The invading of Asian markets by monopoly tobacco companies was challenged at a conference on tobacco held October 26 through 29 at the Hong Kong Hospital Authority. The theme of this 6th Asia Pacific Conference on Tobacco and Health, “Youth Fight Back,” stressed a need to protect young people from the effects of tobacco.

The conference aimed to gain support in active involvement against tobacco availability in Asian countries, and to raise awareness that smoking among young people is a serious problem in Asia. Lectures, workshops, and discussions were held on how to protect youth from the dangers of smoking.

The conference, conducted by Hong Kong Tuberculosis and the Chest and Heart Disease Association, hosted more than 470 participants, including medical doctors, health educators, nurses, government officials, and NGO representatives, from some 34 countries.

Several Seventh-day Adventists were involved in the meetings, including Dr. Harley Stanton, a scientist for the Tobacco Free Initiative, and Kyouichi Miyazaki, director of health for the Japan Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and chairman of the Japan Temperance Association.

“The conference confirmed our desire to protect our young generation from the damage of tobacco,” said Pastor Philip Bohyun Yun, Adventist health educator and vice president of the International Temperance Association, Korea. “To fulfill this goal, we will work to persuade the government to develop better tobacco control, to provide more fulltime health educators, and to develop more materials to teach young people about the harm of tobacco.”

The next Asia Pacific Conference on Tobacco or Health will be held in Korea in 2004.