Industry influence on IAOH

Our plain-English summary of Industry influence on IAOH, by T.K. Joshi (International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 2008).

The study

• Author: T.K. Joshi
• Journal: International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health
• Published: 2008;14(1):82
• Type of article: Letter
• Cited by: 3 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This was a letter to the editor, not a research study; its few figures were the author's own account, not research data. The author argued that the Indian Association of Occupational Health (IAOH) represented the interests of big corporations, including the asbestos industry. The author described chairing the scientific committee of the association's 2001 conference in Delhi, which included a symposium on banning asbestos use in India. The author wrote that IAOH officials attacked 'us' there and that the two invited speakers were treated poorly. At an earlier IAOH asbestos debate, the author wrote, local organizers were alleged to have accepted asbestos industry payment, and nearly 75% of members opposed any kind of ban on asbestos. According to the author, authorities under pressure from asbestos products manufacturers later stopped the author's wages for nearly eight months, and no-one from the IAOH offered support. The author called on the IAOH and its parent body, the International Commission on Occupational Health, to speak out against the role of global corporations that relegate occupational health to low priority.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Letter to the editor: an opinion and personal account, not a research study
• Main results:
  • The author stated that the IAOH represents the interests of big corporations and openly solicits funds from them, which in India includes the asbestos industry. This is the author's view, not a study finding.
  • The author chaired the scientific committee of the 2001 IAOH conference in Delhi, which included a symposium on banning asbestos use in India.
  • The author wrote that IAOH officials launched a vicious attack on 'us' at that conference and that the two invited guests were treated poorly.
  • The author wrote that at an earlier IAOH asbestos debate, local organizers were alleged to have accepted payment from the asbestos industry.
  • The author gave the share of members at that debate who opposed any kind of asbestos ban. This is the author's account, not a study result.
  • The author stated that after the 2001 conference, authorities under pressure from asbestos products manufacturers stopped the author's wages for nearly eight months.
  • The author stated that no-one from the IAOH offered support at that time.
• The authors' conclusion: The author called on the IAOH and its parent body, the ICOH, to speak out against the role of global corporations that relegate occupational health to low priority.

Related studies

• IAOH denies industry influence — S.M. Shanbhag (2008)
• IARC in the dock over ties with asbestos industry — D. Holmes (2013)
• Controversies at international organizations over asbestos industry influence — B.I. Castleman (2001)
• The International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) and its influence on international organizations — N.A. Ashford, B. Castleman, et al. (2002)
• WTO confidential: the case of asbestos. World Trade Organization — B. Castleman (2002)
• How conflicted authors undermine the World Health Organization (WHO) campaign to stop all use of asbestos: spotlight on studies showing that chrysotile is carcinogenic and facilitates other non-cancer asbestos-related diseases — X. Baur, C.L. Soskolne, et al. (2015)

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