's likelihood of nicotine dependence (the details of this and other studies, funded by theSociety, are available at www.cancer.ca );
    -  Assisting smokers in their efforts to quit: One Step at a Time, an individual smoking cessation program (for more information, contact your local Canadian Cancer Society office or call our Cancer Information Service at 1 888 939-3333), and the j'Arrête smokers' helpline (1 888 853-6666 or www.jarrete.qc.ca ), a joint initiative of the Society and the Quebec Council on Tobacco and Health funded by the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux, provide information and support to people interested in quitting smoking;
    -  Informing the public about the dangers of smoking and second-hand  smoke in a number of ways: the Cancer Information Service (1 888 939-3333), the Web site www.cancer.ca , various publications and the participation in events such as the Quebec Tobacco-Free Week and the Quit to Win! Challenge.

    Canadian Cancer Society employees and volunteers, in collaboration with the public health network, are promoting the Quit to Win! Challenge and the Quebec Tobacco-Free Week events in the regions. Beginning in the third week of January, Society volunteers will hold information kiosks on these two events and the Society's smoking cessation services in various Jean Coutu pharmacies across Quebec.

    For more information about smoking, second-hand smoke, cancer and our services, visit our Website at www.cancer.ca or call our Cancer Information
Service at 1 888 939-3333.
 For further information: Canadian Cancer Society: Joelle Dorais, Senior Communications Officer, (514) 255-5151, extension 2403,
jdorais@quebec.cancer.ca
 http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/January2005/14/c2933.html

    January 16 to 22 is National Non-Smoking Week

    TORONTO, Jan. 13 /CNW/ - Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women. Almost 19,000 Canadians died last year from lung cancer and over 16,000 of these deaths were due to cigarette smoking, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.
    "These statistics are sobering," says Cheryl Moyer, Director, Cancer Control Programs, Canadian Cancer Society. "This means that on average about 300 Canadians die each week from lung cancer caused by smoking. While recent statistics show that smoking rates have declined substantially, lung cancer

continues to take a huge toll on Canadians. The Society is committed to ensuring that smoking rates continue to drop so that fewer Canadians die from this disease."

    Moyer says several factors have contributed to the decline in smoking rates. These include:

    -  higher tobacco taxes;
    -  curbs on tobacco advertising and promotion;
    -  smoking restrictions in workplaces and public places;
    -  larger picture-based health warnings on cigarette packages;
    -  providing support for people who wish to quit;
    -  government programming initiatives, including mass media campaigns.

    "A comprehensive approach is the best approach to reducing tobacco use in Canada," says Moyer.

    Society involved in pivotal tobacco court case next week   The Canadian Cancer Society will contribute to the fight against tobacco next week - National Non-Smoking Week - through its participation in a pivotal tobacco court case being heard by the Supreme Court of Canada. A media advisory will be distributed via Canada Newswire on Monday, January 17, 9 a.m.

    Support for smokers available
    The Canadian Cancer Society's self-help program to help smokers quit -One Step at a Time - offers help for smokers and the people who care about them. For more information about One Step at a Time, or to locate a smoking quit line in your community, call the Society's Cancer Information Service at 1 888 939-3333.

    The Canadian Cancer Society is a national community-based organization of volunteers whose mission is to eradicate cancer and to enhance the quality of life of people living with cancer. When you want to know more about cancer, visit our website at www.cancer.ca or call our toll-free, bilingual Cancer Information Service at 1 888 939-3333.

    Smoking rates dropping: Statistics Canada information   According to a June 2004 Statistics Canada report (the Canadian Community Health Survey), in 1994, 29 per cent of the Canadian population aged 12 and over smoked either daily or occasionally - by 2003, this had declined to 23 per cent. The proportion of the population that smoked daily fell significantly between 1994 and 2003 - from 24 per cent in 1994 to 18 per cent
in 2004. For more information:
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/040615/d040615b.htm


