Lancet criticises its owner for hosting international arms fair
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《英国医生杂志》
The Lancet has criticised its owner and publisher, Reed Elsevier, for involvement in the global arms trade. Reed Elsevier owns the company Spearhead Exhibitions, which this week hosted the defence systems and equipment international (DSEi) exhibition, one of the largest military exhibitions in the world, in London.
Workers lift a dummy missile into place at this week's DSEi arms fair, which the Lancet said damaged Reed Elsevier's reputation
PETER MACDIARMID/GETTY IMAGES
In an editorial published last week the Lancet said that it "has a long record of drawing attention to the adverse health consequences of war and violence" and that the editors "reject completely any perceived connection between the journal and the arms trade, no matter how tangential it might be" ( Lancet 2005;366: 868).
But the publisher's presence in the arms industry, the editors argue, "self-evidently damages its reputation as a health-science publisher... we respectfully ask Reed Elsevier to divest itself of all business interests that threaten human, and especially civilian, health and well-being."
The editors only recently learned of their publisher's connections, from a letter sent by a group of doctors and scientists, which also appeared in last week's issue (2005;366:889).
The letter notes that Reed Elsevier subscribes to the United Nations' global compact on ethical business practices, which demands that companies "make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses."
Stephen Cowden, company secretary of Reed Elsevier, wrote in a letter defending his company's involvement, also published in last week's journal (2005;366:889-90), that "the defence industry is necessary for upholding national security for the preservation of democratic values."
When Catherine May, a spokeswoman for Reed Elsevier, was asked by the BMJ whether certain countries, such as Libya, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Saudi Arabia, whose representatives were attending the fair, could be considered interested in "the preservation of democratic values," she said that the company had no say in determining which national delegations could attend—that was decided by the Ministry of Defence.(Owen Dyer)
Workers lift a dummy missile into place at this week's DSEi arms fair, which the Lancet said damaged Reed Elsevier's reputation
PETER MACDIARMID/GETTY IMAGES
In an editorial published last week the Lancet said that it "has a long record of drawing attention to the adverse health consequences of war and violence" and that the editors "reject completely any perceived connection between the journal and the arms trade, no matter how tangential it might be" ( Lancet 2005;366: 868).
But the publisher's presence in the arms industry, the editors argue, "self-evidently damages its reputation as a health-science publisher... we respectfully ask Reed Elsevier to divest itself of all business interests that threaten human, and especially civilian, health and well-being."
The editors only recently learned of their publisher's connections, from a letter sent by a group of doctors and scientists, which also appeared in last week's issue (2005;366:889).
The letter notes that Reed Elsevier subscribes to the United Nations' global compact on ethical business practices, which demands that companies "make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses."
Stephen Cowden, company secretary of Reed Elsevier, wrote in a letter defending his company's involvement, also published in last week's journal (2005;366:889-90), that "the defence industry is necessary for upholding national security for the preservation of democratic values."
When Catherine May, a spokeswoman for Reed Elsevier, was asked by the BMJ whether certain countries, such as Libya, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Saudi Arabia, whose representatives were attending the fair, could be considered interested in "the preservation of democratic values," she said that the company had no say in determining which national delegations could attend—that was decided by the Ministry of Defence.(Owen Dyer)