Press Releases
ATLANTA – March 16, 2015 – The American Cancer Society announces the recipients of the 2015 Luther L. Terry Awards for Exemplary Leadership in Tobacco Control.
The Luther L. Terry Award recognizes outstanding global achievement in the field of tobacco control in six categories: outstanding individual leadership, outstanding organization, outstanding research contribution, exemplary leadership by a government ministry, distinguished career, and outstanding community service.
The awards will be presented during a special evening ceremony on Thursday, March 19, in Abu Dhabi, as part of the 16th World Conference on Tobacco or Health. The awardees are:
Jonathan Samet, MD, MS, from Los Angeles, Calif., United States will receive the Distinguished Career award.
The United Kingdom Department of Health’s Tobacco Program will receive the award for Exemplary Leadership by a Government Ministry.
Eduardo Bianco, MD, from Uruguay will receive the award for Outstanding Individual Leadership.
The Smoke Free Partnership, located in Belgium, will receive the Outstanding Organization award.
Geoffrey Fong, PhD, from Canada and Frank Chaloupka, PhD, from Chicago, Ill., United States will receive awards for Outstanding Research Contribution.
Patti White, from the United Kingdom, and Tariana Turia, from New Zealand will receive awards for Outstanding Community Service.
“Tobacco-related diseases are the most preventable cause of death worldwide, responsible for the deaths of approximately half of all long-term tobacco users,” said John R. Seffrin, Ph.D., chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society. “We are pleased to recognize these exemplary individuals and organizations who carry on the noble and incredibly important work of ending the deadly spread of tobacco around the globe.”
The awards are named for the late United States Surgeon General Luther L. Terry, M.D., who led the landmark 1964 U.S. Surgeon General’s Report, which identified tobacco use as a cause of lung cancer and other illnesses. This report, coupled with the UK Royal College of Physicians Report in 1962, marked a turning point in addressing the global threat of tobacco use and disease, and has ushered in an era in which smoke-free environments, higher tobacco taxes, more tobacco dependence treatment, severe restrictions on tobacco advertising, and even graphic warning labels on tobacco packages are becoming more commonplace.
The award nominations were reviewed by an international selection committee of previous Luther L. Terry Award winners, including: Dileep G. Bal, MD, MS, MPH, United States; Beatriz M. Champagne, PhD, Mexico; Hatai Chitanondh, MD, FICS, FRCS, Thailand; Michael Cummings, PhD, MPH, United States; Stanton A. Glantz, PhD, United States; Professor Mike Daube, Australia; Deborah Arnott, MBA, United Kingdom; Martin Raw, PhD, United Kingdom, Yussuf Saloojee, PhD, South Africa; Prabhat Jha, MD, DPhil, Canada; Melanie Wakefield, PhD, Australia; Mira Aghi, PhD, India; and Stan Shatenstein, Canada. The effort was chaired by Jacqui Drope, and Andrea Lancaster, MPH, as executive director.
According to the American Cancer Society, tobacco use killed 100 million people in the 20th century and will kill 1 billion people in the 21st century if current trends continue. Each year, tobacco use is responsible for almost 6 million premature deaths, 80 percent of which are in low- and middle-income countries. By 2030, this number is expected to increase to 8 million.
About the American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers saving lives and fighting for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. As the largest voluntary health organization, the Society's efforts have contributed to a 22 percent decline in cancer death rates in the U.S. during the past two decades, and a 50 percent drop in smoking rates. Thanks in part to our progress nearly 14.5 million Americans who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will celebrate more birthdays this year. We're determined to finish the fight against cancer. We're finding cures as the nation’s largest private, not-for-profit investor in cancer research, ensuring people facing cancer have the help they need and continuing the fight for access to quality health care, lifesaving screenings, clean air, and more. For more information, to get help, or to join the fight, visit cancer.org or call us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345.
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