    Media backgrounder: Lung cancer and smoking research
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Canadian Cancer Society currently funds more than $1.3 million in research looking at different aspects of smoking and lung cancer. In addition to the $1.3 million, the Society was a founding partner of the Canadian Tobacco Control Research Initiative, which funds tobacco control research in Canada. The Society provides $500,000 annually to this initiative. Below are examples of some of the research underway:

    Some teens easily hooked on smoking: Finding out why  Smoking just one or two cigarettes a day may be all it takes for some adolescents to become addicted to nicotine, according to Dr. Jennifer O'Loughlin. In her six-year study, Dr. O'Loughlin, a professor at McGill University in Montreal, followed a group of over 1,300 Montreal teens. She found that one-third of the teens who smoked only once or twice reported symptoms of nicotine dependence, including difficulty not smoking when friends smoke and feeling a real need to smoke. Following up on this research, Dr. O'Loughlin recently found a genetic link between nicotine dependence and a variation in a single gene - called CYP2A6 - that controls how quickly people metabolize nicotine. In her study, she found that teens with this genetic variation were more likely to become nicotine dependent, even though they smoked fewer cigarettes per week than those with the normal gene. Dr. O'Loughlin's findings open the door for more effective smoking cessation programs that offer targeted messages tailored to each person's individual needs.

    Smoking restrictions in outdoor spaces: Finding out more  Dr. Roberta Ferrence is conducting research into how the physical and social factors of outdoor environments affect smokers. While many indoor public places have smoking restrictions, few restrictions exist for outdoor public places. Smoking in outdoor spaces can result in high levels of second-hand smoke, which is a hazard to non-smokers. Dr. Ferrence will determine which factors affect when and where people smoke, how they react to smoking restrictions, and how smokers and non-smokers interact. For this research, Dr. Ferrence's team, based at the University of Toronto, is collecting information from smokers and non-smokers in six outdoor public places in downtown Toronto about their attitudes and experiences regarding smoking in outdoor areas. Their results will help in the development of design recommendations and guidelines aimed at reducing smoking in outdoor spaces.

    Finding the best ways to help people quit smoking In the past five years, Smokers' Help Lines, which provide telephone support for people wishing to quit smoking, have spread across Canada. Making sure people who call receive the best advice and information is the focus of Dr. Sharon Campbell's research. Dr. Campbell is the Director of Evaluation Studies at the Canadian Cancer Society-funded Centre for Behavioural Research Studies and Program Evaluation, based at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario. Dr. Campbell has helped create standard ways to evaluate smoking cessation quitlines, giving quitlines across the country or around the world a common way to determine who uses quitlines, what services are delivered and what smokers do after they call the quitline. This information allows quitlines, policy makers and researchers to better understand which programs work well, who uses them and ways to share best practices across the country. Dr. Campbell's other work includes a survey of Canadian and international quitlines that has identified characteristics of different quitlines and what factors increase the likelihood of a person successfully quitting. This survey was adapted for use in the United States and Europe. Dr. Campbell also played a key role in developing the Canadian Smoker's Helpline Network.

    Garlic: Finding out if it can fight lung cancer
    Diallyl sulfone is a chemical produced when garlic is cooked or eaten. It appears that this chemical may protect against some kinds of cancer. Dr. Poh-Gek Forkert and her team, based at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, are trying to determine if this chemical can be used to protect against the development of lung cancer. Their results will confirm whether consuming this garlic derivative can protect against the effects associated with exposure to naturally-occurring carcinogens found in foods.

    Note to editors/writers: The researchers are available for interviews.


    Media backgrounder: The Facts and What We're Doing
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------

    -  In 2004, approximately 21,700 Canadians were diagnosed with lung cancer and about 18,900 died of the disease.

        -  On average (in 2004), 417 Canadians were diagnosed with lung cancer every week and 363 Canadians died of the disease.

    -  Lung cancer, the most preventable of all cancers, is the leading cause of cancer death for both sexes. Almost one-third of the cancer deaths
       in men and almost one-quarter of the cancer deaths in women are due to lung cancer.

    -  Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable disease, disability and death in Canada. It is responsible for more than 47,500 deaths per
       year in Canada.

    -  Cigarette smoking causes about 30 per cent of cancers in Canada and more than 85 per cent of lung cancers.

