Materia Medica Malaysiana

US award for public health advocate

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian public health advocate Mary Assunta has been conferred a prestigious award for outstanding individual leadership by the American Cancer Society for her contributions to the tobacco control movement.
Assunta, 46, is the first Malaysian to have been conferred the Luther L. Terry Award which is named after the former US surgeon-general who published the first scientific findings establishing the links between tobacco use, lung cancer and other illnesses in 1964.

Mary Assunta
She received the award in Helsinki, Finland, on Aug 4 during a special ceremony at the 12th World Conference on Tobacco or Health and shared the award with sociologist and University of Sydney professor of public health Simon Chapman.
An American Cancer Society press release said Assunta was recognised for her more than 25 years of work as a vocal opponent of the tobacco industry's rising influence in developing nations.
“Her tireless efforts on behalf of these countries was instrumental in putting their perspectives on the international tobacco control agenda,” the statement said.
Assunta worked with the Consumers Association of Penang for 20 years before joining the University of Sydney for her postgraduate studies.
She is now pursuing her PhD in Public Health at the University of Sydney, Australia.