When most people think of Paris they think of
the Eiffel tower and the Louvre, baguettes and
foie gras, and a spectacularly beautiful
City. What people may not know is that
France is also a leader in tobacco control,
having made indoor smoking in bars and
restaurants a thing of the past.
Recognizing the importance of
tobacco control to public health,
Ecole
des Hautes Etudes en Santé Publiqueone
school has recently made it an official
discipline within their master’s of public
health program. In this first year of the
program, I had the privilege of spending a day
talking to graduate students about the
importance of social marketing and mass media
in the fight against tobacco both as a
stand-alone intervention and as a support of
initiatives such as smoke-free. It was a
great experience with bright, committed
students who are already accomplished health
professionals.
The tobacco control
track is bringing to light the considerable
scholarship and evidence-driven, interventions
that have been proven to combat the
epidemic. But more importantly, it is
arming a new generation of health professionals
with the knowledge and tools to address the
world’s #1 preventable killer.
Paris is not just a sister City
to New York, but is also the home of WLF’s
sister organization, the International Union
Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. I
managed to meet with colleagues, work in a trip
to Musee D’Orsay and had a lovely dinner with
friends in a Parisian restaurant. Even
though it was a cooler than usual
January, it is always a delight to
visit this spectacular city, and even more
satisfying to contribute in some small way to
its ongoing progress in tobacco
control.
Sandra Mullin
Senior Vice
President, Communications
World Lung
Foundation