Red flags raised over anti-smoking guide

Over the last while, we've seen the mainstream press corps write stories about topics that are mostly common knowledge in the pharmacy/medical community but unknown to the public at large. Here is another one that questions the relationships between charities and their donors.

From the Ottawa Citizen:
The Canadian Cancer Society is about to publish an update to its guide that helps smokers who want to quit.

It cost $75,000 to redevelop the popular book, One Step at a Time, but the national charity didn't have to worry about the price. That's because it asked Pfizer Canada, the country's largest maker of nicotine replacement therapy products, to pay the cost.

Pharmaceutical giants are some of the top financial contributors to groups such as the Canadian Lung Association, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Toronto-based Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and others. ...more