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We, the editors of Thorax, believe that to make the best decision on how to deal with a paper we should know about any such competing interest that authors may have. We are not aiming to eradicate competing interests - they are almost inevitable. We will not reject papers simply because you have a competing interest, but we will make a declaration on whether you have competing interests.
A competing interest exists when professional judgement concerning a primary interest (such as patients' welfare or the validity of research) may be influenced by a secondary interest (such as financial gain or personal rivalry). It may arise for the authors of an article when they have a financial interest that may influence - probably without their knowing - their interpretation of their results or those of others. There is nothing inherently unethical about a competing interest but they should be acknowledged and openly stated.
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We have decided to restrict our request to financial interests. This is largely a tactical move. We hope that it will increase the number of authors who disclose competing interests. Our experience, supported by some research data, was that authors often did not disclose them. We ask that all authors declare all competing interests in their covering letter and at the end of the manuscript. For further information on what should be declared please see the BMJ declaration and corresponding BMJ editorial - Beyond conflict of interest (BMJ 1998;317:291 - 2).
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Funding
All sources of funding should be declared under the heading "Funding" at the end of the manuscript file (before the references). Authors must describe the role of the study sponsor(s), if any, in study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the paper for publication. If the funding source had no such involvement, this should be stated.
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Bench>Press:
Your competing interests must be listed in the Competing Interests field on the first page of submission when submitting your manuscript. Any competing interest statement must be included at the end of the manuscript file before uploading to Bench>Press. Failure to do so will result in the manuscript being returned to you.
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