Between research and strategic opposition

Researching tobacco and nicotine prevention among adolescents is often a ‘sure winner’. Everyone knows that smoking is harmful and the consequences for both individuals and society are well documented: for instance, half of those who smoke die from tobacco effects, and this is costly to society.

But even in an area in which the results seem obvious, Lotus Sofie Bast is experiencing constant pressure from the nicotine and tobacco industry.

Requests for access to documents and strategic use of time

She is a senior researcher with the National Institute of Public Health. She continuously receives access requests from the industry, which means she has to retrieve documents and, together with legal colleagues, assess what can and must be disclosed. Some weeks, the workload has amounted to about 20 hours.

- A lot of access requests are being sent regarding me and my research. I don’t mind handing over material, but it’s time consuming – there are a lot of files to be retrieved, and often it’s the same things that have to be sent.

Lotus Sofie Bast explains that this is a well-known tactic both in this country and abroad.

- I know from many international colleagues that this is a well-known strategy specifically in the field of tobacco, that the industry uses access requests strategically as a means of getting researchers to spend time on them, so that they have less time for actual research, she says.

In addition to the access requests, the industry is also constantly on the hunt for small things to criticise. It can be anything from phrasings in publications to people from the industry who interfere with every presentation that Lotus Sofie Bast gives.

- For example, they may criticise that I have written ‘smokes e-cigarettes’ instead of ‘uses e-cigarettes’, which the industry considers more accurate because this phrasing has a less dangerous ring to it.

No wish for dialogue with the industry

Although she wants to engage in dialogue with the public, she does not see the tobacco industry as a relevant collaborator. She has been presenting her knowledge to the industry for many years, but it has not changed its practices or been accommodating. For this reason, she believes her time is better spent with other stakeholders.

- They can’t convince me and I can’t convince them due to their commercial interests. Of course, the industry wants to make money, but when this is done through something as harmful to public health as smoking, it’s not fruitful, she says.

At an event last year, Lotus Sofie Bast and the organisers had written that the industry was not welcome. This put her in a dilemma between promoting public health and complying with the requirements of the Danish Public Administration Act.

- We had to discuss the solutions with relevant associations, and we didn’t wish to let the industry in when they are the ones who are creating the problems and make money from them, she explains.

Is that really the intention?

In the end, the researchers had to remove the message that the industry was not welcome at the event. Lotus Sofie Bast understands the rationale in favour of the decision, but she would like to question the opportunities that the industry has in this case to harass her, which she believes is sometimes the purpose of the tobacco industry’ steady stream of access requests.

- I totally agree that we must be accessible and transparent to our society when we are funded by the state. But the question is whether it is really the intention that public funds should be spent on me repeatedly digging up material for a party that has no interest in anything constructive, she says and highlights the privately funded research support, for example, from foundations.

- My salary is partly paid by the foundations, but I am not sure that this can continue at the same level, as the foundations know how much time I sometimes spend on access requests and on administration, which does not contribute to addressing any societal issue.

Affects dissemination

The constant pressure affects how she expresses herself in reports, presentations and interviews.

- I’m not asking for pity, but this affects how I formulate my statements in interviews, in reports and when giving presentations. I know almost for a fact that the material I prepare will be handed over to an industry that is working to challenge my findings. This means that my messages are drier and more fact-based and less socially relevant and interesting to the public.

Doesn’t that just help you stay focused on doing excellent research?

- You can certainly say that you stay focused on your research when everything is carefully checked. I don’t just sit back and claim that I’m right; in fact, I am extra critical because I know everything will be checked carefully. I have yet to experience the industry publicly discrediting me or pointing out academic misconduct.

- That’s the way things are, but it makes our work even more important. We must ensure that research on tobacco and nicotine prevention remains fact-based and socially relevant; and it would also be nice if the number of access requests decreased a little bit, says Lotus Sofie Bast.