Why Two Conferences?
This web site offers the cancer control and tobacco control communities a unique opportunity to learn more about the American Cancer Society’s plans to link the prestigious UICC World Cancer Congress 2006 and the dynamic13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health.
For decades, the UICC Congress has emphasized cancer treatment and research, and has offered modest tobacco control content to its thousands of oncologists, surgeons, oncology nurses and government health workers. The 2006 conference will have a strong tobacco control agenda. Many of these professionals in certain parts of the world will greatly benefit from the latest data about the connection between tobacco and many cancers. We expect this joint conference to encourage new medical tobacco control advocates and partners in the community.
- Many leaders of cancer control associations and organizations routinely attend the UICC Congress. For various reasons, some of these groups prioritize for patient outreach, screening programs, or cancer research, with only modest programming in tobacco control. Congress planners see tobacco control as a metaphor for cancer control. It is hoped that these organizations will begin to build coalitions with the oncology and government health groups, adopt vigorous tobacco control programming, and recruit new tobacco control advocates from the community into their cancer league or societies.
- Although the agendas are being planned separately for these two conferences, tobacco control is one of five main UICC Congress tracks, and there is a crossover event that links the end of the UICC Congress and the launch of the tobacco conference. Here we plan to dynamically illustrate the global tobacco control problem, and use the estimated 10,000 joint attendees to make a global impact or statement.
- With the tobacco conference immediately following the UICC Congress, there is a rich opportunity for all cancer control officials to gain a deeper understanding of the tobacco problem by staying on for the tobacco conference.