IGHI’s monthly Global Health Forum provides a platform to bring together Imperial researchers, students, and staff from across all of Imperial’s Faculties to highlight, discuss and disseminate findings on current research and innovations on relevant global health topics. The Forums encourage interdisciplinary discussions with the intention that they will foster inter-Faculty research initiatives and leverage the immense strengths of Imperial College to resolve global health priorities of the early 21st Century.
Between 1990 and 2010 cigarette smoking declined in many parts of the world, but increased in some of the most populous regions including South Asia, East Asia and South East Asia Overall changes in smoking are estimated to have had an adverse effect on global COPD mortality over this period. Regions that have experienced a decline in cigarette consumption have also seen an increase in the use of alternatives to the traditional cigarette, including E-cigarettes, shisha, and marijuana.
The harmful nature of cigarettes and tobacco products and the specific health risks are well known. But even in regions that have successfully reduced cigarette consumption, the introduction of the newer alternatives has meant a need to determine an accurate picture of their health risks. With the widespread popularity and speed at which the newest smoking materials have infiltrated the industry, studies are now slowly discovering the effects of them.
Our April Global Health Forum highlights some of the research focusing on the effects of alternative smoking materials on our health.
Speakers include:
- Professor Peter Burney, Professor of Respiratory Epidemiology & Public Health, “How much chronic airflow obstruction is due to smoking?
- Dr Nick Hopkinson, Reader in Respiratory Medicine, “A sensible approach to e-cigarettes”.
- Professor Martin Jarvis, Professor of Health Psychology, UCL IRIS, “Could novel nicotine delivery devices make cigarettes obsolete?”
- Professor Onn Min Kon, Professor of Respiratory Medicine, “Does marijuana damage the lung?”’
The event concludes with a Q & A panel discussion and will take place from 3:00pm in the Roger Bannister lecture theatre within the Medical School Building at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington (marked at number 5 on this map).
Join us on Twitter during the event, making sure to include the hashtag #IGHIForum in your tweets.
For any questions or for further details, contact us at ighi@imperial.ac.uk
We look forward to seeing you at our event.
Register via Eventbrite here.
Image credit: Lindsay Fox