Frequently Asked Questions about the Leadership Summit on Tobacco Control and the World Conference on Tobacco or Health.
Following the rapidly developing situation and uncertainty relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Advisory Board of the World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCTOH) decided to postpone the 18th WCTOH.
We are aware that this delay creates a gap between global events addressing the combat against tobacco epidemic and a lack of response to the increased industry interference, especially amid the pandemic. For this reason, the Advisory Board decided to organise a Leadership Summit on Tobacco Control on May 2021. This Summit will pave the way to the Conference, strengthen the link between tobacco control community and other communities, and keep tobacco control on the global health agenda.
We are hopeful that global circumstances will be more favourable, nevertheless, we will continue to monitor the situation and the potential impact on the conference.
The Leadership Summit on Tobacco Control is a virtual event for global, national, and sub-national leaders to exchange and share the latest developments and best practices on the most important challenges and opportunities for the tobacco control community. The summit is hosted by the 18th WCTOH.
The Summit will take place on Thursday 6 and Friday 7 May 2021. Register now.
The Summit will gather world-leading experts from diverse backgrounds (global health, human rights, governmental, economic, and environmental) to share the latest developments and best practices on the most important challenges and opportunities for the tobacco control community. The sessions format will be interactive with opportunities to ask questions and make connections.
A limited number of scholarships may be granted for participants from affected communities or community volunteers. Individuals from low and lower-middle income countries will be given priority.
Applications are now open. Find out about sponsored registrations.
WCTOH is committed to organising events that endeavour to be accessible to all our community. Registered participants will need access to a reliable internet connection, similar to the internet access needed to watch YouTube, to ensure the best experience of our dedicated conference platform.
Yes, the summit will have limited opportunities for satellite symposia and sponsored sessions. Please email secretariat@wctoh.org for more information.
There are a range of compelling and impactful sponsorship options that provide powerful ways for your organisation to connect with the tobacco control community. The Leadership Summit will offer a dedicated sponsors and partners area, social media visibility, dedicated brand placement and much more.
For more information, please email secretariat@wctoh.org.
Yes, the conference will take place. We will continue to monitor the situation and the potential impact and update this website accordingly.
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Please contact secretariat@wctoh.org for any additional questions.
Registration includes the Summit attendance and unlimited access to all content produced for the Summit.
The registration fee will allow live participation in sessions and Q&As, access to all slides, access to partners areas and on-demand recordings of all sessions until 31 July 2021.
The registration types are presented in the table below.
| REGISTRATION TYPE | Early – until 14 March |
Late 15 March – 7 May |
| Participants in upper middle- and high-income countries | € 89 | € 99 |
| Participants in low and lower middle-income countries | € 49 | € 79 |
| Nurse/Student all areas ** | € 49 | € 79 |
Reduced rates
Reduced rates are available for students, nurses and low- and lower middle-income country residents.
Students: All those in training are eligible for these rates. Delegates registered in this category will need to upload documented proof of enrolment in a University programme when completing their registration.
Nurses: Delegates registered in this category will need to upload documented proof of being registered as a nurse when completing their registration.
Low and lower-middle income country residents: Participants residing in countries classified by the World Bank as low or lower-middle income economies may attend the Leadership Summit on Tobacco Control at a reduced rate. The country list available on the registration platform is based on the WHO 194 Member States.
Participants from low and lower middle-income countries, as well as students and nurses from anywhere in the world, will have the opportunity to apply for a sponsored registration.
The registrant will be asked to include a 300 words motivation letter explaining how the work in the tobacco control field will contribute to ending tobacco epidemic.
Applications will be accepted until 25 February 2021.
Applicants will be notified about the decision by 5 March 2021.
Applicants who are not accepted for a sponsored registration will still be able to pay their registration with the same profile.
Find out more and apply for a sponsored registration.
Transparency is a condition of participation at the Leadership Summit on Tobacco Control. Therefore, each registrant will be asked to complete a mandatory ‘conflict of interest’ agreement.
