RESEARCH INTO SMOKING OR NICOTINE AND HUMAN COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE - DOES THE SOURCE OF FUNDING MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Aims. To establish whether there is a relationship between tobacco ind ustry support of basic research and the conclusions drawn by the autho rs of that research. Design. A sample of 91 papers investigating the e ffects of tobacco or nicotine use upon cognitive performance was analy zed to see if the pattern of conclusions drawn by researchers acknowle dging tobacco industry support differed from the pattern of conclusion s drawn by researchers not acknowledging tobacco industry support. Fin dings. Scientists acknowledging tobacco industry support reported typi cally that nicotine or smoking improved cognitive performance while re searchers not reporting the financial support of the tobacco industry were more nearly split on their conclusions. Conclusions. While it is only possible to speculate on the possible reasons, the existence of a possible bias in the published literature according to funding source must be given serious consideration.