Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
165-Page Internal NIH Report Lays Bare Just How Cozy Scientists Were With Alcohol Industry
"So many lines" were crossed in the alcohol study that people were "frankly shocked." The investigation was prompted by reports that scientists were wooing the alcohol industry to pay for the study that would tout the benefits of daily moderate drinking.
The New York Times: It Was Supposed To Be An Unbiased Study Of Drinking. They Wanted To Call It ‘Cheers.’
The director of the nation’s top health research agency pulled the plug on a study of alcohol’s health effects without hesitation on Friday, saying a Harvard scientist and some of his agency’s own staff had crossed “so many lines” in pursuit of alcohol industry funding that “people were frankly shocked.” A 165-page internal investigation prepared for Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, concluded that Kenneth J. Mukamal, the lead investigator of the trial, was in close, frequent contact with beer and liquor executives while designing the study. (Rabin, 6/18)
This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
