A 2002 Intercultural Cancer Council conference in Washington, the "Eighth Biennial Symposium on Minorities, the Medically Underserved and Cancer," included an Anti-Tobacco Day. It addressed tobacco use by minorities, tobacco industry targeting of minority consumers ad efforts to reduce both use and resulting disease among minority populations.

The Intercultural Cancer Council, a nonprofit organization under the auspices of the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, organized the symposium.

The event marked the first time the symposium had highlighted tobacco use and control as an important issue in cancer prevention.

Key Results:

• The Anti-Tobacco Day took place February 9, 2002. (The entire symposium ran from February 6–10, 2002.) The project director estimated that 500 to 1,000 of the 1,200 Symposium participants attended all or part of the Anti-Tobacco Day, which featured four plenary speakers:
  • John R. Seffrin, PhD, American Cancer Society, "Tobacco—The Emerging Pandemic: The Ticking Time Bomb."
  • Lyndon Haviland, DrPH, American Legacy Foundation, "New Frontiers for Tobacco Control: Partnering with Priority Populations."
  • Nancy J. Kaufman, RN, MS, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, "Tobacco Industry Advertising and Promotions: Targeting People of Color."
  • Rod Lew, MPH, Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment and Leadership, "Are We Really Making Progress on Tobacco Control in Communities of Color?"
  Six small-group sessions (each offered twice) covered indoor air pollution, tobacco control program evaluation, targeting tobacco research, empowering youth, tobacco industry sponsorships and harm reduction.