Barnes D E, Bero L A
University of California, San Francisco, USA.
J Health Polit Policy Law. 1996 Fall;21(3):515-42. doi: 10.1215/03616878-21-3-515.
The Center for Indoor Air Research (CIAR) was created by three United States tobacco companies in 1988. Its stated mission is to fund high-quality, objective research related to indoor air, including studies of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Because CIAR is financed by the tobacco industry and funds research related to tobacco, it fosters an inherent conflict of interest. We consider whether this conflict of interest has affected the content, quality, or use of research funded by CIAR. We hypothesize that the tobacco industry might be using CIAR to develop scientific data to support its position that ETS is not harmful to health. CIAR funds two types of projects: "Peer-reviewed" projects are awarded after peer review by a group of scientists, whereas "special-reviewed" projects are awarded directly by tobacco industry executives. CIAR's special-reviewed projects are more likely than its peer-reviewed projects to be related to ETS, to support the tobacco industry position, and to be used by the industry to argue that smoking should not be regulated in public places. Our findings suggest that the tobacco industry is funding special-reviewed projects through CIAR to develop scientific data that it can use in legislative and legal settings. The industry may be financing peer-reviewed projects through CIAR to enhance its credibility, to provide good publicity, and to divert attention from ETS as an indoor air pollutant. CIAR's stated mission of funding high-quality, objective research has been compromised by conflict of interest, and at least some of CIAR's projects are being used to promote the tobacco industry's agenda.
室内空气研究中心（CIAR）于1988年由美国三家烟草公司创立。其宣称的使命是资助与室内空气相关的高质量、客观的研究，包括对环境烟草烟雾（ETS）的研究。由于CIAR由烟草行业资助并资助与烟草相关的研究，它引发了内在的利益冲突。我们探讨这种利益冲突是否影响了CIAR资助的研究的内容、质量或用途。我们假设烟草行业可能在利用CIAR来开发科学数据，以支持其关于ETS对健康无害的立场。CIAR资助两种类型的项目：“同行评审”项目是在一组科学家进行同行评审后授予的，而“特别评审”项目则由烟草行业高管直接授予。CIAR的特别评审项目比同行评审项目更有可能与ETS相关，支持烟草行业的立场，并被该行业用于主张在公共场所不应限制吸烟。我们的研究结果表明，烟草行业正通过CIAR资助特别评审项目，以开发可在立法和法律环境中使用的科学数据。该行业可能通过CIAR资助同行评审项目，以提高其可信度、进行良好的宣传，并转移人们对ETS作为室内空气污染物的关注。CIAR宣称的资助高质量、客观研究的使命因利益冲突而受到损害，并且CIAR的至少一些项目正被用于推进烟草行业的议程。
