>I just read in the BMJ 2002;324:444 (23 February)that in January, faculty
>members at the Harvard School of Public Health decided that it would "not
>accept any grant or anything else of value from any tobacco manufacturer,
>distributor, or other tobacco related company."

>Good for them!
>Can refusing funding from ABM manufacturers be far behind? OK, maybe not
>next year, but it does hold out hope.

I think that this is part of a larger positive trend in this area. A
number
of prestigious medical journals (I can't remember which ones at the
moment,
but could probably find out) have decided not to publish articles
reporting
research that was supported by tobacco companies. Perhaps the decision of
these journals has put some pressure on Harvard SPH andn other places to
implement such policies. It is a very interesting and positive trend, I
think.

Following suit with ABM manufacturers will not happen by itself and will
probably be difficult to  implement because ABM companies are also
pharmaceutical
companies that support lots of research. However, it is probably
worthwhile to
take advantage of this growing trend to educate research facilities and
journals
about the ABM issues and encourage them to implement similar policies in
this area.
  Naomi Bar-Yam

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