Utrecht University (UU) in the Netherlands thought it had nothing to be ashamed of when it accepted a €360,000 research grant from Philip Morris International (PMI) last September. The tobacco giant had agreed to fund a study on cigarette smuggling that had obvious public health importance, and the lead researcher, law professor John Vervaele, would enjoy complete academic freedom. Sure, there had been a “thorough debate” about the grant, Vervaele said in a press release, “but the tobacco industry is not illegal. The illicit tobacco trade is.”

But the announcement sparked a firestorm of criticism from outside groups, including associations of pulmonologists and oncologists and the Dutch Cancer Society. A university should not take money from an industry whose products kill an estimated 7 million people annually, they argued. And on 17 January, UU made a U-turn, announcing that it would sever ties with PMI and pay for the study itself. By then, the topic had become so controversial that Vervaele was no longer allowed to speak to the press.

Similar battles seem bound to emerge at academic institutes elsewhere in the months and years ahead, because PMI is planning to spend a lot more money. The UU grant came from PMI Impact, a $100 million program to fight illegal trade by funding both research and enforcement. Much more money will come through the controversial Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, a New York City–based independent foundation launched last September, to which PMI has pledged to donate almost $1 billion over the next 12 years—most of it for research.