Ahead of its Annual Meeting, SRNT Embraced Censorship
This week, the Society for Research on Nicotine & Tobacco (SRNT) kicked off its annual conference in Baltimore, Maryland. After going virtual for last year’s conference because of COVID-19, this marked a return to in-person events for the membership-based organization.
However, not all past attendees were welcomed to attend this year’s festivities.
For more than 15 years, scientists and researchers employed by “commercial tobacco product” manufacturers had been permitted to attend and present at SRNT meetings (although internal policy did not allow them to serve in leadership positions). Considering SRNT’s mission statement of “stimulat[ing] the generation and dissemination of new knowledge concerning nicotine in all its manifestations,” this policy of open dialogue seemed to serve the organization and its members well. If the industry chose to present at SRNT, they had to accept the possibility of facing pointed questions about their methodology, results, and motives.
That all changed in July of last year, when the SRNT board announced that it had voted to “ban” industry employees from registering for any future meetings.
In an email announcing the new policy, SRNT claimed that there had been “unprofessional or problematic behavior” from industry employees at past conferences. No concrete examples were given of this alleged bad behavior. This prompted letters from both Imperial Brands and PMI asking that the policy be reconsidered. It appears SRNT never responded to either letter.
American Vaping Association – 2022-03-17.
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