Tobacco Endgame CRE and Synergy Investigator meeting
Our annual face-to-face meeting of Chief and Associate Investigators from the Tobacco Endgame CRE and the Interdisciplinary Tobacco Endgame Research Network (INTER-NET NHMRC Synergy Grant) was held on 29 May. The Chief and Associate Investigators reviewed progress to date, discussed future collaborations and planned the next steps. Outputs authored by CRE members were mapped to the CRE’s objectives identifying future work and setting priorities for the final 18 months of the CRE grant. Given the range of countries and time zone differences, it was great to have 16 investigators come together for this important planning event.
2024 SRNT-Oceania Conference and CRE Annual Symposium
The CRE hosted the 2024 Society for Research on Nicotine & Tobacco – Oceania Conference on 30 May followed by the Tobacco Endgame Centre of Research Excellence Annual Symposium on World No Tobacco Day (31 May). Both events were delivered in hybrid mode and provided the opportunity to hear from international experts, researchers, health professionals and policy makers about the latest tobacco and nicotine research, commercial tobacco endgame strategies and policies. More than 110 people from 11 countries (Australia, Aotearoa / New Zealand, Fiji, Indonesia, Myanmar, Republic of Korea, Taiwan, The Netherlands, the UK, Canada and the US) attended each event.
The SRNT-Oceania Conference opening address, delivered by SRNT-O President Prof Coral Gartner, was followed by Keynote Speakers A/Prof Andrew Waa, Selah Hart, Prof Richard Edwards and Prof Chris Bullen, who discussed tobacco endgame polices and recent developments in Aotearoa/New Zealand. The remainder of the program was split into 3 concurrent sessions with 44 oral presentations followed by 8 Rapid Fire talks. 42 posters were presented during the lunch and tea breaks. Delegates enjoyed networking with colleagues at the Evening Function at Victoria Park.
Photo: Opening address by Prof Coral Gartner.
The SRNT-Oceania Awards for PhD students and Early Career Researchers were announced at the end of the conference - Congratulations to all award winners!
Best Oral Presentation
ECR Award - Dr Janine Nip, Dr Amy Villarosa (HC)
PhD Student Award - Sally Plever, Dave Sellars (HC)
Best Rapid Fire Talk
ECR Award - Dr Cheneal Puljević
PhD Student Award - Frankie Berardi
Best Poster Presentation
ECR Award - Dr Samuel Brookfield and Dr Heewon Kang
PhD Student Award - Ara Cho
Photo: Award recipient Dr Samuel Brookfield.
The CRE Annual Symposium commenced with a video message from The Hon Shannon Fentiman who thanked attendees for their commitment to a healthier Queensland. Tobacco Endgame CRE Director Prof Coral Gartner presented her views on the progress and setbacks in achieving the commercial tobacco endgame discussing examples of endgame policies and where Australia sits on the endgame policy continuum. She also announced the inaugural Oceania Commercial Tobacco Endgame Summit 2025 and invited attendees to register their interest. Keynote speaker Prof Geoffrey Fong presented international perspectives on progress and the road ahead for the Tobacco Endgame with a focus on learning from past tobacco control successes to guide future progress. A further 13 researchers from Australia, New Zealand, The Netherlands and South Korea presented on tobacco endgame related research, strategies, and policy topics. Recordings of most presentations are now available on the CRE YouTube channel.
Photo: Presenters and attendees of the 2024 Tobacco Endgame CRE Annual Symposium.
