BMJ editor resigns position at Nottingham University
Richard Smith, editor of the
British Medical Journal, has
resigned from his post as professor
of medical journalism at the
University of Nottingham following
the university's controversial
decision to accept £3.8m
from British American Tobacco
(BAT). The money was given to
fund a centre for corporate
responsibility at the university's
business school, but the decision
made last December to accept
the donation from the second
largest tobacco company in the
world has been criticised by staff
and students alike.
Dr Smith resigned after a web
survey of BMJ readers showed
that 84% of the 1074 votes cast
were in favour of the university
returning the donation, and that
54% of the participants thought
that Dr Smith should leave his
post if they did not. Dr Smith further
justified his resignation by
saying: "The tobacco industry
killed 100 million people in the
20th century, and is on track to
kill one billion this century. It has
consistently and systematically
behaved unethically, using mendacious
methods to promote its
deadly trade." He continued:
"Universities are places where the
unthinkable must be thought. We
look to the universities to move
our thinking forward. I worry that
taking money from the tobacco
industry may be seen as a matter
of academic freedom."
(ULKRIKE PREUSS)
In his response to Dr Smith's
resignation, Philip Dalling, public
affairs officer at the university,
said, "I respect his views and
understand his reasons for
resigning. But the way he chose
to announce his decision, sadly,
owed far more to the modern
practices of spin and the creation
of a contrived and momentary
media sensation than to the
older academic traditions and
courtesies embodied in the medical
school debate. That I regret
and deprecate."
Dr Smith's resignation follows
the decision by the Cancer
Research Campaign to donate
£1.5m originally earmarked to
fund research at Nottingham to
the University of Newcastle
upon Tyne instead. Professor
David Thurston, who led a specialist
team of cancer
researchers, also resigned from
the university after the BAT
donation and relocated his
entire team to the London
School of Pharmacy. Students
have also protested at the university's
decision to accept the
money. Jon Rouse, who was
named Nottingham University's
Student of the Year, handed
back his prize in protest, and the
Students' Union recently supported
the motion that the university
had damaged its
reputation and that an ethics
committee should be set up to
examine sources of funding.
With government budgets for
university research being cut,
corporate funding is likely to be
a major issue for the future.
Siān Knight, Nottingham
studentBMJ 2001;09:217-260 July ISSN 0966-6494
