SPH Researchers at European Conference on Tobacco or Health
2 min readBERLIN, Germany – Three researchers from the Avedisian Onanian Center for Health Services Research and Development (CHSR) of the Turpanjian School of Public Health (SPH) Zaruhi Grigoryan (MPH’ 15), Varduhi Hayrumyan (MPH’ 16), and Zhanna Sargsyan (MPH’ 18) were competitively selected to participate and represent the American University of Armenia (AUA) at the 8th European Conference on Tobacco or Health (ECToH) held on February 19-22, 2020. All researchers were awarded travel grants by the conference organizers to attend the ECToH 2020.
The ECToH is a public health event organized in Europe every three years since the first ECToH in Finland in 1996. This year, the conference was hosted by the German Cancer Society, German Cancer Aid, German Smoke-free Alliance, and European Cancer League. It gathered more than 300 policy-makers, researchers, advocacy officers and health professionals involved in tobacco control from all over the world. The organizers emphasized the importance of collaboration and created a platform to exchange the best international knowledge, practice and a forward looking vision for tobacco control. The conference covered various aspects of the fight against the tobacco epidemic, including but not limited to novel tobacco products as an upcoming challenge in global tobacco control, tobacco taxation, and modern technologies for fighting the illicit trade of tobacco products.
Within the scope of the ECToH, the CHSR tobacco control team made several presentations. The following studies were presented: “Monitoring of Smoke-Free Policies in Tuberculosis Facilities in Armenia” by Grigoryan, “Effectiveness of Smoking Cessation Training among Tuberculosis Physicians” by Hayrumyan, and “Tuberculosis Patients’ Awareness on Smoking and Secondhand Smoke Health Hazards” by Sargsyan.
All abstracts were published in the conference Abstract Book.
The AUA Turpanjian School of Public Health works actively to improve population health and health services in Armenia and beyond through interdisciplinary education and development of public health professionals to be leaders in public health, health services research and evaluation, and health care delivery and management.
