The launch event of the new Global Action to End Smoking, formerly known as the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, has brought the spotlight onto the foundation’s new direction in supporting smoking cessation and global health policies
On Monday 13, the former Foundation fro a Smoke- Free World, hosted an online event in Washington DC to present the organization’s renewed mission to support smoking cessation and public health worldwide under the name of Global Action to End Smoking.
The rebranding of the US Foundation lays the groundwork for new activities supporting harm reduction strategies, through a holistic and multisectoral approach that prioritizes the experience of smokers or tobacco consumers, who are often stigmatized or overlooked
The global action to end smoking grantmaking will continue to focus on advancing health and science research for cutting-edge smoking cessation and reduced-risk solutions, with a particular focus on marginalized communities and low- and middle-income countries where smoking is most widespread.
Among the innovations that fit into this new dimension is the creation of the Cessation Education program: grant projects that fall within this focus area will aim to disseminate holistic, evidenced-based information to key stakeholders in public health, including health care providers and members of the public, particularly people who currently smoke and have the most urgent need to quit.
The Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based policy research group, has received our first new Cessation Education grant. Experts at Urban will study tobacco-use disorder and nicotine dependence among low-income individuals in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. This work will fill a critical equity research gap relating to the effective delivery of tobacco cessation treatment and provide tangible solutions designed to reduce smoking rates and improve public health for those most in need.
The launch event of the Global Action to End Smoking also served as an occasion for a debate on the future prospects of harm reduction and the approach to modified risk devices. The panel featured Cliff Douglas, President and CEO of Global Action to End Smoking; Dr. Leighton Ku, Director of the Health Policy Research Center at the Milken Institute of Public Health, George Washington University; and Dr. Anthony Salandy, Senior Director of Development and Business Strategy at the National Harm Reduction Coalition.
“Harm reduction is an approach that can reduce overdose rates in the country,” explains Dr. Salandy, “but often harm reduction does not focus on smoking cessation. THarm reduction and smoking cessation can go hand to hand and can benefit people. But we need to center the individual”.
“One of the most urgent issues to address concerns social inequalities,” adds Dr. Ku. “How can people change unhealthy habits if they cannot access the same categories of treatments and medications?”
Considering that healthcare policies need time to implement necessary changes, according to CEO Cliff Douglas, focus must be placed on some fundamental aspects, including the need for a distinction between tobacco products, differentiating them by purpose and use, and providing consumers with the autonomy necessary to make informed choices for their health.
“CoEHAR has enthusiastically embraced the new vision of the Global Action to END Smoking, guided by a common mission to combat and eradicate smoking worldwide by supporting public policies based on scientific evidence“, stated the CoEHAR Director, Prof. Giovanni Li Volti.
Watch the full event:
