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Promoting hand washing, stroke prevention, and tobacco control are recognised at BMJ Group award ceremony 

Ten awards were given, culminating in the Lifetime Achievement award, given to Judith Mackay, a leader in the battle to control tobacco and a woman once described by the tobacco industry as "one of the three most dangerous people in the world," an accolade that Professor Mackay has since worn with pride. . . .

Philanthropists have a long and honourable tradition in medicine, but few have contributed on the scale of Bill and Melinda Gates, whose philanthropy rivals the gross domestic product of a small country. Their foundation was the winner of the Global Leadership award, for focusing attention on the healthcare challenges in developing countries and pouring millions of dollars a year into initiatives such as eradicating polio, tackling neglected tropical diseases, and reducing tobacco use.

Alas, neither Bill nor Melinda was present to receive the award, but a spokeswoman for the foundation said that nothing could have been achieved without its partners, "the key to our success in global health."

A stunning roster of high achievers competed for the final award of the evening, the Lifetime Achievement award, which was voted on by readers on bmj.com. Judith Longstaff Mackay, who has lived in Hong Kong since 1967, first heard the call to campaign against tobacco in 1984.

Reflecting on those days, she said it had been a lonely job at the start. "There were no job opportunities, no pay, and I faced the opposition of the tobacco companies," she said. She had been heartened by support from bodies such as ASH and the Bloomberg Foundation. A consultant to the World Health Organization, she was instrumental in developing WHO's framework convention on tobacco control, to which more than 162 countries are now signed up.

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