Britain's major tobacco companies have agreed to make their medical research freely available on the internet. Appearing as witnesses to a select committee on health at the House of Commons last week, directors of some of the largest manufacturers, said that they had no problem with their archives being made more accessible. Company directors from British American Tobacco, Philip Morris, and R J Reynolds also agreed that they had no objections to the idea. Information on tobacco research carried out by the industry is held at a depository outside Guilford, Surrey.
Researchers have to apply to view the documents, and the waiting list is currently five months long.