Following the publication of an influential 1981 Japanese study linking secondhand cigarette smoke to lung cancer, the tobacco industry went on the attack, funding its own study to counter the Hirayama study. "The goal of the study was to produce a credible, peer reviewed article that could be used as a public relations tool," report Mi-Kyung Hong and Lisa A. Bero. The published study included a disclaimer noting that it had received tobacco funding, but failed to disclose that key decisions about the study's methodology were made by a tobacco industry scientist (Chris Proctor), a tobacco industry consultant (Peter N Lee), and an industry law firm (Covington and Burling,). "Chris Proctor delivered progress reports (on Covington and Burling stationery) to tobacco industry executives, but his role as acting investigator was never disclosed in scientific publications," write Hong and Bero.