Transcript Title: Research funding and censorship: an ethical issue

The regulation of research by
funding bodies: an emerging
ethical issue for the alcohol and
other drug sector?
Peter Miller1, David Moore2 and John Strang1
1National
Addiction Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK
2National Drug Research Institute, Perth, Australia
“It is the job of science to advise, to
be helpful to, and to support the
policy process, but its inalienable
responsibility is also to criticise,
question, test and be awkward.
Science has to have a larger vision
of itself than its being merely a
biddable management tool” .
(Edwards, 1993: 13)
“FDA Scientists Pressured By Political ,
Commercial Interests”
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(Medical News Today, 2006)
N= 997
15% inappropriately excluded/altered technical
information or conclusions
17% provided incomplete, inaccurate or misleading
information
47% said they knew of situations where "commercial
interests" improperly tried to have an FDA conclusion
reversed, withdrawn or changed
40% said FDA management did not consistently stand
behind staff scientists whose "scientifically defensible
positions" were potential causes of political
controversy
http://www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity/interference/fda-scientist-survey.html
Types of regulation
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Direct censorship
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Non publication
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Limited access
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Project funding
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Inadequate/inappropriate researchers
Two areas of application
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Academic journals
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Ethics committees
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Beneficence
“A submitted manuscript is the
intellectual property of its authors,
not the study sponsor. We will not
review or publish articles based on
studies that are conducted under
conditions that allow the sponsor to
have sole control of the data or to
withhold publication.”
(Davidoff et al., 2001b: 463)
Commentaries
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5 invited commentaries
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Lenton and Midford
Khoshnood
Ashcroft
Hall
Hough and Turnbull
Hall (2006) Addiction editorial
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‘Ensuring that addiction science is deserving
of public trust’
Current conflict of interest statements
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ISAJE
 “All sources of funding for the study, review, or
other item should be declared in the final
publication. Funding sources should be described in
a way that allows an average reader to recognize
potential conflicts of interest.”
Addiction
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“The statement should declare sources of funding,
direct or indirect, and any connection with the
tobacco, alcohol, pharmaceutical or gaming
industries. Any contractual constraints on
publishing imposed by the funder must also be
disclosed. ”
Specific recommendations
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Addictions journals should require:
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Author statement of funding source published
with each article
a positive statement that the lead author had
complete control over the study data, analysis,
decision to publish and preparation of the
published report
A brief editorial in each journal to discuss
and debate the issue
Prior registration with ICMJE approved
clinical trials register as a pre-requisite for
publication?
Thank you
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References
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Edwards, G. (1993). Substance Misuse and the Uses of
Science. In G. Edwards, J. Strang & J. H. Jaffe (Eds.), Drugs,
Alcohol, and Tobacco: Making the Science and Policy
Connections (pp. 3-16). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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Hall, W. (2006). Ensuring that addiction science is deserving
of public trust. Addiction, 101(9), 1223-1224.
International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (2005)
Ethical Practice Guidelines in Addiction Publishing:
http://www.isaje.net (accessed 14 April 2006).
Miller, P., Moore, D., & Strang, J. (2006). The regulation of
research by funding bodies: An emerging ethical issue for
the alcohol and other drug sector. International Journal of
Drug Policy, 17(1), 12-16.
Room, R. (1993). The evolution of alcohol monopolies and
their relevance for public health. Contemporary Drug
Problems, 20(2), p169-187.