According to an article in the New York Times, a 2006 study that concluded that 80 percent of lung cancer deaths could be prevented by the use of CT scans was backed by grants from a cigarette company. The Times found that Dr. Claudia Henschke of Weill Cornell Medical College, who conducted the study, accepted $3.6 million in grants from Liggett Group, maker of Liggett Select, Eve, Grand Prix, Quest and Pyramid cigarettes. The finding has many, such as Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, appalled. The American Cancer Society provided $100,000 in grants to Henschke from 2004 to 2007.
"If you're using blood money, you need to tell people you're using blood money," said Brawley, who added that the society would not have funded Henschke's efforts had it known of Liggett's grants.
While Henschke defended the use of the cigarette company's money, citing in an email to the Times that "the gift was announced publicly," and that it was "quite easy to look it up on the Internet," she also added, interestingly enough, that the Foundation for Lung Cancer: Early Detection, Prevention & Treatment "no longer accepted grants from tobacco companies."
To read more:
- check out the New York Times article