Related Conferences

International Pneumological Conference
Martin, Slovak Republic
October 2001

Presentation
Youth Smoking Uptake Progress: Price and Public Policy Effects, Ross H. (717KB PDF)

2nd World Assembly on Tobacco Counters Health, 2002
New Delhi, India

Presentation
International Tobacco Evidence Network, Ross (106 KB PDF)

The 3rd European Conference on Tobacco or Health (ECTOH 2002)
Warsaw, Poland - June 19-22, 2002

I. Parallel Presentation Session D2 - Tuesday, June 20, 2002
Title: The Economics of Tobacco and Tobacco Control
Co-chairs: C. Ciecierski, K. Krasovsky, H. Ross

A. Gilmore, M. McKee   The impact of trade liberalization on tobacco consumption: the example of the FSU 

 M. Van der Bruggen, R. Welte, M. Koopmanschap, H. Jager  Productivity costs of smoking for Dutch employers in 1999

 J. Pinilla The effect of cigarette prices on smoking consolidation habits among young adults

K. Krasovsky Tobacco agriculture policy in the Ukraine              

Y.W. Tsai, S.F. Shih, H.Y. Sung The determinants of purchasing smuggled cigarettes in Taiwan

 O. Shafey, V.  Cokkinides, T. M. Cavalcante, M. Teixeira, C. Vianna, M. J. Thun Case studies in international tobacco surveillance: Anomalous trade patterns as sentinel indicators of smuggling

 F. Portillo, M. Velasco, F.Antoñanzas  Economic evaluation of pharmacotherapies for smoking control in Spain

 H. Ross    A critique of Philip Morris’s study from the Czech Republic (62KB PDF)

World Conference on Tobacco or Health 2003
12th World Conference on Tobacco or Health: Global Action for a Tobacco Free Future
August 3-8, 2003 in Helsinki, Finland

ITEN organized an "Economic Aspects of Tobacco" Session which included a review of the global evidence and presentation of several case studies.

Global Evidence
Myths/Facts about the Economics of Tobacco, Jha, forthcoming.
Tobacco Tax - Economic Impact, Ross (295KB PDF)
Key Issues on Cigarette Smuggling, Joossens (413KB PDF)

Case Studies
Tobacco Control and the Transitional Economies of Europe: Aspects of Taxation in Poland, Ciecierski (927KB PDF)
Excise Taxes as a Mechanism for Tobacco Control: South Africa's Experience, Van Walbeek (1.33MB PDF)
Evidence for Using Uniform High Tobacco Tax, Kinh (812KB PDF)

6th International Conference - Health Insurance in Transition
October 2003
Croatia

Demand for Tobacco and Tax Policy, Ross H. (499KB PDF)
Smuggling of Tobacco Products, Merriman D. (171KB PDF)
Understanding, Measuring and Combating Tobacco Smuggling, Merriman D. (185KB PDF)

1st National Congress on Tobacco Prevention
Lisbon, Portugal
November 2003

Economics of Tobacco Control, Ross H. (498KB PDF).

Tobacco Tax Earmarking and Sustainability of Tobacco Control Effort in Accession Countries
Bratislava
April 2004
Sponsored by the Open Society Institute (OSI)

Conference Resolution (4KB PDF)
Finland and Earmarked Tax, Simonen (476KB PDF)
IMF and Tobacco Taxes, Baunsgaard (140KB PDF)
Tobacco Control, Health and Macroeconomy, Jha, Chaloupka, Peck, Ross, Zatonski, Jamison (587KB PDF)
Thailand and Earmarked Tobacco Tax, Vateesatokit (195KB PDF)
Tobacco Control in Slovakia, Kavcoca, Slaby (521KB PDF)
The Economics of Earmarked Tobacco Taxes: Pros and Cons, Chaloupka (771KB PDF)

European Network for Smoking Prevention/General Assembly Meeting 2004 and ASPECT Consortium Meetings in Krakow
May 2004

Economic Aspect of Smoke Free Workplaces (93KB PDF) and Program (44KB PDF)

Change is in the Air - Future Directions in Tobacco Control in the European Union
June 17-18, 2004

Conference Program (83KB PDF) and Parallel Conference Program (11KB PDF).
Current Economic Research Needs: Findings of the ASPECT Report and ITEN Project on Economics of Tobacco Control (265KB PDF).

ASEAN Consultation on the Impact of AFTA on Tobacco Trade and Health,
Penang, Malaysia, August 2004.
AFTA and Tobacco Tax Policy (472KB PDF)

Malaysian Conference on Tobacco Control
Kuala Lumpur, May 2005
Will Tobacco Control Hurt the Economy? (132KB PDF)

Events

January 2001
Held in Bangkok, Thailand, this working group meeting brought together key representatives from the region as well as researchers from the University of Illinois, Health Research and Policy Centers and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Led by Anthony So from the Rockefeller Foundation, this working group defined the goals, necessary activities and timeline for the Trading Tobacco for Health Initiative.

