MAY/JUNE 2005
Volume 11 - No. 2

SRNT Newsletter

May/June 2005, Volume 11, Number 2

Pre-conference on Global Tobacco Research

by Ken Ward

Speakers Wara Alderete, Neo Morojele, Taghrid Asfar, Alex Prokhorov and Ken Ward look on at a presentation by Abu Ab

The annual conference was kicked off on Sunday with an all-day Pre-Conference on Global Tobacco Research. The pre-conference was organized by Harry Lando (Chair), Ken Ward (Co-chair), and a planning committee of 25 SRNT members from around the globe. Sponsors included SRNT, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the American Cancer Society (ACS), Glaxo Smith Kline, Pfizer, and Sanofi-Aventis. Additionally, SRNT, NIDA, ACS, and the Syrian Center for Tobacco Studies provided scholarship funds that supported the travel of approximately 30 attendees from several developing countries. The overarching purpose of the meeting was to explore means of networking and increasing capacity and resources for global tobacco research. Occurring just three weeks after the landmark Framework Convention on Tobacco Control went into effect, the pre-conference provided a timely opportunity for more than 300 global tobacco researchers to meet, share information, and strategize for the future. The morning featured an introductory session that set the stage for the day's discussions by focusing on issues in adult and youth tobacco reduction. Speakers included Abu Abdullah and Taghrid Asfar, who discussed innovative adult cessation initiatives in Hong Kong and Syria, respectively. Wara Alderete, Neo Morojele, and

Ken Ward, Pre-Conference co-chair,
welcomes attendees to the
pre-conference

Alex Prokhorov presented perspectives on youth tobacco initiation and prevention efforts in Argentina, South Africa, and the US, respectively. The morning's second session focused on national capacity-building in the context of the FCTC, with talks from Fran Stillman (US) on results of a global tobacco needs assessment, Tom Glynn and Linda Waverly on resource mobilization and funding priorities of the ACS and Research for International Tobacco Control (RITC), Mira Aghi on capacity development in India, and Derek Yach (US), who discussed new challenges and obstacles facing tobacco control. A box lunch was served, and attendees were able to visit presenters at more than 40 posters that featured tobacco control work from around the world. Attendees reconvened after lunch, and the afternoon began with a session on networking that featured several innovative projects from different areas of the world. Heather Wipfli (US) spoke on the Global Tobacco Research Network and the future of information networking. Konstantin Krasovsky described a tobacco control network in the Russian-speaking countries, and several speakers discussed innovative computer-based approaches to tobacco control networking. These included Wasim Maziak and Eyad Bachir (Syria), who introduced a new computer-based system for networking in developing countries called RAM (Research Assistance Matching), Jean-Francois Etter (Switzerland), who described internet-based approaches to help people quit smoking, and Ruben Israel (Switzerland), who updated us on lessons learned from Globalink's experiences with networking. The day was capped off with a final session that addressed the role of research in the implementation of the FCTC. Challenges and demonstrated successes in implementing the FCTC were described for several regions of the world in talks by Mostafa Mohamed (Egypt), Michael Kunze (European Union), Naowarut Charoenca (Southeast Asia), and Geoffrey Fong (Western hemisphere). Samira Asma from the US CDC also reported on the latest results from global tobacco surveillance efforts. The full day of discussion and brainstorming was wrapped up by Harry Lando who called for continued efforts to "internationalize" SRNT and increased collaborative efforts to raise awareness and resources to expand global tobacco control initiatives.

Ken Ward, Ph.D, is Associate Professor in the Department of Health and Sport Sciences at The University of Memphis and Intervention Director of the Syrian Center for Tobacco Studies.