Arab countries exchange 'lessons learned' from tobacco control..

July 22,2010 - Arab countries shared the barriers and challenges they have faced while implementing new tobacco control policies during a workshop held at American University of Beirut (AUB), Lebanon.

The 4-day event entitled, "Framework Convention on Tobacco Control [FCTC] policies and their implementation in Arab countries," was held on June 28, 2010. It was co-hosted by the Tobacco Control Research Group at AUB, the Syrian Center for Tobacco Studies (SCTC), in collaboration with Framework Convention Alliance (FCA) in Eastern Mediterranean region, the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT), and Tobacco Free Kids.

Participants and trainers came from Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, USA, Bahrain, and Iraq. They represented a variety of organizations that deal with tobacco control.

The workshop's main objectives were to identify the most recent evidence on interventions related to FCTC guidelines, specify main research methods needed for the monitoring and evaluation of FCTC policies, discussing application of FCTC interventions in Arab countries, sharing experiences of FCTC guideline implementation and developing a plan of action for participant countries.

Workshop sessions covered topics such as implementation of tobacco control laws, use of pictorial warnings, strategies to influence policy makers, and the water pipe, using regional case studies.

Participants discussed future strategies to move FCTC-related tobacco control plans forward in the region.

Reference: Arab countries exchange 'lessons learned' from tobacco control, Author: Wassim Mroueh (media@aub.edu.lb), Office of Communications, AUB, 7/20/2010.