Faculty leaders at the University of California (UC) overwhelmingly decided Wednesday to continue to allow funding from tobacco companies for research purposes.

The Academic Senate voted 43 to 4, with three abstentions, against a proposed ban on tobacco funding. Its recommendation will go to UC's governing Board of Regents, which is to consider the issue in July and is expected to accept the assembly's advice.
The regents agreed in 2001 to rid UC's investment portfolio of tobacco industry stock, which prompted tobacco opponents to say it is hypocritical to accept tobacco industry grants for tobacco-related research.
In January, the regents asked the Academic Senate to survey the faculty on the UC system's 10 campuses and recommend whether UC reject tobacco company money. UC San Francisco was the only campus where the faculty voted in favour of a ban.
The UC administration has opposed a ban, saying limiting funding from tobacco companies would smother academic freedom by dictating to faculty what they could study and could open the door to proposals to ban funding from other controversial industries, such as pharmaceutical companies.
Since 1995, UC researchers have received approximately 108 awards totalling about US$ 37 million from tobacco-related companies for research, training and public service, according to UC spokeswoman Jennifer Ward. In comparison, UC received US$ 4 billion in total contracts and grants revenue in fiscal year 2006 alone. Philip Morris currently funds about 19 active grants totalling US$ 15.8 million at UC on the Berkeley, Davis, Los Angeles and San Diego campuses, Ward said.