Top public health award for Sydney researcher

Australia's leading national public health award, the Sidney Sax Public Health Medal, has been awarded to Sydney University's Professor of Public Health and long-time tobacco campaigner and researcher, Professor Simon Chapman.

The Sidney Sax Public Health Medal is awarded annually by the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to public health. The 2008 Sax Medal will be presented to Professor Chapman on Tuesday, December 16 by the Governor of New South Wales, Professor Marie Bashir.

The nomination for the Medal reads in part:

Professor Simon Chapman from the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney has been prominent in the Australian and international public health movements for over thirty years. His contributions to reducing tobacco use and the harms it causes, to gun control, the consumer movement and to public debate about a wide range of public health issues have made him one of Australia's most recognised and respected figures in public health.

PHAA President, Professor Mike Daube said "Simon Chapman is a national and international leader in public health. He is both an internationally recognised researcher and an outstanding advocate for public health. His tireless work on tobacco control for 30 years has been an inspiration to many in Australia and around the world and will have contributed to preventing countless deaths. He has also made major contributions in other areas, from gun control to consumers' health and interests".

Earlier this year, Professor Chapman was awarded the NSW Premier's Award for outstanding cancer research and elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences. He recently stepped down after 17 years as Editor of the British Medical Journal Specialist International Journal, Tobacco Control.