Some doctors look favourably on gifts from pharmaceutical industry representatives or sponsored lunches, a U.S. study suggests.

About 72 per cent of 590 doctors and medical students who responded to a survey found industry sponsored lunches appropriate, and 25.4 per cent considered large gifts acceptable, researchers reported in the June issue of the Archives of Surgery.

Many doctors are exposed to pharmaceutical industry and medical device marketing during medical school, according to Dr. Deborah Korenstein, of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, and her co-authors. The relationship ranges from drug samples and free food at work to larger payments such as reimbursement for educational meetings, conferences, and speaking and consulting fees.

As awareness grows about the practice, there has also been greater interest in the potential conflicts of interest, with individuals and organizations recommending more transparency and independent regulation, the researchers said.

Trainees, surgeons, and those unfamiliar with institutional policies on dealing with industry had more positive attitudes than others. And they were more likely to consider certain gifts acceptable, such as industry funding of residency programs.

"Physicians continue to hold positive attitudes toward marketing-oriented activities of the pharmaceutical and device industries. Changes in medical culture and physician education focused on surgeons and trainees may align physician attitudes with current policy trends," the study's authors concluded.

The survey had a response rate of 67 per cent.

One of the authors was compensated for working as a consultant in a lawsuit against Merck and Co. Inc.