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This section highlights selected TReND research, and provides action steps and resources that you and your organization can use to move from research to action, ultimately to make a difference in reducing tobacco-related disparities.
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TReND Research Highlight:
Outcomes of the 14th World Conference on Tobacco or Health
Tobacco use – in the form of cigarettes, water pipes, smokeless tobacco, and other types – is on the rise in the developing world, even as smoking rates in the United States stagnate. The impact of increased tobacco use goes far beyond negative health outcomes. Tobacco cultivation and use strongly affects the economy and environment as well, and the repercussions of heavy tobacco use in the developing world are devastating.
According to a report published in the Tobacco Atlas, Third Edition, tobacco use kills approximately six million people annually worldwide, and drains $500 billion from the economy due to lost productivity and premature deaths. In addition, only 5% of the world’s population is protected by comprehensive, national smoke-free legislation. The World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCTOH) is a forum for researchers, advocacy workers, and other key stakeholders in the global tobacco control community to address these issues.
The 14th WCTOH took place in March 2009 in Mumbai, India. This marked the second time in its 14-year history that it was held in a rapidly developing country (it was held in Beijing, China in 1997). The program sessions reflected the diverse backgrounds of the many presenters.
Topics ranged from the impact of tobacco on the environment, the relationship between tobacco use and diseases such as tuberculosis and cancer, and the proliferation of tobacco use among women, youth, and other minorities in many parts of the developing world.
Members of TReND, along with many other tobacco researchers, participated in a pre-conference workshop, Research to Reduce Tobacco-Related Inequalities: Worldwide Implications for and Exemplars of Tobacco Control. The theme of the workshop was the role that “social stratification” (hierarchy of groups differing on social class, race, ethnicity, caste, or tribe among others) around the world has on tobacco use, and how tobacco control advocates and researchers can target these populations.
Attendees received a comprehensive toolkit, with media materials, data sets, and exemplar papers.
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This Conference in ContextAs smoking has become less prevalent in the United States, and more laws are enacted to ban smoking in public places and prohibit ads for tobacco products, the tobacco industry has moved its efforts to other countries. This has resulted in higher rates of cancer and other tobacco-related illnesses, as well as a host of other socio-economic problems in those countries. In response to this, researchers all over the world are looking for ways to address high smoking rates, customize antismoking programs to unique populations, and disseminate their findings. The WCTOH is the ideal forum for global dissemination.
Quick Facts About the World Conference on Tobacco or Health
- The conference was hosted by the Healis Sekhsaria Institute for Public Health, the Salaam Bombay Foundation, and the Action Council Against Tobacco-India (ACT-INDIA).
- Researchers at the TReND workshop hailed from across the globe, from countries as diverse as the United States, Syria, Argentina, Sri Lanka, India, Turkey, and New Zealand, among others.
- Many organizations in the public and private sector sponsored the conference, including the American Cancer Society, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Pfizer, and the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use.
- The 15th World Conference on Tobacco or Health will be held in Singapore in 2012.
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Action Steps
Conference attendees left with a wealth of information about all facets of tobacco control. Participants in the pre-conference workshop also received many comprehensive toolkits that offer guidance on how to create interventions for the populations most affected by tobacco use.
Global Resources
Domestic/Community Resources
Additional Resources and Research Institutions
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Archives
To view past articles, please select from the list below
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