(只供英文版本)
For the last decade, the Cross-strait Conference on Tobacco Control has been bringing together the finest minds in tobacco control from across mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau (special administrative regions of China), and Taiwan together to share experiences, strategies, success stories, and lessons learned.
Nowhere in the world could this gathering of expertise and experience be more important. With more than 1 million people dying every year as a result of tobacco use, China is at the epicenter of the global tobacco epidemic.
If this many people were dying from an infectious disease outbreak, it would universally be regarded as an emergency. We must bring the same level of urgency to the fight against tobacco. If not, we risk condemning millions more people to an avoidable death in the future.
While the challenges are numerous, the good news is that we have the tools to make a major impact, namely, the policies and measures set out in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. This is why the theme of this year’s conference, MPOWER in action: Implementation of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, is so important. Only through urgent action to accelerate implementation of the WHO treaty can the tobacco epidemic be stopped in its tracks.
On behalf of the World Health Organization, I offer my sincere congratulations to the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health for hosting this 7th Cross-strait Conference on Tobacco Control. I am personally aware of Hong Kong’s outstanding record on tobacco control.
I extend my best wishes to all participants for a successful and productive conference.
Dr Margaret Chan
Director-General
World Health Organization