Agenda and Summary (32KB PDF)
Supporting document (12.2KB PDF)
Economic Research on Tobacco in Southeast Asia, Chaloupka F, Czart C (241KB PDF)

September 2002
ITEN Deputy Director, Hana Ross, was invited to provide economic evidence on the topic of tobacco advertising ban in front of the Czech Parliament. The bill banning tobacco advertising passed the vote on April 1, 2003. Tobacco Advertising and Its Economic Consequences, Ross H. (166KB PDF)

January 2003
The ITEN deputy director Hana Ross has visited Viet Nam, Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand. She participated in country level meetings of local tobacco control coordinators. Dr. Ross has presented economic arguments to the Interministerial Committee Meeting in Cambodia, and to the Vietnam National Committee for Smoking and Health in Hanoi. Her presentation at the Tobacco Industry Document Workshop in Penang, Malaysia, help the participants to improve their knowledge of the economic aspect of tobacco industry document search.

Tobacco Tax and Economics, Ross H (104KB PDF)
Economics of Tobacco Control and Industry Documents, Ross, H (114KB PDF)

May 2003
The ITEN deputy director Hana Ross has visited Viet Nam, Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand. This visit focused on technical assistance with the ongoing research project in the region. In Malaysia, Dr. Ross also attended a meeting at the Ministry of Health where next steps in tobacco control research and tobacco control advocacy were planned. In Cambia, Dr. Ross met with the World Bank representative and together with a WHO representative, Greg Hallen, delivered a petition to support FCC ratification in Cambodia. A series of meetings in Viet Nam focused on developing research agenda for future grant applications.

August 2003
Dr. Corné van Walbeek participated in the ITEN organized main session "Economic Aspects of Tobacco" during the 12th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health. In his presentation, he shared the South African experience with tobacco tax increases and their impact on cigarette consumption.
Excise Taxes as a Mechanism for Tobacco Control: South Africa's Experience (1.33MB PDF)

January 2004
ITEN was selected to provide technical assistance to the OSI funded three-year project in Armenia. The ITEN Deputy Director made a site visit to Armenia to consult the future steps in the project. The ITEN Deputy Director also gave a seminar at the Ministry of Health for representatives of various ministries and members of parliament, and met with a member of the Parliament to discuss future steps in tobacco control in Armenia. ITEN is cooperating with the American University of Armenia in this project. Economics of Tobacco Control - Building the Case for Armenia, (607KB PDF).

August 2004
ITEN was selected to present Economics of Tobacco Control and Tobacco Tax Policy (500 KB PDF) in Manila, Philippines.

November 2004
Dr. Hana Ross held a training session on tobacco taxation for tobacco researchers from the former Soviet Union Republics. The session was held in Kiev, Ukraine. Workshop Agenda (53KB PDF), Agenda (53KB PDF), Tobacco Tax Policy (40KB PDF).

February 2005
ITEN Deputy Director visited Armenia and had meetings with the Parliament and representatives of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance and IMF to discuss tobacco tax reform. Activities of tobacco control groups in Armenia led to several successes in 2004 including the ratification of FCTC and adoption of the Tobacco Law in December 2004. The main achievements of the law are ban on single cigarette sales, 30% of the surface health warning labels and limits on smoking in public and private workplaces. Several weaknesses exist, however, which include: weak enforcement provisions, lack of tobacco advertising regulations, low tobacco taxes. ITEN is cooperating with its local counterparts to prepare additional research evidence for the support of tax increase in Armenia. This is Dr. Ross's presentation at the meeting of representatives of various organizations and agencies discussing tobacco tax increase in Armenia. Economics of Tobacco Control: Building the Case for Armenia (357KB PDF).

March 2005
ITEN Deputy Director attended a Parliamentarian seminar in Prague on March 11, 2005 where she led a discussion about the future financing of health promotional activities in the Czech Republic. The seminar was chaired by the Minister of Health and attended by 138 participants including Parliament deputies, representatives of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, representatives of health insurance companies, labor unions, representatives of the administrative regions and other organizations (such as the Czech League Against Cancer, local WHO office, Consumers Protection Association, Czech Patients' Association, Health Information Centre, Czech Helsinki Committee, Czech Pharmacist Chamber).

"Financial Support for Public Health: Earmarked Tobacco Tax" (107KB PDF) was presented by Dr. Hana Ross and tobacco tax earmarking has been successfully applied in numerous countries such as Thailand, but also 10 EU countries.

During her visit, Dr. Ross also discussed possible cooperation in providing technical assistance for future research activities related to tobacco control in the Czech Republic.

August 2005
ITEN Deputy Director visited all four key countries (Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam) and also Laos during this last visit to the region under the Rockefeller initiative. This visit focused on dissemination of research findings that were assembled during four years of research efforts in the region. In addition, the deputy director organized multiple mentoring sessions and sessions where local researchers and tobacco control stakeholders planned their future research agenda. ITEN Deputy Director also met with public policy makers in all five countries to discuss the future agenda for public policy in the area of tobacco control.

All parties acknowledged that progress was made in terms of assembling local research evidence, but more needs to be done to protect the public health interest from tobacco.

