Funding for continuing medical education

I thank Paul Hébert and the Editorial-Writing Team for CMAJ's courageous position statement on continuing medical education.1 The problem of the pharmaceutical industry's influence on physicians through so-called educational activities has been glossed over for too long. Physicians are not stupid, but we are human. Studies have demonstrated that the bias introduced by drug companies influences clinical decision-making. The pharmaceutical industry is very skilled at influencing physicians in subtle ways and spends millions of dollars doing so every year. It is just plain wrong that many continuing medical education events are sponsored by drug companies. It is time that we reclaim the integrity of our profession.