Dr. Teh-wei Hu, professor emeritus at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, was recently honored by the World Health Organization (WHO) with a 2014 World No Tobacco Day Award for the Western Pacific Region, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to economic tobacco control.
Every year, WHO recognizes individuals or organizations in each of the six WHO Regions for their accomplishments in the area of tobacco control. The awards are presented on World No Tobacco Day, May 31, to no more than six individuals or organizations per region. The theme for 2014 World No Tobacco Day was “Raise taxes on tobacco,” an area in which Dr. Hu has worked tirelessly and effectively.
The author of about 200 publications, Dr. Hu has specialized in tobacco tax policy research nationally and internationally. He has played a major role in reforming the health systems of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and has devoted much of his time to trying to solve health problems there, particularly smoking in China. He edited Tobacco Control Policy Analysis in China, the first book to analyze tobacco control policies in China from the perspectives of economics and health.
Dr. Hu received his award at the Ministry of Health in Beijing, during its WHO World No Tobacco Day ceremony.