I provide comments to the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT) on its policy proposal to exclude the tobacco and nicotine industry and their consultants from membership, meetings and in-house publication: Nicotine and Tobacco Research. I strongly disagree.
Please see my response (4 pages, PDF)
The short version: excluding the tobacco and nicotine industry is wrong, anti-scientific and unethical. The arguments for exclusion are baseless, and there are better ways to address commercial interests. The tobacco control field has significant problems that demand attention.
This was a response to SRNT’s listening sessions about its “Core Organisational Values”, which I have also commented on previously. The main focus of my discontent is an effort by a faction within SRNT, organised as the Health Equities Network, to exclude science and scientists from the companies that are now making the products that form the basis of tobacco harm reduction.
The background reading for this listening exercise was the papers below:
- SRNT Core Organizational Values & Statements of Commitment
- The Rose et al. Commentary – representatives of SRNT’s Health Equities network making the case for excluding nicotine companies
- The Cummings et al. Commentary – experienced academics making the case for openness and against exclusion.
- The Carroll et al. Commentary – younger researchers lamenting the divisiveness in the field.