The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Objective: By becoming a signatory to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the government of Serbia clearly indicated that reduction in smoking prevalence is one of the most important public health measures available to improve the health of Serbia's population of 7.5 million, by means of developing a national Tobacco Control Strategy (TCS).

Methods: The EU funded “Support to the Public Health Development in Serbia” Project organised focus groups, initiated a tobacco control debate ‘road show', funded workshops and events, supported tobacco control activities jointly with the Ministry of Health National Committee for Smoking Prevention (NCSP) and lobbied the Minister of Health to actively provide support. The Project worked with NCSP members to strengthen and finalise the TCS and Action Plan. The Project team prepared leaflets explaining the TCS and the FCTC to aid further public debate. These activities occurred from 2003 to 2005.

Results: The Draft TCS and Action Plan was delivered to and accepted by the Ministry of Health. This document was based closely on the European and WHO strategy documents. 20,000 leaflets explaining the TCS were printed and 10,000 explaining the FCTC. These were delivered to the Ministry of Health for use in further public debate and advocacy activities.