The 18th WCTOH will host a series of open-access webinars in the run up to the Leadership Summit on Tobacco Control, 6-7 May 2021.
The webinars will provide an accessible online platform for tobacco control leaders and experts to discuss key topics related to the theme of the Leadership Summit on Tobacco Control: Navigating Change. This theme addresses the changing political, economic and social landscape of tobacco control, and conversations will focus around the following key topics:
Lessons in how some leading Parties are protecting health policies from tobacco industry interference
Tuesday, 9 February 2021
Webinar details and registration coming in early 2021.
Can we achieve justice in health? Lessons from population health, human rights and the FCTC process
Tuesday, 16 March 2021
Webinar details and registration coming in early 2021.
FCTC Illicit Trade Protocol – Update
Tuesday, 13 April 2021
Webinar details and registration coming in 2021.
Please note: webinar registration closes 24 hours prior to the event. It is not possible to register after that deadline.
In much of the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a drastic drop in government revenues coupled with an urgent need to scale up health services – not least to tackle underlying conditions that have exacerbated the pandemic. For tobacco control increases in and improvements to tobacco tax levels and structures represent a win-win: helping drive down smoking rates, while raising much needed revenue
But how much room for improvement is there – in particular during such difficult times – and how much could governments realistically expect to gain in revenue through cigarette tax reform?
This webinar will present a new summary report card, by the Tobacconomics team, on countries’ performance to date, showing not just how they are doing on average tax levels, compared to similar countries, but also whether their tax structures are simple and efficient or complicated and open to manipulation by manufacturers.
Watch a recording of the webinar
Download the presentation slides:
Weathering the COVID-19 Storm Health Taxes and Fiscal Strategies for Health Financing, Susan Sparkes
Plain and standardised packaging removes the potential for companies to use their packs as attractive marketing tools by only allowing the tobacco pack to be presented in one colour, shape, and size designed to be minimally attractive and to maximize the salience of the warning labels. Packs may contain no brand imagery. Post-implementation evaluation has shown that “the overall appeal of the cigarette pack among adolescents and young people decreased, quit attempts increased, health warning label impact increased, smokers were more likely to conceal their packs in public, and none of the unintended consequences the tobacco industry alleged occurred.” Official statistics from Australia found that there were “significant decreases in the prevalence of daily smokers, delays among young people picking up smoking, and a decline in the use of unbranded illicit tobacco.” (Advancing Tobacco Plain and Standardised Packaging in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Advice from Experts)
In this webinar, Ms Suzanne Zhou from the McCabe Centre for Law & Cancer in Australia will set out the legal framework for plain packaging across the world. Prof Joanna Cohen will then present the experiences and lessons from Australia and from multiple other countries. Finally, Prof Prakit Vathesatogkit will talk about Thailand’s experience of getting plain packaging legislation introduced and implemented last year. Thailand is the first South Asian country to introduce plain packaging.
Watch a recording of the webinar
Download the presentation slides:
Lessons from a decade of legal challenges to plain packaging, Suzanne Zhou
Experiences and Lessons from Countries that have Introduced Plain Packaging, Joanna Cohen
Thailand’s experience in introducing plain packaging: Lessons for other LMICs
This webinar reviewed the literature on the relationship between smoking and COVID-19 available to date; examined the biological mechanisms and risk factors influencing susceptibility to infection; and discussed opportunities afforded by the pandemic to progress tobacco control and reduce tobacco related deaths.
Prof Luke Clancy, Director General of the TobaccoFree Research Institute Ireland (TFRI) Dublin, facilitated discussion between expert speakers Dr Silvano Gallus, Dr Janice Leung and Dr Catherine O. Egbe.
Watch a recording of the webinar
Download the presentation slides:
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