XX Meeting of the Network – October 14, 2022

On October the 14th we celebrated the XX Trobada de la Xarxa (Catalan Network of Smoke-Free Hospitals). It was a very special occasion because, not only was it the twentieth, but we were able to celebrate it in person after two years of having to do it virtually. The meeting was held at the Department of Health of the Generalitat and had more than 70 attendees from around 40 hospitals in the network.

The inauguration of the meeting was carried out by the Minister of Health, the Hble. Mr. Manel Balcells and the director of the Catalan Institute of Oncology, Ramon Salazar. Then, the Xarxa’s general coordinator of the, Esteve Fernández, reviewed the results of this year’s accreditations, recognizing the work done by all Catalan hospitals in tobacco control and handing the accreditation certificates to the six members of the network who have achieved the “Gold” level and to the three who have achieved “Silver, mention Gold”.

The meeting continued with Laura Antón and Montse Ballbè, Xarxa’s coordinators, who reviewed the progress achieved during the last 20 years of the network and highlighted the most important developments this year, like the new training courses, progress made in conducting the online survey, etc. You can consult the presentation HERE

After this review, the special presentation was given by Laurent Huber, from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH United States), who shared his vision of the various steps that have been taken at a global level in tobacco control and what future challenges await us, under the title “Tobacco control in the 21st century: where are we going”. The panel was moderated by Josep M. Suelves, from the Public Health Agency of Catalonia.

Before the break, the actresses Mónica Ballesteros and Mireia Scatti, from ImproBarcelona, made us laugh heartily during the “special act of the 20th Meeting”; impossible to summarize, we hope those of you who were there enjoyed it.

The Meeting culminated with the panel discussion “Beginnings and evolution of the Network”, moderated by Cristina Martínez, where professionals who have been part of the Xarxa since its foundation, such as Elvira Méndez (Health and Family Association), Antoni Gual (IDIBAPS), Antònia Raich (Althaia) and Esteve Saltó (Secretariat de Salut Pública), recalled the beginnings and evolution of the network, as well as the challenges that have been met so far and the path that we still have ahead of us.

To conclude, Dra. Carmen Cabezas, Secretary of Public Health, closed the meeting showing, once more, her personal support to the work of the network and thanking the effort and involvement of all the professionals who have contributed since the beginning and all those

who have joined it in recent years in order to create smoke-free environments in the centers where they work.

From the Network, we thank all those who participated in the XX Trobada de la Xarxa for your assistance. It was a great joy for us to be able to meet again in person and share with you what we have achieved together these last 20 years.