The Armenian Public Health Alliance Collaboration with AUA

The Armenian Public Health Alliance (ArmPHA), a consortium of three major public health organizations, namely the American University of Armenia, the Armenian Public Health Association, and the Armenian Public Health Union is committed to facilitating the development and adoption of tobacco control legislation consistent with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), an international treaty negotiated by 192 member states of the World Health Organization (WHO).

ArmPHA will soon be launching a broad public coalition for a "Tobacco-Free Armenia" to unite organizations and individuals interested in alleviation of tobacco burden in Armenia. This is timely considering the March 17th, 2004 defeat of a draft law on tobacco control by the Armenian National Assembly. This is the second time the bill was defeated in the Armenian legislative body.

While smoking continues to pose a serious threat for the country of Armenia, and smoking related morbidity, disability, and mortality has reached unprecedented levels, the Armenian legislature continues to protect this dangerous habit. The draft law was rather weak by international standards, and ArmPHA strongly believes that a broad public discussion should precede such legislative initiatives and be aimed at raising the public awareness on specific provisions of the proposed law. Only through advocacy and public debate will it be possible to introduce, adopt, and enforce legislative change in the sphere of tobacco control. This is a complex task that requires joint efforts from all layers of the society to find effective solutions that simultaneously promote health and economic development.

For more information contact: Narine Movsisyan, MD, MPH, Tobacco Control Policy Project, Center for Health Services Research and Development, American University of Armenia.
Phone: 51-26-17; 51-25-92. E-mail:nmovsesi@aua.am