Two thousand delegates are expected to attend a major world health conference at the Convention Centre in Dublin in March 2021.

The World Conference on Tobacco or Health will generate more than €3m in revenue as the delegates discuss issues related to the impact of tobacco consumption on personal and public health.  

It will be the 18th such conference organised by The Union, a global scientific organisation with a mission to improve health among people living in poverty that has been a leader in the fight against some of the world’s biggest killers, including tuberculosis, lung diseases and tobacco use, for over a century.

The conference, the 17th of which has just concluded in Cape Town, is a leader in sharing best practices in tobacco control from more than 100 countries and in seeking to turn research into actions for policy change.

According to The Union, with eight million preventable deaths each year “caused by the marketing and interference tactics of the tobacco industry”, the conference in Dublin will examine “successful interventions for navigating a changing global and national landscape”. 

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Executive director José Luis Castro said: “Ireland is a world leader in tobacco control. It was the first country in the world to introduce a comprehensive smoking ban in 2004, the first country in the EU to bring in a point-of-sale ban, and the first country in Europe to legislate for plain packaging for all tobacco products.

“The Convention Centre Dublin is a perfect venue in terms of size and facilities for such a conference, allowing easy access from all parts of the world to its venue in Dublin’s city centre.”

Ireland beat off strong competition from Canada, largely on the strength of the country’s record in tobacco control. The successful bid was led by Dr Fenton Howell, chair of the WCTOH 2021 Local Organising Committee, with support from the Dublin Convention Bureau and Fáilte Ireland.