A Call to Action: Successful Tobacco Control for the Future

Conference Speakers

Ms Margaretha Haglund

Ms Margaretha Haglund won a Luther L. Terry Award for her "Distinguished Career" as selected by a prestigious team of international tobacco control experts. Margaretha has dedicated her professional career, spanning over 25 years, to tobacco control and has made many advances in Sweden and internationally. She is the Director of Tobacco Prevention for the National Institute of Public Health and also serves on many tobacco control work groups and committees. She served three terms as President of the International Network of Women Against Tobacco (INWAT. Margaretha Haglund is one of the strongest advocates for tobacco control in Sweden and internationally.

Speakers abstract - Progress Made and the Challenges Ahead –Tobacco Control in Sweden

Sweden falls within stage four in the progression of tobacco use and disease onset according to the Stages of the Cigarette Epidemic model and remains one of the first countries in the world to fund tobacco control programmes. Starting in 1963, a comprehensive programme had been developed and implemented and has evolved into the present day's tight legislation, smoke-free environments, ban on tobacco advertising and promotion, public information and education activities and smoking cessation system. Despite these advances including the ratification of the FCTC, a number of big challenges remain as to reduce smoking among low educated people, single mothers and some immigrant groups. Other challenges are to reduce the use of oral smokeless tobacco and to maintain the political momentum on the tobacco control issue. At present there is a very worrying trend with more young women taking up the oral smokeless tobacco habit. As the male market becomes saturated, tobacco companies now aim their arrow at another target - young girls and women.

Presently, there exists an impressive range of tobacco control activities which are planned and implemented by a national coalition representing many levels of society and various groups. Elements within tobacco control activities to be highlighted include the impact of a step by step legislative approach in changing the social acceptability for smoking, the key role of NGOs within the tobacco control movement and women-focused action that used innovative and controversial methods to hook the media. Also the impact of oral smokeless tobacco on the Swedish society will be discussed by highlighting the lack of impact of total number of tobacco consumers.

The long-time tobacco control tradition in Sweden has resulted in very encouraging outcomes, and many lessons learned which can be important for countries in other development stages of the tobacco epidemic; and also for those within the same stage.

The presentation will try to identify specific success factors within the variety of tobacco control activities that have been implemented in Sweden over the past thirty years and discuss the importance of the comprehensive strategy including gender-sensitive initiatives for its success.