The impact of strategic funding by the tobacco industry of medical expert witnesses appearing for the defence in the Aho Finnish product liability case.

Aims: To identify and evaluate tobacco industry strategies to recruit medical expert witnesses.

Methods: A systematic search was made of internal tobacco industry documents available on the Internet and at British American Tobacco Guildford Depository. Litigation by a plaintiff with laryngeal cancer against the tobacco industry in Finland was used as a case study of tobacco industry strategies to manipulate science and its use and deployment in defending a product liability claim.