Ohio State’s well-respected research reputation may go up in smoke after a tobacco company donated money to the university’s Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute. The Lorillard Tobacco Company, responsible for brands such as Newport, Kent and Old Gold, gave a $6 million gift for a study of why cigarettes cause disease.
Controversy has risen over the agenda of the tobacco industry for donating money and what message the university is sending by accepting money from a company whose products contribute to an estimated 440,000 American deaths each year from smoking related diseases.
Other prominent medical universities such as Johns Hopkins University, Harvard University and the University of California at San Francisco refuse to have any affiliation – financial or otherwise – with tobacco companies. Dr. Stephen Jay, chair of the Indiana University School of Medicine called it “prostituting research and science.”
But another side remains that makes OSU different from these other universities. Not only is it noted for its top medical facilities and training, but also stands as one of the largest land-grant universities in the nation. Ohio is the fourth- largest tobacco farming state, and OSU conducts tobacco research which is used in drug development.
Every university department is granted its own discretion whether to use money donated from tobacco companies. Unfortunately, those who chose not to are being punished. Organizations such as the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association refuse to give money to any sector of the university if one part accepts money from tobacco companies. The Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, as well as any faculty who may depend on these organizations for support, could lose their funding despite their refusal to use tobacco money.
Organizations such as the AHA will even go as far as closing itself off to the university for accepting donated money from companies affiliated with the tobacco industry. For example, Philip Morris owns more than 80 percent of Kraft Foods. No money can be donated from Kraft and still be acceptable under the AHA guidelines.
In a time when higher education is desperate for funding and money for research is limited, groups who can use the money for a greater good should have the option to use it.
Although Lorillard is giving money to study the diseases its product causes, what matters is the research is being done to prevent and help people who suffer from smoking-related illness. OSU works to save lives every day. Using tobacco money may not be the most ideal option, but if no one else is giving, then OSU should have the right to accept – despite all the butts.
