Fuming finances
It has been revealed this week that Oxford University is willing to accept funding for research from tobacco firms. An internal report by the British Amerian Tobacco company (BAT) shows that Oxford is one of only a handful of universities actually willing to accept such money. Although a university spokeswomen said that such funding would only be accepted in “exceptional circumstances”, Oxford has still refused to rule out that such a situation may arise. This situation is very worrying.
Academic institutions have a duty not to accept money from dubious sources, in order to maintain their integrity. The tobacco industry is one such dubious source. It makes its profit from a product that kills half of all its users. BAT are a morally dubious company and this is an attempt to put a gloss on the tobacco industry, and it’s disgraceful behaviour.It is on a par with the arms trade. It is tainted money and totally inappropriate for an educational institution to receive this funding.
In 1996, BAT gave £1.5 million to Cambridge University to fund a chair in International Relations. In December 2000, Nottingham University announced that it had accepted a grant of £3.8 million from BAT to set up an International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility. For the tobacco industry, these acts of generosity are a means of buying credibility and influence.
This is something that they desperately need, as the Western world becomes tired of their deceit, and they are forced to turn to the developing world, where law and scrutiny are much less vigilant and restrictive to their ends. The considerations of public health and the impact on the developing world are just two of the many concerns which should prevent a university from accepting tobacco money. The influence this buys is another, and it is this that represents this most direct threat.
In May 2001, ASH applauded the decision of Richard Smith, editor of the British Medical Journal, to resign from his post as Professor of Medical Journalism at Nottingham University in protest at the University’s decision to accept £3.8 million sponsorship from British American Tobacco. The irony of a product which is unequivocably proven to kill people sponsoring a centre for Corporate Social Responsibility is almost equal to the notion that a former Health Minister could be employed by BAT.
An irony personified in Ken Clarke, who has worked for BAT since 1998 as Head of Corporate Social Responsibility. These donations are unnacceptable within the academic world to anyone who believes in the principles embodied in the origin of the word ‘academia’. The ‘sacred space’ outside of ancient Athens, a space for the furthering of knowledge and not for the greedy and self interested lining of pockets with tarnished tobacco money.
10th Nov 2005