UCLA smoking study draws fire

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- The University of California is under fire for planning to kill monkeys and study teen smokers for a project funded by tobacco giant Philip Morris.

The three-year study at UCLA aims to scan the brains of dozens of chain-smoking teenagers as young as 14 and kill at least six vervet monkeys fed liquid nicotine to determine what it does to their brains, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.

The $6 million project funded by Philip Morris has been shrouded in secrecy and caused an uproar on the campus, the report reported.

Edythe London, UCLA's lead scientist on the study, said the results could lead to innovative treatments to help people quit smoking.

"We are doing this because we really want to save lives," said London, whose home has been vandalized twice by activists who accuse her of torturing animals in laboratory studies, the Times reported.

Anti-tobacco activists have questioned whether the study could help Philip Morris design a more addictive cigarette.

"It's stunning in this day and age that a university would do secret research for the tobacco industry on the brains of children," said Matt Meyers of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids in Washington, D.C.