Conflict Statement

The University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention (UW-CTRI) is committed to meeting or exceeding ethical standards. Those we serve—including tobacco users, scientific colleagues, funders, and the general public—deserve full disclosure of our policies and procedures with regard to potential conflicts of interest. This document describes UW-CTRI policies and procedures regarding potential conflicts of interest:

  1. Upon its founding in 1992, UW-CTRI established a policy that prohibited the Center or its employees from entering into any financial relationship with the tobacco industry, including any tobacco industry-funded research. That policy remains.
  2. UW-CTRI scientists and professors do not accept personal compensation from any for-profit industry with specific products or services that might pose conflicts of interest (e.g., pharmaceutical companies that market smoking cessation medications). Specifically, this refers to direct personal payments for consulting, lecturing, or other activities from such for-profit entities.
  3. UW-CTRI conducts research funded by the National Institutes of Health and other federal sponsors, the State of Wisconsin, and non-profit foundations.  Such research is conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the University of Wisconsin as well as our federal, state, and foundation funders.
  4. UW-CTRI also conducts research sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry, when such research is reviewed and approved by the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (UW-SMPH). UW-CTRI maintains complete academic independence and full freedom to publish results from such research. The Center conducts such research when it will advance the understanding and treatment of addiction.
  5. UW-CTRI is an organization within the UW-SMPH and follows all University of Wisconsin policies, rules, and regulations regarding personal and organizational ethics, financial disclosure, research policies, and potential conflicts of interest.

To read the disclosure statement of potential conflicts of interest for UW-CTRI Director Dr. Michael Fiore, click here.