Every year, the World Health Organization (WHO) presents awards to key people and/or organizations that have made valuable contributions to tobacco control and have helped make World No Tobacco Day and its theme a great success. These awards are an expression of WHO's appreciation of the great time and effort that these contributors have invested in the campaigns, as well as in fighting tobacco.

This year, six World No Tobacco Day awards were presented to:

Dr Mostafa Kamal Eldin Mohamed, Principal Investigator, Egyptian Smoking Prevention Research Institute, Egypt

Dr Bassam Al-Hijawi, Director, Ministry of Health, Jordan

Dr Ahmed Abdel Karim Al-Mulla, Consultant, Hamad Medical Center, Qatar

Dr Abdullah Mohammed Nasser Al-Bedah, Chairman of the Anti-smoking Charitable Society, Saudi Arabia

Mr Ahmed Abdel-Rahman Mohamed, Chairman of the National Anti-tobacco Association, Sudan

Dr Wasim Maziak, Director of the Syrian Center for Tobacco Studies, Syrian Arab Republic

These individuals worked tirelessly to support tobacco control action plans at national level for smoking prevention. They also developed, participated and implemented various surveys aimed at raising awareness about tobacco use, particularly shisha and related issues, including exposure to tobacco smoke and cessation. Many advocacy-based activities were carried out by these individuals, including the promotion of tobacco control through religion. The work of many of them contributed to the signature and ratification n of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.