The Network: 📣Last chance to register to the 8th ENSP-ECTC in Florence; Other news and publications

European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention Newsletter

31 August 2023

Last chance to register for the

8^th European Conference on Tobacco Control

Time is running out! The registration deadline for the 8^th European Conference on Tobacco Control is approaching fast. We are delighted to announce that a great number of abstracts have been submitted to the conference and remind you that this is your final opportunity to secure a spot at this dynamic event and be part of shaping the future of tobacco control.

Join experts, researchers, and advocates in Florence, Italy, for engaging discussions, enlightening workshops, and impactful networking opportunities. Register before 15 September 2023 to contribute to a tobacco-free future and be part of a transformative conference experience!

Visit our conference website https://ensp-ectc.org/ to complete your registration before it's too late and stay tuned for the publication of the conference program on 10 September!

We look forward to seeing you at the 8^th European Conference on Tobacco Control!

Other news and publications

Tobacco Control Webinar

"Flavors in Tobacco & Nicotine Products"

The next Tobacco Control Webinar, organized by the Tobacco Control Unit/WHO Collaborating Center for Tobacco Control is part of a series that aims to introduce challenging topics and ongoing research on tobacco control by national and international experts in a friendly environment. They are open to professionals and students in the wide field of tobacco control.

On the 5th of September 2023, from 16:00 (Barcelona time), the webinar "Flavors in Tobacco & Nicotine Products" will be hosted by Dr. Armando Peruga & Dr. Cristina Martínez.

This seminar aims to unravel the role of flavoring agents in enhancing the appeal of inhalable tobacco and nicotine products. Flavors are present in almost all tobacco/nicotine products and play a crucial role in their appeal and use behaviors but are poorly regulated. Dr. Krishnan-Sarin will discuss the sensory processes underlying the perception of flavoring agents, known pharmacological targets for flavor chemicals, and evidence of the potential toxicity of flavoring agents. She will also highlight the implications of the state of the science of flavoring agents for future research and regulation.

Secure your spot via the registration link below before the 1st of September.

Slides and video recordings of past Seminars and Webinars are available at the Tobacco Control Unit Website: https://www.icoprevencio.cat/uct/en/.

Combating Tobacco and Nicotine Consumption Through Education for Youth

A cooperation protocol was signed at the headquarters of the Ministry of Education to start the campaign for information and prevention of tobacco consumption and the use of electronic devices for nicotine delivery among students. The first information and prevention campaign addressing both modes of nicotine supply will be launched in Bucharest and will include meetings of students and parents, in pre-university education units, with mixed teams composed of specialists from the signatory institutions.

The protocol was signed between the Romanian Ministry of Education, the Institute of Pneumophthisiology "Marius Nasta", the University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Carol Davila" Bucharest, the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Bucharest, the European Smoking and Tobacco Prevention Network, the National Institute of Public Health, the Association for Education in Respiratory Diseases, and the Association of Medical Students of Bucharest.

The first Public Awareness and Prevention Campaign Protocol signed in Romania

The signed cooperation protocol represents an important step in the fight against teenage smoking, which kills nearly 700,000 people worldwide each year. According to this document, the Ministry of Education and the signatories will support the implementation of a number of information campaigns during the 2023 - 2024 school year aimed at properly informing teenagers aged 12-16 about the harmful effects of nicotine consumption through cigarettes or electronic smoking devices.

The target group was chosen on the basis of data from the World Health Organization, which shows that in Romania 28.0% of young people over 15 years of age report being tobacco users.

Read the full press release (RO)...

Global Tobacco Control Progress Hub

A new interactive data analytics platform to monitor FCTC treaty implementation

The Global Tobacco Control Progress Hub is a new interactive data analytics platform that provides a “window on the world” of WHO FCTC treaty implementation. The platform was launched in 2022 by ASH Canada and the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The main purpose of the Progress Hub is to provide tobacco control stakeholders with increased access to FCTC implementation data and to improve treaty monitoring, surveillance and reporting.

