MEET THE PROTAGONISTS
Leading figures in the European fight against tobacco in
SLOVENIA

Vesna-Kerstin Petrič - Head of Health Promotion, Ministry of Health
As a civil servant providing support to the Minister, Dr Petrič discusses the different ways in which data is used: presented for the political needs of the Minister; made available to the media to support tobacco control advocacy; made available to the public in order to continue the process of “de-normalising” smoking in society.

Tomaž Čakš - Director, Institute of Public Health
Dr Čakš comments on the importance of international data in national policy-making and advocacy.  It is an important source of information when dealing with media and helps to establish dialogue.  Data also provides ammunition when responding to criticism from the tobacco industry - scientific evidence with which to refute partial lobbying.