Danya Tapped to Direct Future Course of National Conference on Tobacco or Health as New Organizers of Bi-Yearly Event
Danya Team Brings Top-Notch Credentials in Tobacco Control/Prevention

SILVER SPRING, MD. (July 26, 2005) – Danya International, Inc., a health communications and technology firm delivering breakthrough solutions for public health and education, announced today that it has been selected to organize the next two National Conference of Tobacco or Health (NCTOH). Focused on health-related issues, Danya has played an integral role in several tobacco control and prevention initiatives, including the development of the Adolescent Smoking Cessation Escaping Nicotine and Tobacco (ASCENT) program, which it presented at the 2005 NCTOH.

“Winning this contract is a major milestone for Danya,” said Jeffrey Hoffman, Ph.D., President and CEO of Danya, who has focused much of his career on the prevention and control of tobacco use. “We have a tremendous opportunity to play a pivotal role in defining the future strategy for the tobacco control industry generally and the NCTOH in particular. The challenges are enormous and we have a highly charged team energized to make the 2007 NCTOH the best conference on record.”

Danya, a long-time advocate of tobacco control and an active sponsor of previous conferences, identified several critical challenges in its proposal that directed the future course of NCTOH, such as designing a creative implementation plan for an aggressive outreach effort to reach target audiences that had not previously attended and to demonstrate the benefits of NCTOH.

Heading up the Danya team is Phil Wilbur, who will serve as the principal point of contact to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Office on Smoking and Health (OSH). Mr. Wilbur has been active in tobacco control for more than 20 years. For 10 of those years, he worked with the Advocacy Institute managing tobacco control projects and training programs. Most recently he consulted with several government agencies and nonprofit organizations on tobacco control.

To meet and exceed expectations of the 5-year NCTOH contract, Danya assembled a superior team of subcontractors to complement the company executives assigned to the project, who are senior project and conference management specialists and Ph.D. scientists and technical personnel in health disciplines. Each key partner on the team brings a highly regarded reputation within the tobacco control community, unique qualifications, and prior involvement with NCTOH.

NCTOH is the only event that attracts the entire tobacco control movement biennially to improve the effectiveness of tobacco control efforts in the United States. The primary sponsor is OSH of CDC. Danya works closely with OSH and is currently developing a Tobacco Knowledge Management System Web site to serve as a central resource of information on tobacco control science and best practices. Additionally, Danya supports CDC in operating the National Prevention Information Network (NPIN) in Atlanta, Georgia.