Research paper up in smoke?

The National Post ^ | January 31, 2003 | Pierre Lemieux

[Max McGarrity]

A recent issue of Tobacco Control featured an article on "Comprehensive Tobacco Control Policies and the Smoking Behaviour of Canadian Adults." One of the bibliographical references was supposed to contain crucial data on tobacco control expenditures in Canada: "Cunningham R. Evaluation of Federal and Provincial Legislation to Control Tobacco, 1994. Ottawa: Canadian Cancer Society, 1995."

The problem is that the Cunningham paper does not exist, or at least cannot be found. Moreover, repeated attempts to obtain a copy from the author have been unsuccessful.

The Canadian Cancer Society denied that it is the publisher. President Julie White wrote: "Rob Cunningham currently works for us in the area of tobacco control ... This paper has nothing to do with us, and because it is copyrighted by Rob, we do not have any control or influence over its distribution."

I decided to contact the authors of the Tobacco Control article. The journal gives an incorrect e-mail address for the lead author, Dr. Thomas Stephens of the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit. I e-mailed co-author Dr. Linda Pederson of the American Centers for Disease Control. "I have forwarded your e-mail to Dr. Stephens," she replied. "I am certain that he will respond to you. I don't have the article that you refer to, but I am sure that Dr. Stephens does." Dr. Stephens never wrote, and Dr. Pederson has not replied to my follow-up messages.

I then wrote to the editor of Tobacco Control, Professor Simon Chapman, an Australian anti-smoking activist. He replied: "Dear Prof Lemieux, My mail is that you are an industry stooge and spend your time doing whatever you can to undermine tobacco control. I imagine that in these circumstances, Mr. Cunningham feels you are not worth the price of a postage stamp."

I finally filed an access to information request with Health Canada, which must have a copy of the Cunningham research, if it exists. Mr. Hank Schriel, director of the Access to Information and Privacy Division at Health Canada, replied: "We do not have a copy of anything like that in our reference collection," and "we do not have a copy of this paper (and no, we did not provide [Mr. Cunningham] with any information for the paper either)."

There is something rotten in the state of Tobacco Kontrol.

Pierre Lemieux is co-director of the Economics and Liberty Research Group at the University of Québec in Outaouais, and a research fellow at the Independent Institute in California. E-mail: PL@pierrelemieux.org

[Max McGarrity]

Good to see SOMEONE is holding their feet to the fire!

[Don W]

Mr. Lemieux is a very good research journalist. Unfortunately (for the narrow minded) he is also a libertarian, which means that the "enlightened" pubbies/neo-cons consider him a "libertine".

Pray tell, what of the libertarian ROOTS of your very nation? Were the founders of the good old USA "Libertines" as well? Is the US constitution a piece of fishwrap? All the Libertarians want is for the government to go BACK to its LEGITIMATE role, and get out of the nannyism that has run rampant through the last 70 yrs or so.

[Publius6961]

*snicker*
I hope the suggestion is not that someone might create a fiction out of whole cloth...!
That would be shocking!!

Controlling twits never would do that.

and I'm queen Elizabeth...

[Just another Joe]

and I'm queen Elizabeth...

VERY nice to hear from you, your Majesty.

[Max McGarrity]

I hope the suggestion is not that someone might create a fiction out of whole cloth...! That would be shocking!!

Didja notice the nasty comments Lemieux got from Simon Chapman? That's THE Simon Chapman, who got his jewels in a wringer by trying to diddle with the data on a study and getting caught at it. I'm amazed he has the cojones to rear his ugly head at all. Anti arrogance knows no bounds.

Simon Chapman Dishonesty

[Great Dane]

What surprises me, is that the national Post has now published 2 of Piere's articles, do you suppose some papers are beginning to see through the smoke. ?

[Gabz]

do you suppose some papers are beginning to see through the smoke. ?

we can only hope!!!!!!!!!!

[lockjaw02]

"That's THE Simon Chapman, who got his jewels in a wringer by trying to diddle with the data on a study and getting caught at it."

Max, what ever happened to the lawsuit by the tobacco companies to force universities to disclose the actual research notes and papers behind their studies? A lot of the data from research conducted by universities is often protected under the auspices of being confidential or proprietary. The NY Times printed a brief article about this in January of last year, but I've seen nothing of the outcome.

Tobacco Industry in Fight To Get Universities' Data - Jan 19 2002; By GREG WINTER (The New York Times Archive) The nation's biggest tobacco companies are demanding more than a half-century's worth of documents, notes and personal files from 10 universities, setting off a debate over the limits of academic freedom and the confidentiality of scholarly research.