Johns Hopkins Offers Online Global Tobacco Control Training

The Institute for Global Tobacco Control at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health recently launched a new online training program in global tobacco control. The course is part of the $125 million Bloomberg Global Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, launched by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in January. The free training program, “Global Tobacco Control: Learning from the Experts,” is available at www.globaltobaccocontrol.org. It is open to policy makers, researchers, educators and members of the general public that are interested in learning more about tobacco control.

The program curriculum was developed by faculty at the Bloomberg School of Public Health in collaboration with international experts in tobacco control. The training offers a broad introduction to the global public health problem of tobacco use.

Jonathan M.Samet

“Our goal is to help participants develop and implement effective tobacco control programs, advocate for substantial anti-smoking regulations and craft media campaigns that make a difference,” said Jonathan M. Samet, MD, MS, director of the Institute for Global Tobacco Control. “The ultimate goal of the program is to increase the community’s knowledge of the health effects of smoking and the consequences of the global tobacco epidemic.”

The first three of eight modules are online. In all, the modules—Smoking and Health, Tobacco Industry, Economics, Surveillance and Evaluation, Special Populations, Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, Best Practices in Tobacco Control Policy and Best Practices in Tobacco Control Programs —will include 40 interactive lectures by leading international experts in the field of tobacco control. Among those to be posted online include:

• Harvard School of Public Health Associate Professor Gregory Connolly, DMD, MPH, architect of the pioneering Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program, lectures on developing effective mass media campaigns.
• Bungon Ritthiphakdee, a well known tobacco control advocate from Thailand, speaks about how to convince lawmakers to raise taxes and use portions of the revenue for health promotion.
• New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH, who successfully led the battle for a smoke-free Manhattan, addresses how tobacco control can save 100 million lives.

Johns Hopkins faculty, including Frances Stillman, Hugh Waters, Daniel Ford and Samet, also contributed lectures to the training.

Each module also includes a resource section with recommended reading and a self-assessment exercise to measure basic understanding. Program participants, after listening to a module and passing the assessment exercise, can print a certificate of completion from the Institute for Global Tobacco Control.