Singapore To Host The 15TH World Conference On Tobacco Or Health In 2012

25 May 2009

The next World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCTOH) - the 15th conference - will be held in Singapore for the first time, in 2012. The expected number of delegates for the conference in 2012 is estimated to be between 2,000 to 3,000 persons.

2 The World Conference on Tobacco or Health has been instrumental in the progress of global tobacco control. Widely recognised as an important forum for international collaboration on tobacco control, 14 world conferences have been organised since the mid-60s to bring together tobacco control practitioners, health experts, scientists, researchers, educators and advocates from all around the world.

3 Over the years, WCTOH Conferences across the globe have provided relevant new data on addiction, cessation and various epidemiologic issues setting benchmarks for new policy and programme setting.

4 The main objectives of WCTOH are:

to exchange tobacco control and related information internationally;
to share recent achievements, failures, obstacles, challenges, etc;
to share experiences and knowledge between all countries in the world with different cultures and economic developments;
to promote research and achievements in particular fields;
to provide a forum for the discussion of problems common to several countries, or regions to strengthen the international tobacco control network.
The 15th WCTOH in Singapore in 2012

5 The Health Promotion Board of Singapore will spearhead the organization of WCTOH 2012, to be held at the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Singapore s successful bid to host the 15th WCTOH was supported by Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau (SECB), a group of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB); numerous local government and non-government organizations; as well as several regional and international tobacco control organizations.

6 The proposed scientific programme of the 15th WCTOH will build on the WHO (World Health Organization) call to action for all countries to implement the international treaty, the 2003 Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to achieve the overarching aim of reversing the global tobacco epidemic. 164 countries are party to this treaty. Parties are expected to have implemented many of the obligations under this treaty by the 2012 conference (More information on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and related strategies such as MPOWER is listed in the Annex document).

7 In order to spur countries into action for the next phase in tobacco control s history, the 15th WCTOH has four goals:

facilitate learning and collaboration among multi-sectoral tobacco control advocates, especially building capacity to tackle emerging issues;
galvanize existing partners and foster new leadership, especially in countries where tobacco control efforts are lagging behind;
encourage debate and advocate for evidence-based and innovative strategies on tobacco control, especially for the hard-to-reach; and,
share lessons learnt on creating an enabling environment to implement the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control within diverse settings.
Significance of hosting the 15th WCTOH

8 The 15th WCTOH will provide the Health Promotion Board with an opportunity to be a centre of excellence and a thought leader in tobacco control on a global scale. On a national level, it will improve public and private multi-agency co-ordination to ensure integration and alignment in tobacco control policy development in Singapore.

9 Regionally and beyond, WCTOH 2012 will provide impetus to build on existing networks and form new ones to address the global tobacco crisis. It will allow Singapore to take on a greater leadership role to build capacity and facilitate collaboration in tobacco control, especially in the South East Asian region.