พิธีเปิดการประชุมบุหรี่หรือสุขภาพโลก 2015

World Conference Tobacco or Health 2015

Opening Ceremony

Inaugural Ceremony highlights successes and challenges on the path towards tobacco control – and elimination

H.H. Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al-Nahayan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, Patron of the 16^th World Conference on Tobacco or Health, welcomed assembled delegates from more than 100 countries at the Inaugural Ceremony on Tuesday evening, 17 March 2015, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC). Noting that a healthy population is fundamental to economic development and progress, he expressed the hope that one day “World No Tobacco Day” would be every day, not one day a year.
Conference President Dr Wael Al Mahmeed of the Emirates Cardiac Society pointed out that this is the first time in WCTOH’s 48-year history that it has been held in the Middle East. The previous conferences, held every three years, have been in North America, Europe, Latin America, South-East Asia and the Asia Pacific.
José Luis Castro, Executive Director of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, which serves as the WCTOH’s Permanent Secretariat, spoke about the tremendous toll that tobacco use takes on people in the low-income countries that The Union serves, not only increasing the burden of disease, but also diverting limited resources from food, health care and education.
The keynote speech by Dr Ala Alwan, WHO Regional Director -- Eastern Mediterranean, addressed the conference theme of Tobacco and Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). In 2012, NCDs caused 38 million deaths, many of which were preventable and avoidable if the risk factors of unhealthy diet, inactivity, harmful use of alcohol – and tobacco use – were addressed. He emphasised the success of the WHO MPOWER tobacco control measures, saying, “We know what needs to be done. Now we need to turn evidence into action.”
A panel discussion followed with HRH Princess Dina Mired of Jordan, Director General of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation; US Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek H Murthy; Dr Alwan; Dr Farida Ismail Al Hosani, Acting Director of Public Health, Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD) and Dr Vera Luiza da Costa e Silva, Head of Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) – the world’s first public health treaty, which just celebrated its 10^th anniversary.
With BBC Broadcast journalist Zeinab Badawi acting as host and interviewer, the panelists outlined their successes, such as Abu Dhabi’s ban on e-cigarettes and the drop in US adult smokers from 43 to 18% since 1964. They also cited challenges ranging from the increasing popularity of sheesha worldwide and the boom in unregulated e-cigarettes to tobacco control’s formidable opponent – an industry that spends US$ 1 million every hour to promote its deadly products.
Ultimately the choice between tobacco or health requires not tobacco control, but elimination. Over the next four days, those attending the conference will be working hard to advance towards this goal.

source: >> http://www.wctoh.org/