Sir

A recent experience leads me to believe that defiance of rules against simultaneous submission of papers to different journals may be growing more widespread.

In a thorough review of a submitted paper (not for this journal), I pointed out that the study itself and the organization of the manuscript were below standard; I offered substantive constructive comments and recommended reconsideration after major revision. When the revised manuscript arrived, I made further suggestions for improving its scientific quality.

At this point, and while the manuscript was technically still under consideration by the journal in question, I noticed in a routine online search that it had been published in a different peer-reviewed journal offering rapid publication. Evidently, the authors had submitted the manuscript to the other journal, either simultaneously or after having received the reviewers' comments, without withdrawing it from the first. They had even incorporated some of the comments from my original review.

Cases of duplicate submission are disconcerting for journals and for the scientific community. They seriously violate the principle of disseminating scientific findings with professionalism and integrity. The practice is in breach of the authors' contract to withhold submission of their manuscript to other journals until the editors have made a formal decision not to publish it.

As the pressure to publish new results rapidly increases and competition becomes ever more intense, editors must define strict reinforcing measures to prevent such violations.