Big tobacco’s offer: $1 billion for research. Should scientists take it?
By Martin EnserinkFeb. 8, 2018 , 10:35 AM
Utrecht University (UU) in the Netherlands thought it had nothing to be ashamed of when it accepted a €360,000 research grant from Philip Morris International (PMI) last September. The tobacco giant had agreed to fund a study on cigarette smuggling that had obvious public health importance, and the lead researcher, law professor John Vervaele, would enjoy complete academic freedom. Sure, there had been a "thorough debate" about the grant, Vervaele said in a press release, "but the tobacco industry is not illegal. The illicit tobacco trade is."
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/02/big-tobacco-s-offer-1-billion-research-should-scientists-take-it
