CONTACT
Kate Ruddon, 404.523.3509, kruddon@cdcfoundation.org
Statement by Charles Stokes, CDC Foundation President and CEO, on the Release of the Second Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic
December 9, 2009, ATLANTA – As a partner in the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, the CDC Foundation applauds the World Health Organization's (WHO) work and publication of the Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic. We join our partners in the Bloomberg Initiative and the larger global public health community in echoing the call for additional funding and collaboration to prevent disease and death caused by tobacco use. Supporting the work of the Office on Smoking and Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), particularly its contributions to the global Bloomberg Initiative, is a key priority for the CDC Foundation, and the data outlined in this report will help point the way forward for this initiative and other tobacco use prevention and reduction efforts by public health groups around the world.
As a partner in the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, the CDC Foundation collaborates with and supports the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as they jointly strive to implement the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS). The GATS is a critical component of the "monitoring" component of WHO's tobacco control strategy, MPOWER. As part of the monitoring component, the survey is helping to establish a global tobacco surveillance system that monitors tobacco use and guides tobacco control interventions among youth and adults.
###
Established by Congress, the CDC Foundation helps CDC do more, faster, by forging effective partnerships between CDC and corporations, foundations, organizations and individuals to fight threats to health and safety. The Foundation currently manages approximately 200 programs in the United States and in countries around the world. Each of our programs involves a talented team of experts at CDC and at least one outside funding partner. Â Learn more at www.cdcfoundation.org.