Other Activities
ITEN Deputy Director serves on the Editorial Board of the Tobacco FactFile, an online database containing facts about tobacco use and control. The site is also translated into Spanish, German and French.

ITEN provides peer reviews and executive summaries for WHO studies.
- Macro-level study from Vietnam. "Price Elasticity Estimations for Cigarette Demand in Vietnam," prepared by Patrick Eozenou and Burke Fishburn from the WHO Vietnam office.
- Commission study in Thailand on "Cigarettes and Consumption Demand."

ITEN Deputy Director participated in a meeting organized by the Institute for Global Tobacco Control, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The meeting focused on mapping tobacco industry activities in South East Asia.

ITEN Deputy Director attended a series of breakfast meetings of the Global Tobacco Research Network. The purpose of the meetings was to introduce the Global Tobacco Research Network and discuss its vision and objectives; explore potential levels of member collaboration and support; and produce a publishable action for the Network.

The ITEN Deputy Director participated in the International Tobacco Control Research Priority meeting in Geneva, Switzerland in November 2003. The meeting was sponsored by the IC Health, India. Agenda (16KB PDF).

ITEN is undertaking a major review of global nicotine addiction in partnership with the National Institutes of Health, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, India and the University of Toronto. This effort will assemble the best economic, biologic, psychological and clinical data on nicotine. Several background papers have been commissioned, and will be reviewed at the WCTOH in Helsinki, and a follow-up meeting will be held in Mumbai, India, September 2003. The proceedings will be published as an ITEN-NIH Monograph.

Development of the SimSmoke Model for Selected ASEAN Countries
In a cooperation with the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, ITEN supports the effort of Dr. David Levy from the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation to develop the SimSmoke model for several SE Asian countries. The model will serve as a tool for better understanding tobacco policy, for educating government officials on the effects of tobacco control policies, and to provide a framework for the surveillance and evaluation of policies.

Description of the Model (20KB PDF)

Tobacco Industry Surveillance Project
ITEN actively participates in the Tobacco Industry Surveillance Project managed by the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. ITEN helped with the design of the project and provided comments on the proposal. ITEN Deputy Director participated in a structured discussion on the topic of tobacco industry mapping organized by the Institute for Global Tobacco Control during the WCTOH 2003 in Helsinki. ITEN Deputy Director provided inputs for conceptual mapping of industry activities that will be used during the data collection stage of the project.

Activities in North America
ITEN maintains contacts with its Canadian colleagues from Research for International Tobacco Control (RITC). ITEN Director participated in the Bridging the Research Gaps in Tobacco Control meeting in Ottawa organized by RITC, which gathered representatives from various networking organizations and funding agencies supporting tobacco control research. This meeting was supported by the Rockefellar Foundation.
Agenda (11.3KB PDF)
ITEN description, Synthesis Document produced by RITC (24KB PDF)
Ottawa Declaration (19KB PDF)

ITEN Director, Prabhat Jha, was named to the Government of Canada Ministerial Advisory Committee on Tobacco Control.

ITEN Director, Frank Chaloupka, is economics editor for Tobacco Control: An International Journal.

The ITEN Director and Deputy Director are actively involved in an international tobacco policy research project supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and directed by Geoffrey Fong at the University of Waterloo. The project examines the response of smokers in the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK to changes in tobacco control policies, using a series of original longitudinal surveys of smokers in each country. Additional support is being pursued and ITEN is actively involved in expanding this effort beyond high income countries, with an initial focus on Malaysia and Thailand, given imminent changes in tobacco control policies in both countries. ITEN became a part of a consortium create by this group of researches that applied for a five year Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Centers (TTURC) grant.

World Bank
ITEN Deputy Director has analyzed five Global Youth Tobacco Surveys in cooperation with the World Bank. The studies were published at the World Bank web site.

ITEN has regularly invited representatives from the World Bank, including Joy de Beyer and Ayda Aysun Yurekli, to participate in ITEN sponsored workshops and other activities. ITEN has similarly participates in World Bank sponsored efforts. For example, in October 2002, ITEN was invited by the World Bank to participate in a tobacco control research workshop in Indonesia and Ayda Yurekli was an invited faculty member to ITEN's most recent workshop in Hanoi. Further, the ITEN Deputy Director provides technical assistance to a World Bank sponsored project in Indonesia.

TTURC Project in Malaysia and Thailand
ITEN supports a regional project focusing on data collection in Malaysia and Thailand. This effort is a part of the Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center (TTURC) initiative in the SEA region, Project 2, funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH). More details on the TTURC activities can be found at http://www.roswelltturc.org.

In May 2005 ITEN Deputy Director took part in a public hearing in Bangkok that disseminated preliminary results from the TTURC data collection in Thailand and Malaysia, Agenda (8 KB PDF)

In support of the TTURC Initiative, ITEN Deputy Director conducted a part of the TTURC workshop in Bangkok in May 2005 that focused on the economic analysis of the data collected in Malaysia and Thailand. Dr. Ross presented ITC Data and Economics of Tobacco Control (476KB PDF)