    -  Second-hand smoke is linked to the deaths of more than 1,000 Canadians every year.

    How the Canadian Cancer Society is leading the fight against tobacco

    Advocacy: Our advocacy efforts help ensure the implementation of strong, effective tobacco control legislation and policies at all levels of
    government.

    One Step at a Time self-help program for smokers: The Canadian Cancer Society's self-help program to help smokers quit - One Step at a Time -
    offers help for smokers and the people who care about them.

    Research: Every year, the Canadian Cancer Society encourages and funds research that helps control tobacco use. The Society is currently funding
    close to $2 million in research looking at various aspects of smoking and lung cancer.

    Information: We provide Canadians with up-to-date comprehensive information about tobacco, smoking, lung cancer prevention and treatment.
    We supply this information through print material, our website and our Cancer Information Service.

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/January2005/13/c2233.html

 The health ministry has submitted the much-talked about bill to the Parliament Secretariat for enacting a law that will also ban smoking in public places.

The law will prohibit the publication of advertisements of tobacco products in newspapers, books and magazines and broadcast through radio, television and cinema.

 Putting up billboards and printing leaflets and handbills or any other documents containing advertisement of tobacco will also be banned, the bill proposes.

 No company will be allowed to distribute tobacco free of cost, arrange any competition and make any offer of scholarship or donation to make publicity of tobacco products.

 The bill proposes a punishment of three months imprisonment or a fine of Tk 1,000 or both for violation of the law.

The bill titled 'Smoking and Tobacco Usage (control) Act 2005' also proposes a ban on smoking in public places and transports with a provision of penalty.

 If anyone violates the provision, he or she will be fined Tk 50, the bill proposes.

 Considering the health hazards caused by tobacco, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other international organisations are sponsoring antismoking campaigns.

 According to a WHO study, tobacco-related illnesses in Bangladesh cost Tk 66.9 billion a year, including Tk 27.4 billion spent on smoking.

 On the other hand, economic benefits from the tobacco sector stand at Tk 24.8 billion, including Tk 20.3 billion in tax collected on the domestic consumption and Tk 4.5 billion earned as wages in tobacco production, says the study report released yesterday.

 The government has moved to enact the antismoking law as a signatory to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Bangladesh signed it on June 16, 2003.

"It will be possible to check uncontrolled smoking and production of tobacco through enacting the law," Health and Family Welfare Minister Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain said in a statement on the bill for the 15th session of parliament beginning January 31.

 "It will also contribute to the safety of public health," the minister said.

 The five existing laws -- The Juvenile Smoking Act 1919, The Prohibition of Smoking in Show Houses Act 1952, The Railway Act 1890, The Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ordinance 1976 and The Chittagong Metropolitan Police Ordinance 1978, are not sufficient to prohibit smoking, said the health minister.

Once the law is enacted, smoking will be prohibited in public places like educational institutions, government, semi-government and autonomous body offices, libraries, hospitals and clinics, court, airports, seaports, river ports, railway stations, bus terminals, ferries, cinemas, theatre halls and children's parks.

 Bus, train, launch, airplane and all other modes of transport to be defined by the government are where smoking is prohibited.

 The bill however proposes that the authorities or caretaker of any public places or transport can make special arrangements for smokers.

 Considering the adverse effect of the law on the tobacco farmers, the bill proposes the government to provide soft-loans to them to switch to other crops in the next five years.

