(This is a first-hand account of the ‘Cancer and Tobacco’ Plenary Session and the Tobacco-Free Workplaces Symposium held on Day Three of the conference, March 10, from Tom Glynn, PhD, Director, Cancer Science and Trends and Director, International Cancer Control, American Cancer Society.)
‘Cancer and Tobacco’ Plenary Session: John R. Seffrin, chief executive officer, American Cancer Society, participated in a plenary session this morning entitled ‘Cancer and Tobacco,’ which was chaired by Drs. Matthew McKenna (Director of CDC's Office on Smoking and Health) and Chiyome Fukino, Hawaii's Secretary of Health (who is also former ACS president Dileep Bal's boss!). Dr. Seffrin's address, titled ‘A Ticking Time Bomb: The Global Tobacco Pandemic – Current and Future Scenarios,’ was given before a filled auditorium and was called "visionary" afterwards by Dr. McKenna.
Tobacco-Free Workplaces Symposium: Terry Fontham, MPH, DrPH, president, American Cancer Society, chaired a lunchtime symposium, co-sponsored by the Society and the Pfizer Corporation, examining the needs, opportunities, and benefits inherent in tobacco-free worksite programs. The symposium featured three talks: ‘Evidence-based Tobacco-free Worksite Initiatives’ (by Thomas Glynn, PhD, American Cancer Society); ‘Case Study: The Role of Occupational health in Worksite Tobacco Control’ (by Dr. Glorian Sorensen of Harvard University); and ‘Case Study: Establishing a Tobacco-free Worksite’ (by Dr. B. Singh of the Indian Police Academy). There was an overflow crowd in the large auditorium, due as much to the salience of the topic and brilliance of the speakers as to the fact that a free lunch was being served and it was the only conference session being held at that time. During the question and answer session, a number of the comments concerned the importance of maintaining, and even expanding, a focus on tobacco control at the worksite during the economic downturn, since nonsmoking employees have been shown to positively affect company profits.
John R. Seffrin, PhD, chief executive officer, American Cancer Society, delivering his presentation during the 'Cancer and Tobacco' Plenary Session.
Thomas Glynn, PhD, director, Cancer Science and Trends and director, International Cancer Control, American Cancer Society, speaks during the Tobacco-Free Workplaces Symposium.
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