SRNT Newsletter

February/March 2006, Volume 12, Number 1

Past President's Reflections

by David Balfour

Dear Friends,

I am writing this piece for the Newsletter having just returned from the conference in Orlando. At the end of the conference, I transferred the President's gavel to Ellen. Suzanne, Eric and Jennifer worked hard and very successfully to deliver an excellent and balanced program that reflected the very diverse membership of the Society and I am sure all of us who were there found much to see and listen to of relevance to our work. That has certainly been my experience at each SRNT conference I have attended and, on each occasion, I have left full of ideas about how I might exploit my new found knowledge in my own work.

The 2006 conference seemed a long way off when I took up the Presidency in March of last year. However, the time has flown by, and it is now time for a little reflection. As I indicated in an earlier President's column, the success of the conference in Prague passed all expectations, and it has already engendered interest in another international conference for SRNT in Europe in 2009. I think the Prague meeting also served to emphasize the international nature of the problem of smoking and the ways by which SRNT might promote research and policy on the issue in an international context. This was certainly one of the aims of my tenure, and I feel gratified that the Society does seem to be looking outward somewhat more than in earlier years. There are thoughts about a conference in South America, under the SRNT banner. Maybe we should also be looking towards the Pacific Rim for a meeting in China, Japan, or Australia.

The other item on my agenda when I took over last March was the revision of the bylaws. Under Ken Warner's guidance, much of the work had already been done before I became President. However the "committee of four" (Ken, Nancy Rigotti, Ellen Gritz, and myself) have now, hopefully, completed the task. A final draft was presented to the delegates at the conference and circulated more widely by e-mail. To remind you, it was decided that, after 10 years of the Society, the time had come to look again at the bylaws, to update them where necessary, and to take account of changes that have occurred over the 10 years. The covering note that you will all have received along with the final draft explains briefly the principal changes we have made and why we made them. I think the main issues relate to the structure of the Board, which has been reduced and changed a little to reflect specific geographical constituencies within the membership. Interestingly, it became clear during our deliberations that there was no actual requirement for the Board to include anyone from North America although the bulk of the membership and funds come from that area. Although it was extremely unlikely that this would ever occur, the new bylaws make it impossible. We also found the concept of councils and committees difficult to justify and decided upon a single tier of committees. I think this makes it easier for most members to understand. Also, importantly, I think it will be easier to populate the committees with, I hope, both experienced (a pseudonym for older) and younger members of the Society.

I must close this letter with some "thank yous". I have had the privilege of presiding over a Society which contains all of my friends in the field of tobacco research. It has been a very supportive environment in which to work. I have received unstinting help from the members of the Board with whom I have spoken regularly at our monthly conference calls and on other occasions when it has proved necessary to get answers quickly. My life as President has also been made very easy by our Executive Director, Bruce Wheeler, and his team at Rees Group. There have been many occasions during the year when I have e-mailed or telephoned Bruce to ask for advice, and I have found his council immensely valuable. I am delighted to have the opportunity through this column to express my thanks publicly in this way. As I have said, I have considered it a privilege to serve the Society as its President. I know that Ellen feels the same, and I wish her all success in during her tenure as President of SRNT.