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Press Releases

21-24 Feb 2007
Dr Wasim Maziak presented a poster about waterpipe associated particulate emissions at the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT) conference (Austin, USA ). The study goal is to document the potential harm associated with exposure to waterpipe smoke and to promote the public health implication to non smokers.

2-4  July  2006
Syrian Center for Tobacco Studies (SCTS) team participates in World Conference for Tobacco Or Health (WCTOH) in Washington D.C, USA, ; with several presentations (oral and posters).

SCTS starts conducting a qualitative study among young adults cigarette smokers to investigate perceptions of risks involved in smoking. This project is a cross-countries project including five countries (Brazil, China, India, Turkey, and Syria), and will be done in collaboration with the Institute of Global Tobacco Control, at Johns Hopkins University .

SCTS in collaboration with Diabetes Research Unit at Aleppo University conducted the second household survey in Aleppo to estimate the prevalence and correlates of diabetes and other cardiovascular risk factors in the community.

SCTS is conducting a pilot randomized clinical trial to test a developed smoking cessation intervention for waterpipe users, involving two levels of intensity of interventions. This pilot testing will help to; 1) test the potential efficacy of the developed intervention, 2) fine-tune the intervention in terms of content and format, and 3) assess issues related to recruitment and retention.

Tobacco Free Initiative (TFI) announces the release of a WHO Study Group Scientific Advisory Note addressing health effects, research needs, and recommended action by regulators of waterpipes.

 Researchers from SCTS visited the School of Population and Health Sciences, University of Newcastle, UK to discuss the collaboration on possible joint research projects related to women's health in Aleppo.

November 2-4, 2005
 SCTS’s researchers attended the Global Dialogue for Effective Stop Smoking Campaigns conference in Toronto, Canada,

12 December 2005
IC Health Grant
SCTS had won a grant from the Initiative for Cardiovascular Health Research in the Developing Countries ( IC -Health).
The start-up grant was awarded to SCTS project: " Developing smoking cessation intervention for water pipe smokers", which will take place over a 2 year period.

14 June 2005
Science Magazine 125th Anniversary
Science Magazine Celebrates the 125th anniversary of its first issue with a special series titled: Global Voices of Science . Researchers from around the world were invited to provide a regional view of the scientific enterprise. Dr. Wasim Maziak, the director of SCTS wrote the June  essay, titled:  Science in the Arab World: Vision of Glories Beyond.
Read the full essay on Science website

9 January 2005
Joint Sponsorship of workshop on waterpipe smoking at AUB in May:
SCTS together with The American University of Beirut (AUB) and the Egyptian Smoking Prevention Research Institute (ESPRI) are joint organizing a 1 day workshop on waterpipe smoking titled "The Nargileh: Friend or Foe" during the Middle East Medical Assembly (12-15 May 2005 , Beirut).

8 January 2005
The winners of the SRNT fellowship granted by SCTS are:

• Hala Tamim ( Lebanon, American University of Beirut ) Mokhtar Hamdi Cherif ( Algeria, Observatoire Tabac Afrique Francophone ) Gholamreza Haydari ( Iran, National Research Institute of TB and Lung Disease)
• Rawad Saleh ( Lebanon, American University of Beirut )

10 August 2004 The Syrian Center for Tobacco Studies announces 5 fellowships  to help researchers in the Arab World attend SRNT annual conference (20-23 March 2005, Prague: http://www.srnt.org/meeting/2005/2005.html)

 Requirements:

• Currently engaged in tobacco research in an Arab country.
• Half page describing current work and research activities.
• One page CV (with recent publications if possible).
• An abstract* submitted to the conference (reference for the submission is required).
• The abstract should be submitted with the application (accepted submissions will be given preference).
   

Successful applicants are expected to do a 10 minute presentation of their research during a pre-conference workshop that deals with tobacco research in the Arab World. Deadline for applications is 17th September, 2004.
Please send your applications by e mail to scts@scts-sy.org.

 * The abstract should be submitted with the application but proof of its acceptance (in case accepted) can be provided later.

