Tobacco Company Paid for Lung-Cancer Research

A 2006 study that concluded that CT scans could have prevented 80 percent of lung-cancer deaths was paid for with money from a major tobacco company, according to The New York Times.

The Foundation for Lung Cancer: Early Detection, Prevention & Treatment, contributed to the research. In its review of the group’s tax records, The New York Times found that most of its budget, $3.6-million, came from the Vector Group, parent company of the Liggett Group, which makes of several brands of cigarettes.

A Vector spokesman confirmed the company’s donation to the organization but said Vector “had no control or influence over the research.”

The American Cancer Society, which gave more than $100,000 to the study’s researcher, said it never would have done so if it had known of the connection to the tobacco company. “If you’re using blood money, you need to tell people you’re using blood money,” said Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society.

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