UK: judge says advocacy links taint witnesses

For any campaign for social change, especially if it faces opposition from those with vested interests in preserving the status quo, an obvious strategy is to recruit well known, well respected people who can show support for the cause. Those who are not only highly regarded in society, but are known experts in the subject of the campaign are typically invited to be members of the board, or to take some other, often more visible role. Sometimes such people themselves are founders of new campaigns. Amnesty International, for example, was founded by a lawyer who was passionate about human rights.

In the case of the largest preventable cause of disease, disability, and premature death in the UK, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) was founded by one of the oldest and most prestigious professional organisations in the country, the Royal College of Physicians of London. The fellows of this illustrious body, highly respected experts in their field, would be just the sort of people one might expect to see adjusting their half moon, gold framed spectacles as they took the stand as expert witnesses in a courtroom, or sat at an ASH board meeting giving important medical guidance and backing to the organisation’s work.

However, a senior judge in Scotland has now made clear that when it comes to appearing in cases against the tobacco industry, especially a company that continues to contend that smoking has still not been proved to cause lung cancer, the testimony of medical expert witnesses seems to be devalued …