DUBLIN, IRELAND
23 - 25 JUNE 2025
1. SYMPOSIUM SUBMISSION
Before submitting a symposium proposal, it is strongly recommended that submitters have discussions with the proposed speakers to determine their availability to attend the Conference. Please consider replacement speakers in case the ones initially proposed decline the invitation.
If the symposium proposal is accepted, the submitter is expected to facilitate communication between the speakers to ensure a coherent session and avoid duplication amongst the presentations. If a proposed speaker declines, it is the responsibility of the submitter to provide the name and contact information of an alternative speaker.
For speakers representing a UN programme, specialised agency, or entity submitters are required to select the organisation in the list available in the drop-down menu.
Please refrain from submitting multiple symposia proposals on the same topic by varying the authors or under different titles with only minor word changes. In such cases, all the submissions on that topic will be automatically rejected.
Important note: To accommodate the number of slots available, chairs of different accepted symposia proposals may be requested to merge their session to be able to present them.
Symposium proposals should be submitted in English and through the online platform. Submissions in any other language and/or by email will be automatically rejected.
Accepted sessions are placed under embargo until they are presented at the Conference.
2. CONFIRMATION OF PARTICIPATION
Accepted symposium submitters and speakers presenting at the World Conference on Tobacco Control 2025 need to register online before Monday, 28 April 2025. Failing to do so will result in the symposium withdrawal from the programme. If submitters have already registered for the Conference, they do not need to register again.
3. PROGRAMME TRACKS
The World Conference on Tobacco Control 2025 is explored through five tracks and five transversal domains. Submitters are invited to choose the most relevant track for their abstract.
4. ABSTRACT DOMAINS
We encourage all submitters to present the work highlighting innovative ideas, effective advocacy, and collaborative approaches in the global fight against tobacco use. This year programme will be organised within five cross-cutting (or:transversal) domains – please select one which is most applicable to your submission:
question or challenge.
Engaging youth and vulnerable populations in tobacco control advocacy efforts.
| GENERAL GUIDELINES | |
| Date | Monday, 23 June – Wednesday, 25 June 2025 |
| Location | Symposia will be held at the Convention Centre Dublin. The date, hour, and room of the presentation will be allocated by the Conference Secretariat. |
| Description | A symposium is organised by 1 or 2 chairs around a specific track and presented during the core conference programme hours. The session includes 4 presentations (approximately) from a variety of countries/settings and should allow some time for discussion. |
| Duration | A symposium is a 60 minutes session during the core conference programme hours. |
| Chairs | A symposium should have one to two individuals serving as chairs. They play the role of coordinators, communicate with speakers, submit the symposium proposal online, and liaise with the Conference Secretariat about changes and chairing of the session. |
| Speakers | It is recommended to have a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 5 speakers from different countries and settings. |
| Attendance Fee | All delegates registered for the Conference can attend symposia sessions. |
| TECHNICAL GUIDELINES | |
| Submission | Symposia proposal submission closes on Friday, 17 January 2025. No edits will be accepted after that date. The chairs and speakers will receive an email confirming the submission of the symposium propossal. |
| Session Description | Description sub-heading should describe the overall objective of the session in 100 words or less (minimum of 10 words). |
| Presentation Description | A short description of 150 words or less should be submitted for each presentation. The presentation might be considered for publication in the Abstract Book, the online programme, and mobile application. |
| Biographies | A biography of no more than 100 words must be submitted for each proposed speaker. The biography might be considered for publication in the Abstract Book, the online programme, and mobile application. |
| Review | Symposia are peer-reviewed by a minimum of three reviewers and assessed based on objectives, relevance, coherence of session, originality, geographical impact, and country representation. |
| Enter the active email addresses of the chairs and speakers as all related submission communications will be made via email. | |
Dr. Fenton Howell is medical graduate of University College Dublin, Ireland, and completed higher specialist training in Public Health Medicine in 1991. He is the former National Tobacco Control Adviser to the Department of Health, is a Clinical Associate Professor in Public Health in the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at Trinity College Dublin, and is a board member of the National Cancer Registry Ireland. Dr. Fenton Howell is a Fellow of both the Faculty of Public Health Medicine of Ireland and the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. He is a past Dean of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine of Ireland, and past President of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland, the All Ireland Social Medicine Group and the Irish Medical Organization. He has previously served on the boards of ASH Ireland, the Tobacco Free Research Institute, the European Network on Smoking Prevention, the Institute of Public Health in Ireland and the Medical Bureau of Road Safety, and he chaired the Prevention Working Group for the Ireland–Northern Ireland–United States National Cancer Institute Cancer Consortium.
Dr. Gan Quan, PhD, is Senior Vice President at Vital Strategies, where he leads the Tobacco Control Division, comprising a global team working with governments and civil society partners around the world to reduce tobacco use, the leading preventive cause of deaths worldwide. The Division has supported work in more than 50 low- and middle-income countries with a focus on evidence-based tobacco control policies and implementation, capacity building, and countering interference from the tobacco industry.
Dr. Gan Quan has more than 15 years of international experience in health system building, policy implementation, government partnership, and policy research. Prior to joining Vital Strategies, Dr. Gan Quan spent 14 years with the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), first as Technical Advisor, then Director of China Office, and most recently as Director of Tobacco Control Department. Before joining The Union, Dr. Gan Quan was a research fellow at the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at University of California, San Francisco.