“The Progress Hub allows tobacco control stakeholders to easily engage in FCTC monitoring and surveillance including civil society organizations, tobacco control advocates, the news media, governments, academics and research organizations” said Les Hagen, executive director of ASH Canada. “The platform will enable more stakeholders to take an active role in the implementation of FCTC Articles 20 and 21 which are cornerstones of the treaty. It is impossible to effectively monitor treaty implementation without measuring progress along the way. The Progress Hub provides essential surveillance infrastructure for the FCTC”.

The Progress Hub contains numerous capabilities, features and functions including four interactive dashboards to examine (1) overall global treaty implementation, (2) national implementation of the FCTC, (3) national implementation of the MPOWER policy package, and (4) comparisons among over 180 countries. The Hub contains 300 indicators spanning 12 years of data reporting to WHO by participating countries. There are over 400,000 data points in the platform and users can select country views with each dashboard based on WHO region, World Bank national income level, and Human Development Index scores.

The Progress Hub also simplifies FCTC shadow reporting by civil society organizations. ASH Canada is assisting CSOs with the production of national shadow reports in advance of the 10^th Conference of the Parties to be convened this November in Panama City. Shadow (parallel) reporting is an important part of treaty monitoring and surveillance. The important role of CSOs is officially recognized Article 4 of the FCTC as follows; “The participation of civil society is essential in achieving the objective of the Convention and its protocols”.

Progress Hub Content

FCTC datasets for 2016, 2018, 2020 supplied by WHO Tobacco-Free Initiative
MPOWER scoring and indicator datasets for 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020 supplied by WHO FCTC Secretariat
Country HDI gradients supplied by Our World in Data
Country income gradients supplied by World Bank
Adult and youth national smoking data supplied by WHO FCTC Secretariat
Tobacco mortality rate data supplied by WHO FCTC Secretariat
Cigarette tax scorecards supplied by Tobacconomics
Tobacco Industry Interference national profiles supplied by STOP

The platform was built using Tableau Public data visualization software and more dashboards, features, functions and capabilities are in the works. ASH Canada is also producing new implementation profiles for each FCTC Article contained on the Hub and is exploring other ways to analyze and disseminate the enormous dataset.

“We encourage all tobacco control stakeholders to take a deep dive into FCTC treaty implementation by visiting the Global Tobacco Control Progress Hub” Hagen added. “We welcome your feedback and suggestions for improvement as we continue to develop and refine this robust surveillance platform.”

Please feel free to contact ASH Canada directly at info@ash.ca for more information.

Towards a Tobacco-free Generation Memorandum

The annual number of premature deaths from smoking is estimated at 15,000. That's 40 deaths a day! In addition, the huge social disparities in smoking make it one of the major sources of health inequality. It is therefore time for tobacco control to speed up the efforts.

The Belgian Interfederal Strategy for a Tobacco-Free Generation 2022-2028 includes many of the measures recommended by the Belgian Alliance for a Tobacco-Free Society in its previous Memorandum. This strategy is a central guideline in this regard. Unfortunately, some of these measures have yet to be laid down in concrete terms. Effective implementation and annual monitoring of the announced actions are therefore essential.

This Memorandum highlights a number of (additional) measures that are top priority, with the ambition to achieve a tobacco-free generation by 2040.

Read the full document here...

Exposing Big Tobacco as War Sponsor

Ukraine's National Corruption Prevention Agency has named major tobacco companies, Japan Tobacco International and Philip Morris International, as sponsors of the war due to their ongoing business in Russia. JTI's investments in Russia have exceeded $4.6 billion, generating about $2 billion in revenue for the company in 2022. Philip Morris International, with a 30.1% market share in Russia, has invested over $2 billion in the country. Both companies are among the largest taxpayers to the Russian budget. A dedicated list has been created to address the financial support for the war and promote transparency in conflict financing.