<div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dublin, Ireland – The World Conference on Tobacco Control (WCTC) 2025, organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, has brought together global health leaders, policymakers, and civil society organizations in Dublin from June 23 to 25. The event aims to reflect on global progress and address ongoing challenges in the fight against tobacco use.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the opening day of the conference, June 23, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced the winners of the 2025 Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards for Global Tobacco Control. This year, six government and civil society initiatives from different countries were honored for their outstanding contributions to implementing the WHO’s MPOWER strategies—Monitor, Protect, Offer help, Warn, Enforce bans, and Raise taxes—designed to reduce tobacco consumption worldwide.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Among the award recipients was India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, recognized for expanding tobacco cessation services through a national quit line and free support across health facilities. Mauritius’s Ministry of Health and Wellness was celebrated for being the first African nation to introduce plain packaging for tobacco products in 2023.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mexico’s Ministry of Health, along with civil society partner Salud Justa Mx, earned recognition for enacting and strictly enforcing a comprehensive ban on all forms of tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship. Montenegro’s Ministry of Finance was commended for a significant tax hike on cigarettes—raising taxes by 73% between 2017 and 2024—which contributed to a 7% decline in the country’s smoking rates.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The City Government of Baguio in the Philippines received the award for developing an innovative public–private tobacco surveillance system. Mayor Benjamin Magalong accepted the award on behalf of the city at the Dublin conference. Additionally, the Committee on Public Health, Medical Assistance &amp; Medical Insurance of Ukraine (Verkhovna Rada) was acknowledged for successfully implementing and enforcing a strong smoke-free policy with high public compliance.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">These awards were presented alongside the launch of the WHO Global Tobacco Epidemic Report 2025, which highlighted both these achievements and the urgent need for stronger enforcement and policy measures across the globe.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The honored initiatives reflect the power of political will, innovation, and collaboration in advancing global tobacco control. Their work across cessation support, packaging reforms, taxation, advertising bans, monitoring systems, and smoke-free environments continues to save millions of lives and inspire similar action worldwide.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bangladesh, alongside many other countries, is actively participating in the conference, reaffirming its commitment to creating a tobacco-free future.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>