|  | WHO praises UAE's anti-smoking, cancer awareness effortsOct 26, 2009 - 01:39 - WAM CAIRO, Oct. 25th, 2009: Regional Office of the World Health Organization for the Eastern Mediterranean honored the UAE's Health Ministry for its efforts to combat smoking.
This came at a cancer control event held in Cairo in celebration of the Breast Cancer Awareness Month in presence of the WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Cancer Control, Nancy Brinker.
The UAE was among other countries honored by WHO for their efforts to enforce no-smoking laws and anti-tobacco regulations including the federal anti-tobacco law and the implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, says Attache at the UAE Embassy in Cairo Khaled Al-Shehhi who represented the UAE to the event.
The keynote speaker for the event was Brinker who is known around the world for the work that has defined her life for nearly 30 years, when her sister, Susan G. Komen, died of breast cancer at the age of 36. Two years later, Ambassador Brinker founded the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation with the mission of ending breast cancer forever.
In accordance with her experience and in celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Ambassador Brinker gave special attention to cancer and tobacco control among women during this event.
The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is the first treaty negotiated under the auspices of the World Health Organization. It was adopted by the World Health Assembly on 21 May 2003 and entered into force on 27 February 2005. It has since become one of the most widely embraced treaties in UN history and, as of today, has already 167 Parties.
The WHO FCTC was developed in response to the globalization of the tobacco epidemic and is an evidence-based treaty that reaffirms the right of all people to the highest standard of health. The Convention represents a milestone for the promotion of public health and provides new legal dimensions for international health cooperation.
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