Tobacco-industry research declared off limits by several medical journals

Health editors at the BMJ, Heart, Thorax and BMJ Open have said they will not consider the publication of studies that have been funded in part or wholly by the tobacco industry, according to a story in The Information Daily.

The editors were reported to have said their new policy was consistent with that of other journals.

It aimed to show that they were committed to publishing work that only improved knowledge of health and disease, and that had no links to a product with a detrimental effect on health.

“Critics could argue that the publishing of research funded by these companies does not equal endorsement, but the editors believe that this view ‘ignores the growing body of evidence that biases and research misconduct are often impossible to detect,'” the Daily story said.

“It has been argued that instead of improving knowledge, the tobacco industry ‘has used research to deliberately produce ignorance and to advance its ultimate goal of selling its deadly products while shoring up its damaged legitimacy.’”

The full story is at http://www.theinformationdaily.com/2013/10/15/tobacco-industry-funded-research-shunned-by-some-health-publishers.