“I have finally retired from UCSF, ready to move to the next phase,” wrote Glantz in a message to colleagues. “I will also be continuing to work with my UCSF colleagues to complete work that is under way. From talking to colleagues who have already retired, I am confident that there will be more ways that I can keep contributing to fighting the tobacco industry and promoting public health.”
Besides being widely criticized for his work, in recent years Glantz was even accused of sexual harassment and racist abuse.
Last January Glantz stepped down as director of UCSF’s Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education. In 2018, the Center had received a five-year, $20 million FDA-NIH grant to study vaping products, which followed another $20 million grant in 2013.
His FDA grant recently supported a Stanford study that claimed vaping is a “significant underlying risk factor” for COVID-19. The study, which like most of his other work attracted criticism by many academics for its faulty methodology and suspect statistical manipulations, was widely covered in the media, and sadly used to justify countless e-cig bans during the pandemic.
Flawed studies and accusations of sexual harassment
Additionally, earlier this year the Journal of the American Heart Association was forced to retract a study by Glantz published in June 2019, linking vaping to heart attacks. The journal pointed out that the study failed to specify what came first, the vaping or the heart attacks. Moreover, when asked to provide further data to determine this, Glantz and his team failed to do so.
Besides being widely criticized by other scientists and harm reduction advocates for his work, in recent years Glantz was even accused twice of sexual harassment and racist abuse. The first sexual harassment case, which also included charges of academic misconduct, was settled out of court for $150,000.
Public health experts relieved
Undoubtedly, his resignation has sent a wave of relief amongst tobacco harm reduction experts. “Professor Stanton A Glantz @ProfGlantz has retired from @UCSF, with immediate effect. No reason given,” tweeted renowned public health expert Clive Bates.
“It should have happened years ago – many lives would have been saved. And much else. My take-down of his most ridiculous damaging arguments is here: https://clivebates.com/vaping-risk-compared-to-smoking-challenging-false-dangerous-claim-by-stanton-glantz/”
