Premium
‘To prove this is the industry's best hope’: big tobacco's support of research on the genetics of nicotine addiction
Author(s) -
Gundle Kenneth R.,
Dingel Molly J.,
Koenig Barbara A.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0965-2140
DOI - 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.02940.x
Subject(s) - tobacco industry , addiction , context (archaeology) , nicotine , pharmaceutical industry , narrative , perspective (graphical) , public relations , medicine , business , psychology , engineering ethics , political science , psychiatry , microbiology and biotechnology , engineering , law , biology , computer science , paleontology , linguistics , philosophy , artificial intelligence
Background New molecular techniques focus a genetic lens upon nicotine addiction. Given the medical and economic costs associated with smoking, innovative approaches to smoking cessation and prevention must be pursued; but can sound research be manipulated by the tobacco industry? Methodology The chronological narrative of this paper was created using iterative reviews of primary sources (the Legacy Tobacco Documents), supplemented with secondary literature to provide a broader context. The empirical data inform an ethics and policy analysis of tobacco industry‐funded research. Findings The search for a genetic basis for smoking is consistent with industry's decades‐long plan to deflect responsibility away from the tobacco companies and onto individuals' genetic constitutions. Internal documents reveal long‐standing support for genetic research as a strategy to relieve the tobacco industry of its legal responsibility for tobacco‐related disease. Conclusions Industry may turn the findings of genetics to its own ends, changing strategy from creating a ‘safe’ cigarette to defining a ‘safe’ smoker.