http://www.thedailystar.net/2005/01/14/d50114011210.htm

http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=49402005

Staff Reporter

IN spite of loud protests by restaurant and cafe owners against the new smoking restrictions and the large-scale checks by inspectors from the Hygiene and Epidemiology Institute (HEI), it seems that implementation of the law continues to be uneven.
Several places were spotted by The Sofia Echo staff to be sporting door signs saying “Smokers Only”, a small pub in one of the central city streets was choked by smoke on January 5 as almost all patrons along with the owner were puffing eagerly. The only ventilation was provided by the sporadic opening of the door. In another underground pub, the restrictions were not observed either; a large restaurant with two separate rooms had ashtrays on all tables. The same was the situation in a cafe visited on January 10. 
According to a report by the Sofia HEI, on the first two working days of the new year, inspectors checked 101 restaurants and cafes.
In 30 of them all regulations were strictly observed. In 71 the inspectors issued written instructions on complying with the restrictions.
HEI inspectors have also checked 22 health institutions – 16 hospitals and six polyclinics and have found no violations.
Meanwhile, the Bulgarian-language media reported of the first 50-leva fine imposed on a chef in a restaurant in Veliko Turnovo caught smoking in the kitchen.
To his protests that there was a grace period, the inspectors said that this only applied to patrons of restaurants.
HEI Varna reported that in the first three working days there had been 209 checks, mostly in restaurants and cafes, and 12 fines for 50 to 100 leva had been issued. The inspectors had issued 41 instructions.
The head of HEI Varna said that the grace period in the city had expired. 

http://www.sofiaecho.com/article/skirmishes-over-smoking/id_10600/catid_5

POSTED: 5:50 a.m. EST January 14, 2005

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Charlotte's hospitality industry is vowing to fight a proposed smoking ban.

Earlier this week County Commissioners asked the State Legislature to clear the way to make restaurants, bars and work places in Mecklenburg County smoke free.

The President of Charlotte's Hospitality and Tourism Alliance, Mohammad Jenatian says Commissioners should spend their time working on what he calls more important issues.

A state law prevents local governments from restricting smoking.

Commissioners want the state to exclude Mecklenburg from that law.

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/4081807/detail.html

LibrariesMedical News

Keywords TOBACCO INDUSTRY TOBACCO SMOKE CANCER-CAUSING MUTATIONS

Contact InformationAvailable for logged-in reporters only

Description

The strategies used by the tobacco industry to counteract research linking tobacco smoke to cancer-causing mutations in a gene called p53 are detailed in a study.

EARLY ONLINE PUBLICATION: Friday January 14 2005

Newswise — The strategies used by the tobacco industry to counteract research linking tobacco smoke to cancer-causing mutations in a gene called p53 are detailed in a study published online (Friday January 14, 2005) in The Lancet.

Damage to the p53 gene leads to uncontrolled cell division. Mutations in this gene are found in over 50% of all human tumours, including 60% of lung cancers.

Benzo[a]pyrene, a potent carcinogen, was identified in cigarette smoke in 1952. In the 1990’s, studies demonstrated patterned changes in p53 after exposure to benzo[a]pyrene. A 1996 landmark study showed benzo[a]pyrene’s interaction with p53 mirrored mutations found in actual human lung tumours. This finding provided strong molecular evidence of the direct carcinogenic effect of a tobacco smoke constituent.

Stanton Glantz (University of California, San Francisco, USA) and colleagues examined 43 previously confidential tobacco industry documents relating to p53 and tobacco smoke. The researchers found that prior to 1996, several tobacco companies supported research projects investigating the mechanisms of p53 mutations. Following the 1996 landmark study, tobacco companies planned a number of research projects in response and supported studies which appeared to cast doubt on a link between p53 damage and benzo[a]pyrene in tobacco smoke.

In two instances research arguing against a connection was undertaken and published by individuals with links to tobacco companies. Both studies were published in a journal, whose editor-in-chief, has an extensive and undisclosed history of working as a tobacco industry researcher and consultant.

Professor Glantz comments: “The tobacco companies claim that they are now working with the public health community to ‘support a single, consistent public health message on the role played by cigarette smoking in the development of the disease in smokers.’ But their multifaceted response to p53 research as recently as 2001, suggests that they have not changed their practices.”

Professor Glantz adds: “The extent and sophistication of the tobacco industry involvement in p53 research challenge authors, editors and users of scientific literature to be vigilant in demanding and maintaining rigorous standards for disclosing and evaluating potential conflicts of interest. Universities and other biomedical researchers should stop taking money from the tobacco industry in order to minimise the potential for any impairment of the integrity of the scientific process.” (Quote by e-mail; does not appear in published paper)

Please remember to cite The Lancet.

http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/509202/