The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #64845

Ross Hammond, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 242 Edna Street, San Francisco, CA 94112, 1-415-695-7492, margross@igc.org

ABSTRACT:

Tobacco is truly a global problem. The World Health Organization estimates that over 4 million people die from tobacco-related illness each year. If current trends continue, this figure will rise to 10 million per year by the year 2030, with 70% of those deaths occurring in developing countries. If current trends continue, tobacco use will kill about 500 million people alive in the world today. This figure includes more than 250 million of today’s children and teenagers. Just as infectious diseases know no political boundaries, leaving individual countries incapable of effectively containing them, the tobacco epidemic also requires international cooperation if it is to be controlled. Countries are trying to counteract the aggressive moves of the tobacco industry through both national legislation and the recently concluded negotiations on a global tobacco treaty.

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PRESENTERS:

Moderator: Judy Wilkenfeld, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids

Matt Myers, Esq. (President, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids) – 15 minutes “Overview of the Global Tobacco Epidemic”

Diana M. Bontá, R.N., Dr.P.H. (Director, California Department of Health Services) – 15 minutes “Why Global Tobacco Control Matters: A View from California” (contact info. c/o Tony Najera e-mail: tonynajera@msn.com; tel. (916) 482-2966)

Mary Assunta, MPH (Consumers Association of Penang, Malaysia) – 15 minutes “Tobacco Industry Efforts to Subvert Public Health in the Developing World”

Yussuf Saloojee, Dr., (Director, National Council Against Smoking South Africa) – 15 minutes “National and International Responses to the Tobacco Pandemic”

Learning Objectives:

• 1) gain knowledge on the growing global tobacco epidemic
• 2) learn how U.S.-based tobacco companies are aggressively targeting developing countries
• 3) assess different initiatives at the national and international level to respond to the growing tobacco pandemic, including the recently negotiated Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
• 4) understand why Americans should care about global tobacco control

Keywords: Tobacco Industry, Tobacco Policy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.