Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco

New Membership Criteria for SRNT

[The following is based on Dr. Curry's remarks at the SRNT Annual Conference Membership Meeting 2-25-10]

Tobacco industry membership in SRNT is an issue that has been debated since the organization's inception. The issue was formally considered in 2003 and again in 2005.  It has never been an easy debate, and at times has been quite divisive. 

Over the course of the last couple of years, SRNT began facing serious challenges in our ability to obtain outside financial support and to contribute to science-based policy because of our organizational association with the tobacco industry via our membership policy.

As a result, the Board of Directors began discussing this issue in earnest at a retreat in February of 2009 under then-President Scott Leischow's leadership; the discussions continued during my presidential term.

The issue discussed was, very specifically, SRNT's organizational association with the tobacco industry by allowing industry employees to be full members of the organization.  Not at issue were tobacco industry participation in SRNT's annual conference and submission of papers to our peer-reviewed journal, Nicotine and Tobacco Research. 

SRNT's bylaws allow the Board of Directors to modify membership criteria, including restrictions based on employment in the tobacco industry.  In preparation for a full discussion at the in-person pre-conference board meeting in February,  we implemented a multi-stage process of information gathering.  First, the Board verified through informal discussions with representatives of our federal funders that there was indeed the risk of losing conference grant and other initiative funding due to our existing membership policy. Second, members of the Board engaged in individual discussions with thought leaders across the many disciplines represented in SRNT to get a full range of opinions. Third, we asked our advisory committees in the areas of Treatment, Basic Science, Global Health, Health Policy, and Health Disparities for written input.

All of this input was reviewed during an early February conference call meeting of the Board.  Finally, after a very collegial discussion during our in-person Board meeting in Baltimore, with thoughtful and sincere consideration of the full range of views presented, and with the knowledge that we would not have unanimous consensus among the membership, the Board unanimously approved a motion to modify membership criteria to exclude from membership persons employed by the tobacco industry (defined as tobacco manufacturers, wholesale distributors and importers of tobacco products). The modification is effective May 1, 2010, to include any new members and all membership renewals.