The World Health Organization (WHO) has honoured Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, associate professor and head and neck surgeon from Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai for his leadership role in curbing the tobacco epidemic in India.

Dr Chaturvedi has spearheaded many campaigns to senitise the people, politicians and policy makers to have strong anti-tobacco laws in India. He also works extensively with the NGOs working in tobacco control to improve the implementation of the anti-tobacco law.

With World Lung Foundation he developed a powerful television campaign on smokeless tobacco showing a 24 years boy who died of throat cancer while the campaign was still running. He is an expert and a resources person in the ongoing case in the supreme court to ban gutka and pan masala in the country.

An active member of Action Council Against Tobacco-India that co-hosted the World Congress on tobacco or health, he was also awarded outstanding young Indian award in year 2009 for his campaign against tobacco.

He led a campaign with the directors of the 17 regional cancer centers in India. These directors wrote letters to the prime minister and the health minister to ban chewing tobacco in India. Considering the popularity of the campaign, Dr Chaturvedi is planning another campaign on 31st May, 2011.

Dr Chuturvedi gives surgical care to nearly 2,000 patients every year. The WHO country office in India will present the plague and the citation to Dr Chaturvedi soon.