John Luik
Encyclopedia
John C. Luik is a senior fellow of the Democracy Institute
. He was previously "a Senior Associate of the Niagara Institute with responsibility for its work in public policy and its Values and Organizational Development programmes." From 1977 to 1990 he taught philosophy and ethics at two Canadian universities, being fired from each (in 1985 and 1990) for misrepresenting academic credentials. Subsequently he has acted on behalf of the tobacco industry, for example criticising the links between passive smoking and cancer.
, Canada from 1977 to 1985. He was dismissed in 1985 because he had not completed the Oxford University PhD
he had claimed to. After he returned to Oxford and did so, he was hired by Brock University
in St. Catherines, Ontario. Brock was aware of the earlier misrepresentation but chose to give Luik a second chance. At Brock Luik taught applied and professional ethics
.
However in 1990 Brock dismissed him when it transpired that he had gained the position "on the basis of a further padded CV claiming teaching experience and publications that he did not have. What caused concern and led to Luik's dismissal from Brock was 'not any single misrepresentation ... so much as the apparently uniform pattern of representations engaged in since 1977' (Marsden 2001: A12)." The then Dean of Humanities at Brock, Cecil Abrahams, later told CBC Television
"I certainly would not trust anything John Luik says because he must be the worst case of fraud that I have come across and I've been an administrator at universities for a long period of time, both in North America and in Africa, and I think he's by far the worst case of fraudulent behaviour".
report which classified environmental tobacco smoke as a human carcinogen. Industry documents later made public as a result of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement showed that "Luik had corresponded regularly with John Legere, chairman of the Confederation of European Community Cigarette Manufacturers (CECCM) on the content of the paper and where it should be published."
More recently Luik has been a Senior Fellow at the Democracy Institute
, where amongst other subjects he has continued to work on tobacco. A 2006 work on "why graphic warnings don't work" was acknowledged as being "made possible by funding provided by Imperial Tobacco
Group PLC".
Democracy Institute
The Democracy Institute is a think-tank based in Washington, DC and London. It was founded in 2006.On its website the Institute says that "We commonly address public policy in comparative terms. Many of our research projects, therefore, have a transatlantic or international flavor...
. He was previously "a Senior Associate of the Niagara Institute with responsibility for its work in public policy and its Values and Organizational Development programmes." From 1977 to 1990 he taught philosophy and ethics at two Canadian universities, being fired from each (in 1985 and 1990) for misrepresenting academic credentials. Subsequently he has acted on behalf of the tobacco industry, for example criticising the links between passive smoking and cancer.
1977 to 1990
Luik taught philosophy at Nazarene College in WinnipegWinnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Canada from 1977 to 1985. He was dismissed in 1985 because he had not completed the Oxford University PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
he had claimed to. After he returned to Oxford and did so, he was hired by Brock University
Brock University
Brock University is a comprehensive university located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Brock offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs that include co-op and other experiential learning opportunities to an enrolment of over 17,000 full-time students.The enabling legislation is...
in St. Catherines, Ontario. Brock was aware of the earlier misrepresentation but chose to give Luik a second chance. At Brock Luik taught applied and professional ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
.
However in 1990 Brock dismissed him when it transpired that he had gained the position "on the basis of a further padded CV claiming teaching experience and publications that he did not have. What caused concern and led to Luik's dismissal from Brock was 'not any single misrepresentation ... so much as the apparently uniform pattern of representations engaged in since 1977' (Marsden 2001: A12)." The then Dean of Humanities at Brock, Cecil Abrahams, later told CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
"I certainly would not trust anything John Luik says because he must be the worst case of fraud that I have come across and I've been an administrator at universities for a long period of time, both in North America and in Africa, and I think he's by far the worst case of fraudulent behaviour".
1990 onwards
In 1993 Luik wrote Pandora's box: the dangers of politically corrupted science for democratic public policy, in response to the United States Environmental Protection AgencyUnited States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
report which classified environmental tobacco smoke as a human carcinogen. Industry documents later made public as a result of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement showed that "Luik had corresponded regularly with John Legere, chairman of the Confederation of European Community Cigarette Manufacturers (CECCM) on the content of the paper and where it should be published."
More recently Luik has been a Senior Fellow at the Democracy Institute
Democracy Institute
The Democracy Institute is a think-tank based in Washington, DC and London. It was founded in 2006.On its website the Institute says that "We commonly address public policy in comparative terms. Many of our research projects, therefore, have a transatlantic or international flavor...
