The International Tobacco Control (ITC) Policy Evaluation Project at the University of Waterloo recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Korea Health Promotion Institute (KHPI) in Seoul furthering research that will evaluate tobacco control policies in the Republic of Korea. KHPI is the organization within the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare that is responsible for health promotion policies and programs in the Republic of Korea.
University of Waterloo professor Geoffrey Fong and representatives from the Korea Health Promotion Institute and International Tobacco Control were in attendance for the MOU signing.
Republic of Korea became a Party to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2005. Between 2005 and 2016, four waves of ITC Korea Surveys of approximately 2,000 smokers were conducted under the direction of Professor Fong and Dr. Seo Hong Gwan from the Korea National Cancer Center.
The MOU means that the Waterloo-Korea partnership will evaluate the impact of the FCTC long-term and provide evidence to the Korean government, policymakers and advocates all over the world that supports stronger and swifter action in tobacco control.
Pictured left to right: Kim Su Young, Director, Department of Management and Planning, Korea Health Promotion Institute, Lee Sungkyu, Director, National Tobacco Control Center, Korea Health Promotion Institute, Cho In-sung, President, Korea Health Promotion Institute, Geoffrey Fong, Professor, University of Waterloo, Seo Hong Gwan, Korea National Cancer Center, Anne C.K. Quah, Project Managing Director and Senior Research Scientist, International Tobacco Control, and Steve Xu, Project Research Scientist, International Tobacco Control.