An influential academic journal has asked UCD to reconsider its decision to accept a €1.5 million grant from the makers of Guinness for research into the health risks posed by excessive alcohol consumption.
In April Diageo Ireland, a subsidiary of the world's largest producer and distributor of alcoholic drinks, announced it was funding research which aimed to discover why young adults misuse alcohol.
However, an editorial accompanying the current academic journal Addiction, by Dr Thomas F Babor of the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, says acceptance of the funds would inevitably raise suspicions as to UCD's reliability and objectivity in the area of research.
"In the context of growing industry involvement in alcohol research, we question the propriety of this funding initiative and ask the administration of UCD to reconsider their decision to accept it," the editorial says.
"Because of the potential for conflict of interest, such activities may affect the objectivity of independent scientists and the credibility of scientific information.
"They also tend to shift the emphasis from effective public health policy to issues that are less threatening to the alcoholic beverage industry.
"Previous experience with the pharmaceutical, tobacco and other industries demonstrates that this can happen when business interests are joined too closely with those of university-based scientists."
Dr Babor said Diageo's decision to fund the research seemed to have "less to do with the advancement of evidence-based alcohol policy than with the public image of the company".
A UCD spokesman, however, emphasised that the research undertaken by the university was in accordance with rules governing industry-funded studies.
He said Diageo would have no influence on how the research was conducted. He also said the drinks firm would not have access to the findings before they were published and UCD would be responsible for publishing the findings; Diageo would not play a role in this.
The journal, meanwhile, has asked UCD to answer a number of questions such as why the research protocols for this initiative were not submitted for independent peer review; and has UCD evaluated Diageo's support of numerous "social aspects/PR"organisations whose activities have been opposed to evidence-based alcohol policy.
The article adds: "Unless UCD can provide convincing answers to these questions, we respectfully ask that the senior administrators of UCD notify Diageo that their gift is no longer welcome."
In an article in The Irish Times days after the announcement, Diageo's global chief executive, Paul Walsh, said the decision to fund the research was a case of "enlightened self-interest", particularly in light of the taxes placed on alcopops over recent years. He said the company did not want problems with binge drinking to lead governments to place higher taxes on its products and thus eat into revenues.