, where amongst other subjects he has continued to work on tobacco. A 2006 work on "why graphic warnings don't work" was acknowledged as being "made possible by funding provided by Imperial Tobacco
Imperial Tobacco
Imperial Tobacco is a global tobacco company headquartered in Bristol, United Kingdom. It is the world’s fourth-largest cigarette company measured by market share , and the world's largest producer of cigars, fine-cut tobacco and tobacco papers...
Group PLC".
Books
- Unintended Consequences of Health Fascism, Institute of Economic AffairsInstitute of Economic AffairsThe Institute of Economic Affairs , founded in 1955, styles itself the UK's pre-eminent free-market think-tank. Its mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social...
, 2011 - Diet Nation: Exposing the Obesity Crusade, by John Luik, Patrick BashamPatrick BashamPatrick Basham is an adjunct scholar with the Cato Institute, and the founding Director of the Democracy Institute. Basham was previously the founding director of the Social Affairs Centre at the Canadian Fraser Institute, and formerly Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute. He has published a number...
, and Gio GoriGio Batta GoriGio Batta Gori is an epidemiologist and fellow with the Health Policy Center in Bethesda, Maryland where he specializes in risk assessment and scientific research....
. Social Affairs UnitSocial Affairs UnitThe Social Affairs Unit is a right-leaning think tank in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1980 as an offshoot of the Institute of Economic Affairs, it publishes books on a variety of social issues...
, December 2006. - Passive Smoke: The EPA's Betrayal of Science and Policy, by John Luik and Gio GoriGio Batta GoriGio Batta Gori is an epidemiologist and fellow with the Health Policy Center in Bethesda, Maryland where he specializes in risk assessment and scientific research....
. Fraser InstituteFraser InstituteThe Fraser Institute is a Canadian think tank. It has been described as politically conservative and right-wing libertarian and espouses free market principles...
, January 1999. - Advertising and Markets: A Collection of Seminal Papers, by M.J. Waterson and John C. Luik (eds), NTC Publications, 1996
- Smokescreen: 'passive smoking' and public policy, Institute of Public AffairsInstitute of Public AffairsThe Institute of Public Affairs is a public policy think tank based in Melbourne, Australia. It advocates free market economic policies such as privatisation and deregulation of state-owned enterprises, trade liberalisation and deregulated workplaces, climate change skepticism , and the...
, 1996 - The Question of Humanism: Challenges and Possibilities by David Goicoechea, John Luik, and Tim Madigan (eds). Prometheus BooksPrometheus BooksPrometheus Books is a publishing company founded in August 1969 by Paul Kurtz, who also founded the Council for Secular Humanism and co-founded the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He is currently the chairman of all three organizations. Prometheus Books publishes a range of books, including many...
, 1991
Selected papers
- Luik, J.C. and Basham, P.Patrick BashamPatrick Basham is an adjunct scholar with the Cato Institute, and the founding Director of the Democracy Institute. Basham was previously the founding director of the Social Affairs Centre at the Canadian Fraser Institute, and formerly Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute. He has published a number...
, (2008), "Is the obesity epidemic exaggerated? Yes", British Medical JournalBritish Medical JournalBMJ is a partially open-access peer-reviewed medical journal. Originally called the British Medical Journal, the title was officially shortened to BMJ in 1988. The journal is published by the BMJ Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Medical Association... - Luik, J.C. (1996), "I can't help myself: Addiction as Ideology", Human Psychopharmacology
- Luik, J.C. (1993), "Tobacco advertising bans and the dark face of government paternalism", International journal of advertising, 12, pp303 - 324.
- Luik, J.C. (1991), "Government Paternalism and Citizen Rationality. The Justifiability of Banning Tobacco Advertising"
External links
- Patrick BashamPatrick BashamPatrick Basham is an adjunct scholar with the Cato Institute, and the founding Director of the Democracy Institute. Basham was previously the founding director of the Social Affairs Centre at the Canadian Fraser Institute, and formerly Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute. He has published a number...
and John Luik, Daily Telegraph, 26 November 2006, Four big, fat myths - SourcewatchSourceWatchSourceWatch is an internet wiki site that is a collaborative project of the liberal Center for Media and Democracy...
, John Luik