Gfn

Moving on from my previous post in this multi-part series of my coverage of the 3rd Global Forum on Nicotine, the conference proper started with the Michael Russell Oration, presented by Marewa Glover.

Entitled “Pioneering with Compassion” (Marewa’s slides are available from here) Marewa highlighted several key points, the biggest of which:

While there is low overall smoking prevalence, there is large disparity in sub-population groups

A point made early in the presentation with 42% of Mãori women and 34% of men - which when averaged give a total of 38% compared to the overall population of New Zealand total of 15%. Consider how many “sub-cultures” there are in any number of countries, then consider how many of that sub-culture smoke then look at the “overall” prevalence figures. It’s a terrifying disparity, and it is, unfortunately made worse mostly through the actions of tobacco control.

Well, I’m finally back after a hectic few days in Warsaw for the Global Forum on Nicotine 2016. I really wish I had decided to fly out earlier and stay a bit longer as everything felt a little squeezed on my trip. But the bottom line is it was really worthwhile. This will likely be a multi-part blog as there is a lot to cover.

The start of the event just happened to be a screening of Aaron Biebert’s (watch this space for something special in the near future!) documentary film A Billion Lives at the Kinoteka in the Palace of Culture (or as Sarah described it, the big spiky thing). Setting aside the film for just a moment, the architecture of the Palace of Culture is truly fascinating, and I wish I had more time to explore - maybe that is something for GFN 2017 (if they’ll let me go).