Letter from Executive Director

I recently returned from the World Conference on Tobacco OR Health, a gathering of nearly 5,000 tobacco control advocates, public health professionals, and academics from around the world. The conference, which was held in D.C., looked at tobacco control from a global perspective and focused on upcoming challenges in the developing world.

The most sobering statistic shared at the conference - which has been widely reported in the media - is that if current trends continue, tobacco use may kill 1 billion people during the coming century. Most of those deaths will occur in the developing world, where the tobacco industry is aggressively expanding and targeting female populations in particular. (The American Cancer Society has released the second edition of The Tobacco Atlas, an incredibly useful and interesting compilation of worldwide tobacco-related statistics. It is available online here.)

Though some trends are ominous, there is also room for optimism. First and foremost, more than 130 countries have now signed the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), committing themselves to taking proven measures to reduce tobacco use in their countries. It is an embarrassment that the United States has not yet ratified the FCTC. Among other measures, the FCTC calls for restrictions on smoking in workplaces and public places, increases in tobacco taxes, and a ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship. Around the world, these measures are already being put into place. For example, Uruguay has become the first country in the Americas to have a comprehensive smoke-free workplace law. Uruguay's minister of health reported that the law has been widely embraced by Uruguay's population.

For the first time ever, the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium organized a gathering of attorneys attending the conference. Those in attendance included representatives from the other legal centers around the U.S., as well as attorneys involved in tobacco control in Canada, Mexico, Australia, Israel, and elsewhere. Though legal systems vary widely from country to country, I am hopeful that the international connections formed during the conference will prove valuable as we continue to research best practices in legal and regulatory approaches to reducing tobacco use.

Closer to home, I am excited to announce that our Second Annual Tobacco Public Policy Center Conference will be held on October 27th at the Quest Conference Center in Columbus. The conference will be co-sponsored by the Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers, and the subject will be "Waiting to Exhale? The Future of Tobacco Litigation." The keynote speaker will be Professor Dick Daynard, Associate Dean of Northeastern University Law School, President of the Public Health Advocacy Institute, and a leading expert on tobacco litigation. More details to follow soon!