FEB/MAR 2008
Volume 14 - No. 1

SRNT Newsletter

February/March 2008, Volume 14, Number 1

SRNT Global Network Committee

by Harry Lando

The mission of the Global Network Committee is to enhance the overall mission of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco by actively promoting and encouraging sustained global involvement in tobacco control science through:

(1) Enabling and increasing the cultural and geographic diversity of SRNT membership;

(2) Promoting cross-border research collaboration;

(3) Contributing scientifically to the implementation, enforcement, and evaluation of international agreements and other internationally focused, evidenced-based tobacco control programs;

(4) Promoting the communication, dissemination, and adoption of tobacco control science among all regions of the world, especially in low- and middle-income countries; and

(5) Fostering tobacco control science capacity building, including funding, internationally.

The Global Network Committee has sponsored three pre-conferences in conjunction with SRNT annual meetings: in New Orleans, in Prague, and most recently in Austin. The theme of the Austin pre-conference was "Networking for Global Tobacco Reduction: The Role of SRNT." In addition, GNC is undertaking as a major priority SRNT regional conferences around the world. The first of these held September 5-7, 2007 in Rio de Janeiro attracted more than 370 participants. The theme of this conference was "Strengthening the Science for Tobacco Control in the Age of the FCTC." Martin Raw will be describing this conference more fully in a subsequent edition of the newsletter. Suffice it to say at this point that it was a genuine privilege to attend the conference and to enjoy the outstanding hospitality provided by our Brazilian hosts. I would especially like to thank a number of the key conference organizers including Beatriz Champagne, Analice Gigliotti, and Martin Raw.

The next SRNT regional conference will take place in Bangkok, Thailand October 28-31, 2008 at the Sofitel Centara Grand Hotel. This is a beautiful venue and a wonderful opportunity to come to Thailand and to network with colleagues. The theme of this conference is "Developing Research Infrastructure and Skills to Meet FCTC Obligations." Conference topics will include Monitoring and surveillance of tobacco use, Dependence and other tobacco disease treatments, Smoke-Free Environments, Packaging and labeling, Tobacco policy evaluation, Tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship, and Educating the public about tobacco and the tobacco industry. In addition to the scientific program, several exciting workshops have been scheduled. Additional information can be found at http://srnt2008.wildblueorganizer.com
/congress_info.html Stephen Hamann is providing outstanding leadership in organizing this conference assisted by Naowarut Charoenca. Prakit Vathesatogkit is serving an invaluable role as chair of this conference.

We have tentative plans for an SRNT Africa conference September 2009 in Tanzania in conjunction with the 2nd African Conference on Tobacco OR Health. In addition, SRNT has a significant involvement with the upcoming 14th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health in Mumbai, India March 8-12, 2009 and will be a major presence at this conference.

It is a propitious time in global tobacco control with the adoption of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the recent Bloomberg initiative that has committed $125 million for tobacco control in developing countries and the anticipated involvement of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The global tobacco epidemic is overwhelming: a projected 1 billion tobacco related deaths in this century. The impact if we can succeed in altering the course of this epidemic by even 10% would be dramatic. Research can contribute substantially to reducing the global impact of tobacco, but to be most effective we must collaborate with other stakeholders including advocates, practitioners, NGOs, and government entities. SRNT as an organization devoted to the generation of new knowledge has a unique role to play in addressing the tobacco epidemic. To maximize our impact, it will be important to recruit new members from around the world and to support these members through networking and promoting access to refereed journals including NTR.

In conclusion, I would like to thank the SRNT Board for its generous support of Global Network Committee activities including the Rio and Bangkok conferences as well as for the adoption of a fee structure that provides substantially lower membership dues for those from low- and middle-income countries. I also would like to invite you to an open meeting of the Global Network Committee to be held on Thursday, February 28 from 5:30-7 pm in the Forum Suite on the third floor of the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower.

About the Author: Harry Lando, Ph.D. is chair of the Global Network Committee and a past president of SRNT.