The IGTC will promote research, surveillance, evaluation and training in support of a progressive and aggressive policy development agenda. These activities play a critical role in building and maintaining strong tobacco control programs. The IGTC has been active in all of these areas throughout the world. It participated in the 1996 national smoking survey in China and recently conducted an assessment of second-hand smoke exposure across Latin America.
"The IGTC was selected to be a collaborating center as a result of its commitment to combating the global tobacco epidemic. As part of the School and the Department of Epidemiology, we have an extensive network of partnerships and collaborations that have been established by our faculty. The Institute is in a position to offer real and lasting approaches to control and prevent tobacco-related death and disease," said Jonathan Samet, director of the IGTC and chair and professor in the Bloomberg School of Public Health's Department of Epidemiology.
Dr. Samet, an international authority on tobacco's effects on health, explained that the research of the Institute is imperative. "Knowing the scale of a country's tobacco epidemic, as well as the machinations of tobacco companies, can give researchers the evidence needed to convince governments to adopt new policies and intervention programs," he said.
Contact: Kenna L. Lowe
paffairs@jhsph.edu
410-955-6878
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
19-Nov-2004