H.H. Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development to Serve as WCTOH Patron

Under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al-Nahayan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, The World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCTOH) will officially open on Tuesday with an address by His Highness at the Inaugural Ceremony in the ICC (ADNEC) at 19:00 GST. The conference is being held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) in Abu Dhabi, UAE from 17-21 March 2015.

Following will be a panel discussion on key issues in global tobacco control. HRH Princess Dina Mired of Jordan, who is the Director General of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation, will speak on the panel, which also includes United States Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek H Murthy; Dr Ala Alwan, WHO Regional Director, Eastern Mediterranean; Dr Vera Luiza da Costa e Silva, Head of Secretariat of the WHO FCTC; and Dr Farida Ismail Al Hosani, Acting Director of Public Health, Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD). The panel will be chaired by BBC Broadcast  journalist Zeinab Badawi.

WCTOH 2015 is a five-day scientific conference presenting the latest developments in tobacco control and global efforts to reduce tobacco use in all its forms. The conference programme will feature plenary sessions and symposia that showcase the latest science and policy discussions across a range of global tobacco control issues.

The conference theme is Tobacco and Non-communicable Diseases, recognising that tobacco use in all its forms is the greatest risk factor contributing to the occurrence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cancer, cardiovascular problems, lung disease and diabetes. Tobacco use now causes one in six of all NCD deaths and up to half of current tobacco users will eventually die of a tobacco-related disease. This is the first time the WCTOH conference has focussed on this direct link between tobacco and NCDs.

Complete details of the Inaugural Ceremony and other conference events are on this site: www.wctoh.org