On 14 and 15 November, 200 participants from several European countries, Canada, the United States and Brazil met at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon to discuss tobacco prevention and control at the International Conference on Tobacco Prevention and Control (ICTPC´13), an initiative organized by the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon and the University of Minho.

The opening ceremony was attended by the Secretary of State Assistant to the Minister of Health, Dr Fernando Leal da Costa, who received the prize “non-smoker of the year” from Professor Fernando de Pádua, member of the Conference’s Scientific Committee. The award is intended to highlight the work carried out by an individual in the area of Tobacco Prevention and Control.

 
The ICTPC´13 programme included a series of presentations by national and international speakers focusing on the sharing of scientific evidence and latest practices. Over 50 abstracts were submitted and 44 presentations were given (posters and oral presentations) on two key topics: “exposure to tobacco smoke- from research to prevention and control strategies” and “tobacco consumption and dependence: prevention and treatment”.

ICTPC´13 was also attended by the representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Luminita Sanda, who gave an overview of matters in progress and on the topics addressed at the conference. As she stressed in her speech, “tobacco is a major threat to public health, being responsible for about 6 million deaths per year, and the main tool to stop this epidemic is the WHO convention on tobacco control, which already has 177 associate countries.

According to the President of the ICTPC´13 Organizing Committee, Professor Fátima Reis, from the Institute of Preventive Medicine of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon, “tobacco prevention and control is an issue that requires a joint and ongoing intervention as the only way to build a smoke-free world”.

The ICTPC´13 is part of a set of initiatives planned in the context of smoking prevention and control. It succeeded in promoting debate and sharing of knowledge, involving many actors with a crucial role in tobacco prevention and control: officials, politicians, NGO members, researchers, health professionals, lecturers, and students.

Unidade de Saúde Ambiental, Instituto de Medicina Preventiva (UniSA, IMP)  

ictpc13@fm.ul.pt