The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Objective: To explore the ties between tobacco industry funding of research and efforts to develop witnesses for tobacco litigation.

Methods: Systematic search of internal tobacco industry documents available on the Internet and at the British American Tobacco Guildford Depository. The litigation in Finland was used as an example of the linkage between tobacco industry research funding and its legal defence.

Results: Tobacco industry research funding has been used as a mean to tie contacts with potential witnesses. In some cases funding has been offered to persuade potential witnesses to take stand on the industry's side. Universities and research institutes who continue to accept tobacco industry funds must acknowledge that the money can be related to tobacco litigation. That means – contrary to tobacco industry funding proponents – the industry funding is not paid out on scientific merits only.