On Tuesday 17th November we wrote to Cancer Research UK to express our disappointment that they were “excited” about a Bloomberg-funded report which was designed to paint the consumer voice as somehow part of a mythical tobacco industry plot. We asked for “comments clarifying the position taken by CRUK towards consumer engagement on this matter” but have received no acknowledgement or reply. Sadly, the tweet in question still remains, celebrating consumers being marginalised when - quite rightly - objecting to opaque policymaking.
We have also complained about the original article which prompted the ill-judged reaction from Cancer Research UK, by submitting a response to the publishing journal which you can read here.
Consumers are most affected by decisions made about products which many have found beneficial to their health, so should not be treated in such a casual and dismissive fashion. We hope that these organisations will embrace consumer engagement in the future, instead of attempting to demonise us for simply making our voices heard.