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CENTURY
Yale University
School of Medicine
SAC-203
Connecticut
Mental Health Center
34 Park Street
New Haven, CT 06519

Phone:
203-974-7591

Fax:
203-974-7606

E-mail:
infocentury@yale.edu

CENTURY/TTURC Press Release

New Haven, Conn. - Derek Yach, the head of Yale's Global Health Division, says the Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center at Yale is ideally positioned to make a significant contribution to the global fight against tobacco, because of the depth and breadth of its work.

"Starting with the lab work, the group is playing an extraordinarily important role in terms of understanding common routes of addiction and pathways. That work will likely change our notions of how better to treat addiction and dependence, not just of tobacco, but of other illicit drugs and alcohol," he said. "Then there is the epidemiological research. Yale, through its partnerships and connections with countries around the world, will strengthen the epidemiological base in terms of causality and how it differs from one country to the next."

Yach said the Yale tobacco center should continue and expand its focus on the regulatory and global implications of its research. When it comes to policy research and implementation, Yach said the Yale faculty can and does have the ability to work with global policy making groups such as the Institute of Medicine, the World Health Organization and the World Bank to make sure the research is translated into policy.

"Right from the lab, through policy and into action, the Yale researchers have the ability to do work that affects people's lives," he said. "The way the group is set up it is ideally suited to speed up the time between the acquisition of new knowledge and its application worldwide."

Yach's address to the Yale TTURC group May 31, World No Tobacco Day, will give an overview of the major challenges related to global tobacco control.

While Yach has a strong background in tobacco work, he also notes that improving health on a global basis will involve tackling numerous problems including chronic diseases, poor diet and lack of exercise. The Global Health Division, a relatively new division within the Yale School of Public Health, focuses on international and transnational health issues with a focus on social, economic and political implications.

"The creation of the Global Health Division is an acknowledgement that there are very few problems that do not have a global dimension, either in terms of cause or in terms of globalizing solutions," Yach said.

The Interplay Between Tobacco, Obesity and Physical Inactivity

One of Yach's current research interests is the interplay between tobacco, obesity and physical inactivity. Working with 20 countries, he is helping to develop research proposals that are aimed at fighting the deadly trio of global health threats. In May, 50 researchers from those countries will be visiting Yale to start that process.

Yach said the global fight against tobacco could serve as a lesson for researchers and policy makers interested in tackling other global health problems. In a recent article on bmj.com, the website of BMJ (British Medical Journal), Yach and his co-authors noted that researchers and policy makers fighting the rise in unhealthy diets and lack of exercise globally could learn from tobacco control efforts.

Yach also is working with Dr. Kelly D. Brownell, the director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders, as part of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, on issues relating to food and diet worldwide. "We are taking a distinctly different approach to food than we did with tobacco," Yach said. "We are seeking ways of working with the food industry, so it can be win-win."

That was not possible with tobacco, Yach said, a problem that is an excellent example of both the worst of globalization and the best. "It's the worst in that we know that tobacco marketing and influence has contributed to more than 5 million deaths a year from tobacco, globally," he said. "On the positive side, we have been able to use a network of non-governmental organizations around the world, both to reap knowledge and to develop a global treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the first of its kind, to address the epidemic."

From 1995 to 2004, Yach worked at the World Health Organization (WHO), where he developed a new global "Health for All" policy. He also established the Tobacco Free Initiative (TFI) and worked on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

The FCTC, developed in response to concern about the global epidemic of tobacco use, is the first successful effort of WHO to negotiate a global health treaty. In February 2005, the FCTC became legally binding. So far, 168 countries have signed the agreement and, of those, 61 are already contracting parties to the agreement, including most countries in Europe, as well as India, Mexico, Canada and Japan. The binding international legal agreement calls for large health warnings on tobacco packages, the elimination of the illicit trade in tobacco products, bans or restrictions on all forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, among other measures.

Yach notes that early ratifiers of the FCTC include many developing countries, a significant achievement because 84 percent of the world's smokers live in developing countries and those with transitional economic systems. In China alone there are 360 million smokers and 1 million tobacco deaths a year. As markets for tobacco products shrink in places like the United States, Europe and Canada, tobacco companies are actively growing their new markets in places like Senegal, Indonesia, Botswana and Slovakia, he says.

"My hope is that the FCTC will continue to spearhead international advancements when it comes to tobacco control," he said. "It's happening slowly, but it's happening. Also, the FCTC should continue to strengthen transnational efforts. That is an urgent issue when it comes to things like cross-border advertising, illicit trade and smuggling and product regulation."

Having a Better Impact at the Local Level

In addition to addressing tobacco, diet and exercise, Yach also is looking into how global governance of health-related institutions worldwide can be improved.

"We need to have a better impact at the local level," he said. "Over the past five or six years, we have seen a proliferation of new institutions and new money invested in health, without increased organization and, sometimes, with a lack of clarity about the role this new money should be playing."

Yach said he is working with Dr. Jennifer Prah Ruger, an assistant professor in the Division of Global Health, to set out a research agenda on how to improve governance of health-related institutions.

Yach said he is looking forward to working with his colleagues at Yale on these initiatives and others.

For more information, please contact:

Pem McNerney
Communications Director
The Center for Nicotine and Tobacco Use Research at yale
Yale University School of Medicine
S-212, Connecticut Mental Health Center
34 Park Street, New Haven, CT 06519
TEL: (203) 974-7555 or (203) 915-2107
FAX: (203) 974-7594
pem.mcnerney@yale.edu