Lancet publisher to sell arms business

Responding to pressure from physicians, readers and leading medical journals, the company that publishes The Lancet will stop hosting trade shows that promote arms and the defence industry (CMAJ 2007;176[10]:1265).

Reed Elsevier will begin withdrawing from its exhibitions, conferences, congresses and meetings in the second half of this year, CEO Sir Crispin Davis said in a June 1 news release.

“Our defence shows are quality businesses which have performed well in recent years,” Davis said. “Nonetheless, it has become increasingly clear that growing numbers of important customers and authors have very real concerns about our involvement in the defence exhibitions business.”

In March, more than 50 editorial consultants at The Lancet posted a letter at cmaj.ca arguing that Reed Elsevier's involvement in the arms trade was incompatible with the journal's commitment to health. That was followed by an online petition which contained nearly 1000 signatures, and calls by The Lancet, BMJ, the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and by CMAJ Editor-in-Chief Paul Hébert asking Reed Elsevier to stop participating in the arms' trade.

“We have listened closely to these concerns and this has led us to conclude that the defence shows are no longer compatible with Reed Elsevier's position as a leading publisher of scientific, medical, legal and business content,” Davis said in the news release.

Pressure from The Lancet and BMJ, and the public Campaign Against Arms Trade, was critical in influencing Reed Elsevier, says Anna Jones, the campaign coordinator.

“It was the concerted efforts of Reed's stakeholders, and particularly healthcare professionals, which brought the pressure of that concern to bear,” she wrote to CMAJ in an email. “The voices of readers and contributors to Reed's publications … were extremely important in persuading Reed Elsevier that continuing to take part in the arms trade was compromising their credibility within the scientific, medical, legal and business communities.”

In a related issue, members of Physicians for Global Survival have written the CMA asking MD Management to create an ethical investment portfolio for physicians who do not wish their money to support the arms and defence industries.

Despite Reed Elsevier's decision, MD Management is not planning further restrictions on its funds, says Guy Bélanger, president and CEO of MD Funds Management. MD funds currently do not hold any tobacco company stock.

“We haven't really received any significant requests from clients generally to increase the number of restrictions on our portfolio,” Bélanger told CMAJ, adding that if individual physicians do request ethical investments, the fund managers can find them.

Although MD Management has received “the odd letter” requesting that it divest from arms manufacturers or the defence industry, “we also receive the [odd] letter on the other side of the equation, which makes it difficult to manage within a fund,” Bélanger said.