New Vision
Meet Our New President and CEO Cliff Douglas
On October 12, 2023, Clifford E. Douglas, J.D. was named President and Chief Executive Officer of Global Action to End Smoking. Cliff’s 36-year career has been dedicated to eradicating death and disease related to smoking by promoting science-based policies and education, and seeking accountability for tobacco industry misconduct in courts of law.
Career Highlights
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Director of the University of Michigan Tobacco Research Network
At the University of Michigan, Cliff led the cross-disciplinary Tobacco Research Network for many years and directed the Smoke-Free Environments Law Project. This long-time project provides information, consultation, and advice for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, local units of government, tobacco control advocates, and communities regarding evidence-based policies and practices to protect the public from the harmful effects of smoking.
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Creator of "Tobacco & Nicotine: Public Health, Science, Policy, and Law"
While at the University of Michigan, Cliff also produced a four-week online course that provides a strong background on the history of how smoking and the tobacco industry have affected public health. It also lays out the ever-changing regulatory landscape that has sought to shape the marketplace.
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The American Cancer Society's Vice President for Tobacco Control
Cliff led the development of the organization’s progressive scientific and policy position related to eliminating the epidemic of smoking in the U.S.
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Co-Founded and Co-Chaired the National Partnership on Behavioral Health and Tobacco Use
Cliff was the founding co-chair of the National Partnership on Behavioral Health and Tobacco Use in partnership with the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center at the University of California, San Francisco, and two dozen national public health and behavioral health organizations, federal agencies and others. This program also supported educational efforts to strengthen public understanding of the relationship between smoking and COVID-19.
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Co-Founded the Tobacco-Free Generation Campus Initiative
Cliff co-founded the $6 million Tobacco-Free Generation Campus Initiative, which provided technical assistance and grants to colleges and universities across the U.S. to help them become smoke- and tobacco-free.
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Lead Author of “Ending the Tobacco Epidemic: A Tobacco Control Strategic Plan” for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Cliff served as a Consulting Tobacco Control Policy Advisor for the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health and the U.S. Surgeon General, where he shaped the U.S. Government’s key framework on combating the smoking epidemic.
It's time for a paradigm shift in the approach that public health authorities and health care providers take to end smoking once and for all.
We need to focus on the goal of helping people move away from combustible cigarettes using all the tools at our disposal to support individuals on their journeys to quitting.
Cliff Douglas
Our Work
We are committed to improving global health by supporting people who smoke, health care professionals, and others by providing information that advances their scientific understanding of cessation solutions.
Global Action to End Smoking supports comprehensive, science-based global efforts to end the smoking epidemic through our grantees. In addition to this being a worldwide public health issue, we also believe the smoking epidemic is a social justice issue, which is why our work focuses on marginalized communities and low- to middle-income countries.
Global Action to End Smoking takes a holistic approach to educating people who smoke about the various tools that can help them quit. Our programs correct misinformation about nicotine and disseminate the latest objective research about traditional cessation methods like nicotine medications as well as newer, reduced-risk nicotine tools.
It is unrealistic to tell people who smoke they should “just quit” without offering a variety of solutions and information to deal with this addictive habit.
We are accelerating comprehensive, science-based global efforts to end the smoking epidemic, with a focus on marginalized communities and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
© 2023 Annual Report Global Action to End Smoking. All Rights Reserved. (formerly “Foundation for a Smoke-Free World”)