Language Program Date Tuition English October 11 - 15, 2009 US $2500 Can be conducted at IHP, Santa Cruz, California or at Institute for Training & Research in Family Planning (ITRFP), Alexandria, Egypt N.B. Course Facilitators are available to provide 1 to 2 day Seminars at the location of group meetings in country upon organization's request.

This is an advanced course designed to help participants whose cities, states or countries are already in the process of updating their smoke-free legislation and want to learn how to design implementation and enforcement plans.  The course is designed for health and enforcement officials or non-governmental organizations. A more condensed two-day version is offered in Cairo, Egypt November 2008 as part of the WHO-Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Implementation Conference.       

World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), Article 8, stimulated much global progress on the enactment of smoke-free environments, legislation, and policies.  However, reports show that the enforcement of these laws continues to be challenging in many countries.  Typically, resistance comes from smokers’ rights associations organized by the tobacco industry, business owners, and some members of the public who want to “test” the new smoking law, and even some enforcement officers and judges.  The proposed five-day seminar will focus on developing plans that will address resistance to the enforcement of smoke-free laws and develop high compliance rates among the public, business owners, and employers.  This seminar will address topics including:

1. Updating legislation to reflect the most progressive international public health standards to protect the largest number of people from second-hand smoke;
2. Conveying research findings on the effects of second hand smoke to the public, to legislators, business community, and the media in understandable terms;
3. Educating employers and business owners about how to implement smoke-free policies and increase compliance inside hospitals, restaurants, cafés, bars, factories, and other workplaces (including quasi-outdoor and outdoor areas) where smoking is restricted;
4.  Implement public education campaigns to improve public compliance;
5. Developing political support and inter-departmental government collaboration for implementation and enforcement programs;
6. Developing effective media and communication strategies for print, broadcast, and electronic media to promote awareness of smoke-free laws and increase compliance;
7. Motivating, and sustaining leaders, staff, and coalition during difficult phases of campaigns, implementation, and enforcement, particularly during times of opposition; 
8. Analysis of case studies from several states and countries;
9. Develop positive regional and local partnerships between health and (sometimes resistant) enforcement and justice systems;
10. Develop penalties, cost effective administrative procedures and enforcement strategies to address chronic violators or planned non-compliance

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