Constructing “Sound Science” and “Good Epidemiology”: Tobacco, Lawyers, and Public Relations Firms

Item Type

Abstract

The tobacco industry has attacked “junk science” to discredit the evidence that secondhand smoke—among other environmental toxins—causes disease. Philip Morris used public relations firms and lawyers to develop a “sound science” program in the United States and Europe that involved recruiting other industries and issues to obscure the tobacco industry's role. The European “sound science” plans included a version of “good epidemiological practices” that would make it impossible to conclude that secondhand smoke—and thus other environmental toxins—caused diseases., Public health professionals need to be aware that the “sound science” movement is not an indigenous effort from within the profession to improve the quality of scientific discourse, but reflects sophisticated public relations campaigns controlled by industry executives and lawyers whose aim is to manipulate the standards of scientific proof to serve the corporate interests of their clients.

Publication Year

2001

Publication Date

2001-11

Journal abreviation

Am J Public Health

Source

PMID: 11684593 PMCID: PMC1446868 PubMed Central

License

ISSN

0090-0036

Link Attachment

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1446868/

Physical Description

vol. 91, n. 11, pp. 1749-1757

Short Title

Constructing “Sound Science” and “Good Epidemiology”

Citer cette ressource

Constructing “Sound Science” and “Good Epidemiology”: Tobacco, Lawyers, and Public Relations Firms, dans Science & Ignorance, consulté le 21 Novembre 2024, https://ignorancestudies.inist.fr/s/science-ignorance/item/5117

Export