New TCRG research on public perceptions of industry science

12 April 2024, at 12:38.

A new paper from the Tobacco Control Research Group investigates public perceptions of tobacco industry science and explores whether trust in such science is affected when the public knows it is funded by the tobacco industry.

The researchers conducted a representative survey of the UK public and used structural equation modelling to explore the data.

This research is the first to produce quantifiable evidence that the use of front groups increases the public’s trust in tobacco industry science and scientists, indicating that industry strategies to manipulate science are working.

Lead author Dr. Tess Legg warns:

“More clearly needs to be done to help the UK public understand how underhand the tobacco industry’s attempts to rebrand really are, and to stop scientific front groups from muddying the water by lending industry-funded science an air of credibility.”

Read the paper:

The UK public’s trust in tobacco industry involvement in science – an experimental survey, T. Legg, L. Bero, S. Lewandowsky, Frontiers in Communication, Vol.9, 2024, doi: 10.3389/fcomm.2024.1360277