Jump to full article: Agence France Presse (AFP) (fr), 2009-06-29
Intro: For most of the past 25 years, Hong Kong-based, British-born doctor Judith Mackay has been the tobacco control movement in Asia.
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Her success is based on her ability to convince the right person with the right power to make changes that will save lives. And she is happy to take advantage of non-democratic regimes.
"That is one of the reasons I was so active in the 1980s. Once you had democracies, you have white papers and green papers, you had public debates and forums and it went on forever," the 65-year-old said from her Hong Kong home.
"I found I could jump over quite a few fences in one go," added Mackay, who has been a senior policy adviser to the World Health Organization for more than 10 years.
Her vigour has inevitably drawn the attention of the tobacco industry -- she was once described by a trade organisation as one of the three most dangerous people in the world. . . .
wing professionalism of the Asia's anti-tobacco movement, boosted by a grant from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's foundation.
It funds her position at the World Lung Foundation working on cutting tobacco use in low- and middle-income countries, with a focus on Asia.
"Bloomberg has brought business management into tobacco control. It is not an option to run over deadlines, like some academics and governments," she said.
"You are now offered a career path in tobacco control. Before, there was nobody to employ you."
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