 

16  May 2004
HEED Research project:

SCTS launches a new research project to study the health and environmental situation in informal living zones in the periphery of Aleppo. This project which is funded by a two-year grant from NIH aims to (picture from the informal zones) Perform comprehensive assessment of health and environmental hazards among residents of informal settlements in Aleppo by conducting formative work (key informant interviews, focus groups, household survey), and objective measurement of selected indoor air pollutants and respiratory function. Describe the health status and environmental risks of people living in informal settlements in Aleppo, and examine possible associations between exposures and outcomes collected in Aim 1 to assess the health burdens associated with environmental hazards; and   Establish local, sustainable environmental health surveillance and research capacity by providing training opportunities and partnering with local and national stakeholders.

Fellowship program:
- SCTS will announce soon a new fellowship program to help researchers in the Eastern Mediterranean Region attend the next Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT) in Prague (March 2005).

Research publications:
- New research has been published from SCTS, looking at patterns of use, beliefs, attitudes, quite patterns, and dependence among waterpipe smokers. Five new studies and a review article detailing steps needed to develop a smoking cessation program for developing countries are either in press or already published. These are available to researchers in the region and worldwide upon request (see list of publications)

3-8 August 2003 (Helsinki): The world conference on Tobacco or Health

5 August 2003 SCTS Workshop:

The Syrian Center for Tobacco Studies organizes its first workshop , titled “The Syrian Center for Tobacco Studies (SCTS): A national and regional resource for tobacco control research in the Middle East”, during the 12^th World conference on Tobacco or Health, 3-8 August 2003 in Helsinki.

Workshop Objectives:

1. Introduce institutions and groups working in tobacco control in the ME to the research agenda of the SCTS. Introduce institutions and groups working in tobacco control in the ME to the regional plan of the SCTS.
2. Foster networking and collaboration between different institution and individuals involved in tobacco control in the ME in order to draw on the diverse resources available in the region and strengthen the scientific basis of tobacco research.

Workshop Program:

1. Three presentations (each 15 min)
   • Development of effective, culturally sensitive smoking cessation program for smokers in Syria and ME. (Dr. Kenneth Ward.)The role of clinical laboratory in assessing addictive and subjective effects of smoking methods specific for the ME. (Dr. Thomas Eissenberg.)
   • The regional dimension of the SCTS. (Dr. Wasim Maziak.)
   Discussions and suggestions (30 min).
2. Adoption of recommendation and work plan to enhance future collaboration in tobacco control research in the ME. (15 min).

6 August 2003 SCTS Ancillary Meeting
SCTS organizes an ancillary meeting, entitled “Future of tobacco control network in the Eastern Mediterranean Region”, during the 12th world conference on Tobacco or Health, in Helsinki. The objective of this meeting, is discussing the best ways to utilize the limited available resources in the region in a more rational and complimentary way, take the current cooperation to the next level where mutual and multi-center project can be initiated in the region, and finally coordinating fund raising efforts and training opportunities in various tobacco control disciplines in order to enhance human and technical resources in this region

31/05/2003 Inauguration of the SCTS
SCTS was inaugurated formally on 31/05/2003 in Aleppo, Syria. In his speech, Dr. Haitham al Kamal, Chairman of the Board of the Syrian Society Against Cancer (SSAC), under whose auspices the SCTS was founded, stressed the importance of the partnership agreement that led to the foundation of SCTS and emphasized its role in promoting public health in Syria. Dr. Wasim Maziak, director of SCTS, highlighted the importance of establishing a center of excellence in research in the Arab region, stressing the need to focus on smoking as one of the major public health problems facing development in the region. Studies are urgently needed, Dr. Maziak added, to explore different aspects of the smoking epidemic in order to design proper interventions. The inaugural session was followed by a field visit during which visitors were introduced to the activities and projects of the SCTS.

4-12-2002
Our first article "Adapting Smoking Cessation Interventions for Developing Countries: A Model for the Middle East" has been accepted for publication by the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. This paper describes the objectives, rational, and methods that will be used at SCTS to develop a culturally-sensitive smoking cessation program for Middle Eastern smokers. The full text of the paper will be made available online once it is published.

8-12-2002 The launch of our website

1-12-2002 The official starting of our work

Press Releases