© 2008 Journal of Ethics in Mental Health (ISSN: 1916-2405) ARTICLE A Commentary in Response to: By What Authority? Conflicts of Interest in Professional Ethics

Disclosure policies raise a red fl ag and should be retained, but they do nothing to eliminate the real problem of industry funding, which is not secrecy but infl uence-peddling ” (Elliott 2005, 422, 423). Financial interests of the type alluded to by Elliott are not the only personal (i.e., secondary) interests that may confl ict with profes-sional (i.e., primary) interests and responsibilities. Other personal interests include interests in fame and recognition, career advance-ment and friendship. Indeed, when health care ethics professionals are called upon to provide ethical expertise and advice as members of governing boards, advisory boards, regulatory committees, peer review committees, professional working groups and research eth-ics committees, it is these sorts of personal interests, more so than fi nancial interests, that may confl ict with professional obligations. And when (for legitimate reasons) the ethicist is simultaneously a member of multiple committees with overlapping mandates, th