The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Objective: Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have an enormously important role to play in the promotion of global health. Their ability to speak candidly, take swift action, and establish priorities unencumbered by profit or shareholders makes them uniquely effective in public health. NGOs are increasingly able to forge collaborations among governments, the private sector, and other NGOs to help maximize limited resources, provide a forum for mutual learning, promote the development of innovative ideas, and develop efficient administrative processes. The American Cancer Society (ACS), the largest cancer NGO in the U.S., has significantly increased its effort to foster global collaborations for a united approach to international tobacco control.

Methods: The American Cancer Society has initiated and supported global tobacco control initiatives through collaborations with other organizations such as the Open Society Institute and the InterAmerican Heart Foundation. These efforts have focused primarily on India, Latin America, and Eastern Europe to develop national and regional coalitions to forcefully address tobacco control.

Results: The success of these collaborations, the structure of the coalitions, and the lessons learned can be applied and used as a model for additional national and regional tobacco control efforts. These efforts have resulted in such milestones as new local, regional, and national tobacco control laws, support for the WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and greater availability of treatment for tobacco dependence.