The World Conference on Tobacco or Health

The World Conference on Tobacco or Health is being held July 12-15, 2006 in Washington DC. The conference will feature the latest research on the science of tobacco and its effects, and presenters will share relevant new data on topics including addiction, cessation, public policy, secondhand smoke, and smokeless tobacco. The conference will also allow delegates an opportunity to examine the impact of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and to discuss ways developing countries can use it to promote their tobacco control efforts and how it can reinforce tobacco control in developed countries.

A delegation of representatives from Health Canada's Tobacco Control Programme will share expertise, lessons learned and knowledge in the area of tobacco control with international delegates at the conference. Tobacco Control Programme representatives will be involved in a variety of presentations on issues including retailer compliance, health warning messages, surveillance, cigarette ignition propensity, secondhand smoke and the implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Recent educational publications, research findings and policy documents produced by Health Canada will be disseminated to conference delegates at the Tobacco Control Programme exhibit booth. The exhibit booth will also act as the key point of contact for Canadian delegates attending the conference.

A new publication developed by the British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Women's Health and the International Network of Women Against Tobacco (INWAT), with support from Health Canada, will be launched at the conference. Turning A New Leaf: Women, Tobacco and the Future provides a picture of women's tobacco use in different contexts around the world and describes women's role in global tobacco production and marketing. It also provides direction on assessing and addressing the gender issues of tobacco control in policy, program, and research. The resource will be officially launched on July 13th at a press conference organized by INWAT.

For more information on the WCOTH, please visit the official conference Web site.