From tobacco research to tobacco control policies: the role of advocacy
Xisca Sureda, University of Alcalá
Advocacy is about making changes to policy and practice that will improve the lives of the population you are advocating for. Research in tobacco control has been conducted to stablish the link between smoking behaviours and different health outcomes including lung cancer or CVD; to develop behavioral and pharmacological smoking treatments; to determine the effects of second-hand smoke; to monitor the tobacco epidemic, etc. But most importantly to improve the health of the population by influencing tobacco control policies. Within this presentation Xisca Sureda will consider the importance of generating evidence and disseminate research results properly to impact tobacco control policies. It will distinguish between the traditional scientist whose main objective is the accumulation of institutionally certified knowledge as an end itself in comparison to the contemporary researcher more socially engaged and that believes in producing applied research. This presentation will cover the importance of doing advocacy in tobacco control as researchers to transform our results in actions through political changes. It will include some examples where tobacco research has been a necessary basis for political change. Finally, it will explain different methods of research dissemination and promotion, especially the role of the media in the advocacy and translation process.
Within this presentation Dr Vardavas will present the current strengths and limitations of national and EU wide legislations related to ENDS regulation and use and will also present major successes and areas that warrant further research. Key areas of the talk will cover the technical and design parameters of e-cigarette use, the implementation of warning labels on e-cigarette packaging, the potential population-based impact of the TPD on e-cigarette use and the strategic importance of harmonizing data collection across the EU.
Xisca Sureda (BPharm, MPH, PhD) is an assistant professor of Epidemiology and Public Health in the Department of Surgery, Medical and Social Science at Alcalá University. Research associate at Social and Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Group (EPISOC) at the Alcalá University and adjunct researcher of the Tobacco Control Unit of the Catalan Institute of Oncology. Dra. Sureda’s main areas of research include tobacco and alcohol epidemiology, and social epidemiology. Her research lines have been focused on the evaluation of the impact of tobacco smoke free policies on people attitudes and behavioral changes, smoking patterns and second-hand smoke exposure. She is the Principal Investigator of two funded research projects in Spain to study how the tobacco and alcohol urban environment relates with smoking and drinking behaviors, respectively (https://hhhproject.eu/). She is a member of the tobacco and alcohol working group in the Spanish Society of Epidemiology.
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