The WCTOH Secretariat will carefully review each registration and in case of information discrepancy, the Secretariat reserves the right to approve or reject a registration without any obligation for organisers.
The country list available on the registration platform only includes the WHO 194 Member States. Only participants from listed countries are able to attend the Summit.
All registrations must be accompanied by the necessary payment in Euros. Registration will be confirmed only upon receipt of payment.
Payment is accepted by debit or credit card (Visa, MasterCard or American Express).
Please note that payments through bank transfer will only be accepted until April 22. Bank transfer fees are the responsibility of the registrant.
Until 6 March 2021, delegates are able to cancel their registration and receive a refund. However, a management fee of 25 euro will apply. Knowing that this event is fully virtual and that all the content will be available to view on demand, our policy stipulates that no registration cancellation or refunds are possible after 6 March 2021.
Refunds payments will be processed only after the Summit end date.
Please note that in case your registration is cancelled as a result of “conflict of interest”, the WCTOH Secretariat reserves the right to define whether a refund is applicable or not.
Name changes are possible before the payment is settled and the registration is fully confirmed. The ‘conflict of interest’ form will need to be re-completed by the new registered person.
The term webinar is short for web-based seminar. It consists of a moderator, one or more presenters, and the online audience. Participants can attend the online presentation shown on their computers from any location without having to move.
Visit the webinars page and click to register for any listed upcoming webinar. You will be directed to the webinar registration page. Fill the form to register. You will receive a confirmation email with a unique link to join the webinar.
Please note: webinar registration closes 24 hours prior to the event. It is not possible to register after that deadline.
WCTOH Secretariat is seeking conflict information in the interests of transparency but will exclude any registrant with recent or current ties with any tobacco entity including the Foundation for a Smoke-free World.
A conflict related to non-tobacco interests relevant to this activity, including ENDS/ENNDS and pharmaceutical industry, does not mean an immediate exclusion from the webinar. The list of identified registrants with conflict will be reviewed before any registration cancellation.
However, those with recent or current ties with any tobacco entity, including the Foundation for a Smoke-free World, will be excluded from the webinar.
The link to join is unique to you and should not be shared with anyone else. Attendees wishing to join the webinar should register individually on the webinar registration page.
Registrants can cancel their webinar registration at any time by going to the “Cancel your registration” link on the bottom of the confirmation email received.
The webinar series is open-access and therefore presented at no cost.
At the time of the webinar, click the join link in the confirmation email you received. You will then be automatically launched into session. If you arrive before the organiser, you’ll see a window confirming that you successfully connected. Once the organiser arrives the webinar will begin.
You can join from a computer or smartphone device.
WCTOH is committed to organising events that endeavour to be accessible to all our community. Participants will need access to a reliable internet connection, similar to the internet access needed to watch YouTube; a computer or smartphone device, and speakers or headsets.
All of our past webinar recordings are available on the webinars page or The Union and WCTOH YouTube channels. Recordings are added as soon as possible after a webinar has taken place.
After the webinar, you will receive an email asking you to complete a very short online survey. This helps us evaluate the quality of the webinars and it is also an opportunity for participants to give feedback on what they did or didn’t like so we can improve our sessions.
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Please contact secretariat@wctoh.org for any additional questions.
The programme will be available online in January 2021.
Unfortunately, no, the Leadership Summit on Tobacco Control programme is not abstract-driven. The programme is entirely prepared by the WCTOH Scientific Committee.
The virtual Summit will take place on Thursday 6 and Friday 7 May 2021. Each day, there will be a short programme of 4 hours broadcast during a primary global time slot. The session formats include plenaries and group presentations, all including live discussions and Q&A segments.
The programme will address various aspects of the following topics:
Presentations will be made available on-demand within 24 hours. All presentations from the summit will be available on the online platform up to six months after the event.
The Summit will be broadcast live, participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and interact with fellow attendees. All sessions will be recorded and made available on-demand within 24 hours. However, participants must register before the summit to access the resources.
The certificates of attendance will be available to all registered participants who will complete the feedback survey after the virtual event.
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