BMJ  2003;326:1211 (31 May), doi:10.1136/bmj.326.7400.1211-a

Letter

Charities and patient groups should declare interests

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Lenzer's news item on lay campaigners for prostate screening being funded by industry is timely.¹ This serious issue of undeclared interests in commercial funding of charitable and lay organisations without apparent conflicts has recently been highlighted by both the Insulin Dependent Diabetes Trust and the Consumers Association.^{2 3}

The pharmaceutical industry does not donate money to charities for altruistic reasons. It is not allowed to advertise prescription drugs to consumers, but it knows that patient groups are often a strong lobby and have power to influence government and the NHS.

Consumers trust medical charities and expect their information to be unbiased and uninfluenced by the charity's funding sources. Charities accepting industry funding should declare it as a conflict of interest to enable consumers to question their independence and that of the information they provide and seek further information from more independent sources.

Arthritis Care launched a campaign for the . . . [Full text of this article]

Insulin Dependent Diabetes Trust, PO Box 294, Northampton NN1 4XS jennyhirst@jennyhirst.co.uk

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This article has been cited by other articles:

• Mosconi, P. (2003). Industry funding of patients' support groups: Declaration of competing interests is rare in Italian breast cancer associations. BMJ 327: 344-344 [Full text]  
• Butler, W., Doyle, D., Hull, R. (2003). Interests of charities: Arthritis care sets facts straight. BMJ 327: 344-344 [Full text]  
• Middleton, B. (2003). Interests of charities: Diabetes UK has long recognised importance of transparency in funding. BMJ 327: 344-345 [Full text]  

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