Campaign President Bill Novelli Featured Speaker At U.S. World No-Tobacco Day Observance and Awards Ceremony

Washington, DC - CAMPAIGN FOR TOBACCO-FREE KIDS President William D. Novelli; Dr. David Kessler, former head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; and Dr. George Alleyne, director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) will be the featured speakers at the 1997 World Health Organization’s (WHO) 'Tobacco or Health' awards ceremony presentation. The event will be held in conjunction with the U.S. observance of World No-Tobacco Day in Washington on Thursday, May 29. Award winners, which include President Bill Clinton; David C. Dingwall, Canadian Minister of Health; and Kessler, will be honored for their outstanding tobacco-control efforts. Novelli’s remarks will focus on why the fight against Big Tobacco must be a global effort, how the changing American tobacco control landscape provides an opportunity to engage in successful anti-tobacco activities on an international level, and the steps tobacco control advocates must undertake to attack this devastating international problem. Kessler, who will receive an award for his role in the adoption of new tobacco regulations under the U.S. Food and Drug Act, will comment on strategies for tobacco control and outline criteria to declare tobacco a controlled substance. Alleyne will speak about PAHO’s call to unite for a tobacco-free world, the Organization’s efforts to create smoke free schools, and its support of legislation to restrict smoking in public places and make tobacco less accessible to minors. The tobacco epidemic is a global public health crisis. World No-Tobacco Day is observed annually to draw attention to the health consequences of tobacco use and to focus on the problems associated with it. It is also a day when the WHO calls on all smokers to abstain for at least 24 hours, as a first step to abandon this deadly habit. WHO: William D. Novelli, president, CAMPAIGN FOR TOBACCO-FREE KIDS Dr. David Kessler, former head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration David C. Dingwall, Canadian Minister of Health (invited) Dr. George Alleyne, director, Pan American Health Organization WHAT: World Health Organization 1997 'Tobacco or Health' awards presentation ceremony, held in conjunction with the WHO’s World No-Tobacco Day 1997 WHEN: Thursday, May 29, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. WHERE: Pan American Health Organization 525 - 23rd Street, N.W. (at Virginia Avenue), Washington, DC