A New Policy on Tobacco Papers

Jones, Susan; Peiperl, Larry; Veitch, Emma

doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000237

Cited by 24 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Findings from documents research have been critical in generating discussion and scrutiny about the role of industry funding and in uence in scienti c publications (46) and health policy (47). Our results are consistent with previous studies based on internal industry documents.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marketing Opioids to Veterans and Older Adults: A Content Analysis of Internal Industry Documents 

Yakubi¹,

Gac²,

Apollonio³

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: From 1999 to 2020, the opioid epidemic claimed over 400,000 lives in the United States. Military veteran and geriatric adults, two populations with considerable overlap, were uniquely devastated by opioid addiction. Veterans’ death attributed to opioid use increased by 65% from 2010 to 2016 while opioid prescriptions for older adults increased by a factor of nine between 1995 to 2010. Methods: “Documents-related” research is a growing field of qualitative study that involves the interpretation of documents in order to elicit meaning. In January 2020, documents used in State of Oklahoma v Purdue Pharma, L.P. et al were released to the Drug Industry Document Archive (DIDA) at the University of California, San Francisco for storage in perpetuity. Two authors (HY and BG) completed an initial screen of all 503 internal documents, totaling 62,703 pages, in the Oklahoma collection based on document numbering as labeled by DIDA. Documents were organized into a master file that identified key concepts related to the opioid industry’s targeting of high-risk populations for increased opioid sales. The master file and supporting documents were then reviewed by the entire team until a final consensus was reached regarding interpretation. This study includes 225 relevant documents from the Oklahoma Collection, all of which specifically referred to efforts to sell opioids to military veterans and older adults. These documents detailed the opinions of executives, corporate goals, and plans to increase opioid consumption in these specific populations, and were comprised of internal emails, sales pitches, and PowerPoint presentations.Results: We identified opioid manufacturer targeted marketing to military veterans and older adults. Efforts to market opioids to veterans used the trauma of war as a selling strategy. Strategies to target older adults focused on funding patient outreach programs that exploited the worries of the elderly community, specifically loss of functionality and quality of life. Conclusion: Pharmaceutical companies preyed on the fears of military veterans and older adults to market opioids, claiming that opioid use would improve quality of life and lead to self-fulfillment. These campaigns masqueraded as public health initiatives and disease awareness campaigns.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marketing Opioids to Veterans and Older Adults: A Content Analysis of Internal Industry Documents 

Yakubi¹,

Gac²,

Apollonio³

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These claims were drawn from the academic literature, [ 1 ] key national and international policy initiatives, [ 20 , 21 ] and (with reference to approaches used in tobacco control) the survey drew on guidelines and policies to restrict tobacco industry interference in policy and research. [ 10 – 11 , 22 ]…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[ 7 ] Tobacco industry interactions with health researchers are widely rejected, given extensive evidence of industry manipulation of science, [ 8 , 9 ] and some major funders and medical publishers have adopted restrictions regarding industry sponsored research. [ 10 , 11 ]…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can public health reconcile profits and pandemics? An analysis of attitudes to commercial sector engagement in health policy and research

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundPublic health’s terms of engagement with unhealthy commodity industries (alcohol, tobacco and ultra-processed food and drinks) have become increasingly contested in policy and research. We sought to identify approaches that could attract consensus support within and across policy domains.MethodsUsing snowball sampling, we undertook an online survey of 335 health researchers, advocates and policymakers, in 40 countries, assessing responses to stated principles, claims and recommendations for engaging with unhealthy commodity industries in relation to key policy and research initiatives.ResultsMost respondents identified a fundamental conflict between industry interests and public health objectives for all three industries, with agreement greatest in relation to tobacco and weakest for food. This pattern was replicated across diverse questions regarding potential forms of engagement, including in rejecting voluntarism and partnership approaches to health policy. While awareness of tobacco industry tactics to influence policy and research was higher than for alcohol and food, most respondents rejected the view that the influence of the latter was less significant for public health. Proposals that health and research organisations should divest their funds attracted less support with respect to food, while restricting publication of industry-funded research in academic journals was the issue that most divided opinion. Respondents reported most difficulty in answering questions about the food industry.ConclusionsThe strong consensus around restricting interactions with the tobacco industry supports increased implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control’s conflict of interest provisions. There is strong support for the extension of such practices to the alcohol industry, challenging current norms. More mixed responses indicate a need for greater clarity in defining the food industry, and for research analyzing links, similarities and differences across different types of unhealthy commodity producers. Partnership approaches to addressing non-communicable diseases seem incapable of attracting widespread support across public health, challenging practice in many contexts.

show abstract

“…This policy highlights several ethical issues in scientific publication cogently discussed by the PloS Medicine editors in 2010 when they adopted a similar policy [1] and the Editor of Tobacco Control which took similar steps in 2012 [2]. These issues include balancing the value of open discourse and transparency in scientific publication with the well-documented history of the tobacco industry’s efforts to prevent regulation by subverting scientific research to its own ends.…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

The New International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) Policy Concerning Tobacco Company Funding

2018

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

A New Policy on Tobacco Papers

Abstract: In this month's editorial, the PLoS Medicine editors announce that they will no longer consider papers for which support - in whole or in part - for the study or the researchers comes from a tobacco company.

Cited by 24 publications

References 9 publications

Marketing Opioids to Veterans and Older Adults: A Content Analysis of Internal Industry Documents

Marketing Opioids to Veterans and Older Adults: A Content Analysis of Internal Industry Documents

Can public health reconcile profits and pandemics? An analysis of attitudes to commercial sector engagement in health policy and research

The New International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) Policy Concerning Tobacco Company Funding

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

A New Policy on Tobacco Papers

Abstract: In this month's editorial, the PLoS Medicine editors announce that they will no longer consider papers for which support - in whole or in part - for the study or the researchers comes from a tobacco company.

Cited by 24 publications

References 9 publications

Marketing Opioids to Veterans and Older Adults:&nbsp;A Content Analysis of Internal Industry Documents&nbsp;

Marketing Opioids to Veterans and Older Adults:&nbsp;A Content Analysis of Internal Industry Documents&nbsp;

Can public health reconcile profits and pandemics? An analysis of attitudes to commercial sector engagement in health policy and research

The New International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) Policy Concerning Tobacco Company Funding

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Marketing Opioids to Veterans and Older Adults: A Content Analysis of Internal Industry Documents

Marketing Opioids to Veterans and Older Adults: A Content Analysis of Internal Industry Documents