Overview
Adopting a Smoking Cessation Approach to Save Lives.
5th Edition of The Economic Times Consumer Freedom Conclave
Harm reduction covers policies and practices seeking to protect health and reduce social harms of people and communities who use illicit and licit drugs. It recognizes the fact that many individuals dealing with addiction and substance use find it hard to remain abstinent, thus harm reduction provides an option for people to engage with peers, medical and social services, without being judged and discriminated. It primarily focuses on protecting human rights and improving public health.
Some harm reduction strategies include syringe exchange programs, safer injection facilities, and overdose prevention programs. In 2021, Harm Reduction International (a nongovernmental organization) reported that a total of 98 countries have “supportive references to harm reduction in national policy documents.”
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Collaborate with usAt The Economic Times Consumer Freedom Conclave, the deliberations will see top business leaders, academicians and policymakers from around the industry gather to discuss to Reframing Societal Views on Harm reduction: A Medical and Scientific perspective.
Get in touch with us
Collaborate with usAt The Economic Times Consumer Freedom Conclave, the deliberations will see top business leaders, academicians and policymakers from around the industry gather to discuss to Reframing Societal Views on Harm reduction: A Medical and Scientific perspective.
AGENDA
September 20, 2022
- Prof. M.V. Rajeev Gowda, Ex-Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
- Supratim Chakraborty, Partner [Corporate/Commercial, Tech/Data Protection], Khaitan & Co
- Upendra N Sharma, Partner, JSA
- Dr. K. Madan Gopal, Senior Consultant (health), NITI Aayog
- Dr. Nimesh G Desai, Senior Consultant Psychiatrist & Former Director, IHBAS
- Dr Kiran Melkote, Orthopedic surgeon, member - Association for Harm Reduction, Education & Research
Moderator: Rini Simon Khanna, Television News Anchor, Media Person, and Voice-over artist
- Charles A. Gardner, PhD, Executive Director, INNCO
- Konstantinos Farsalinos, MD, MPH, Researcher, University of Patras, Greece, School of Public Health, University of West Attica, Greece
- Dr. Fernando Fernandez, Secretary General of the Asia Pacific Dental Federation
- Dr Bharat Gopal, Senior Pulmonologist & Director, National Chest Centre, New Delhi
Moderator: Rini Simon Khanna, Television News Anchor, Media Person, and Voice-over artist
SPEAKERS
Charles A. Gardner, PhD
Executive Director, INNCO
Dr. Charles A. Gardner has over 25 years of senior experience in global health. He has had a varied career including work “on the Hill” as a staff person for the US Congress. Charles has also served as a US diplomat in India (Health Attaché at the US Embassy), Senior Advisor to the World Health Organization and UNICEF, and Director of global health and child health research at the Rockefeller Foundation, Optimus Foundation and Foundation for a Smoke-Free World. Charles obtained his PhD in developmental neurobiology from the University of Michigan, and has over 100 publications. He is a former smoker and survivor. Charles lost his father and two grandparents to smoking. He is a fierce advocate for all options to help smokers quit, and for all ex-smoking People Who Use Safer Nicotine (PWUSN) to avoid toxic forms of tobacco.
Prof. M.V. Rajeev Gowda
Ex-Member of Parliament
Dr. Nimesh G Desai
Senior Consultant Psychiatrist & Former Director, IHBAS
Dr. K. Madan Gopal
Senior Consultant (health), NITI Aayog
Dr. K Madan Gopal is a Public Health professional with MBBS, MD qualifications and has been working on issues related to Health Systems Reforms and Strengthening in India for around 30 years. He has worked on a variety of projects across sectors in India and abroad for providing and managing programmatic, technical, and operational areas. During his career span, has held many leadership positions and demanding roles. Currently working with NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) the apex policy think tank for the Government of India, as Senior Consultant (health) and is contributing to various health sector transformative programs including the covid pandemic response.
Dr Kiran Melkote
Orthopedic Surgeon, Member - Association for Harm Reduction, Education & Research
Dr. Kiran Melkote is an Orthopaedic Surgeon working as Associate Consultant in Fortis Bone and Joint Institute at Fortis Memorial Research Institute. With a wide clinical experience of 9 years to his credit, Dr. Melkote has been associated with prestigious organizations like Manipal Hospitals, Bangalore and Columbia Asia Hospital, Gurgaon.
He has wide-ranging interests including educational activities, teaching and research in Orthopaedic surgery as well as additional interests in Harm Reduction as a tool for Public Health. He has been actively involved in promoting Tobacco Harm Reduction in India.
His other interests include boxing, music, world history, linguistics and fiction.
Work Experience
• Plastic Surgery Registrar at Manipal Hospitals, Bangalore.
• Orthopaedic Registrar at Columbia Asia Hospitals, Gurgaon
• Associate Consultant at Columbia Asia Hospitals, Gurgaon
• Consultant at Columbia Asia Hospitals, Gurgaon
Professional Memberships
• Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh – Affiliate Member
• Association of Harm Reduction, Education and Research
Education and Fellowships
• MBBS, M.S. Ramaiah Medical College, Bangalore, India
• MS (Orthopaedics) Manipal Hospital, Bangalore – affiliated to Kathmandu University
Nepal
Specialty Interests
• Arthroscopy and Sports Medicine
• Hand injuries
• Arthroplasty and Joint Replacements
• Wound management
Konstantinos Farsalinos, MD, MPH
Researcher, University of Patras, Greece School of Public Health, University of West Attica, Greece
Konstantinos Farsalinos, MD, MPH, is a physician and a research associate at the University of Patras and the University of West Attica in Greece. His field of expertise is Public Health. He has been conducting laboratory, clinical and epidemiological research on smoking, tobacco harm reduction and nicotine products as principal investigator since 2011. He authored the first systematic review on e-cigarette safety/risk profile, published in 2014. Additionally, he has performed research and published studies on heated tobacco products. His findings have been presented in major international scientific congresses and his studies were used in preparing the regulatory framework on e-cigarettes by the European Union. As of mid-2022, he has published approximately 100 studies and articles in international peer-reviewed scientific journals, mostly about smoking, tobacco harm reduction and alternative-to-smoking nicotine products. He has presented in more than 80 international conferences and he was the handling editor and author of a book titled “Analytical assessment of e-cigarettes”, published by Elsevier in 2017. In November 2020, he was declared a Highly Cited Researcher 2019 by the Web of Science, a list of researchers (6200 scientists out of 9 million examined) with the highest impact in global science in 21 scientific fields in the past decade. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he has published several peer-reviewed articles and pre-prints about the COVID-19, including the association between smoking, nicotine and COVID-19.
Supratim Chakraborty
Partner Corporate/Commercial, Tech/Data Protection, Khaitan & Co
Supratim is a Partner in the Corporate and Commercial Practice Group of Khaitan & Co. He specializes in corporate and commercial transactions such as mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and general corporate law advisory. Supratim has advised eminent clients in relation to information technology laws in India including data privacy and cyber security related issues. Supratim has been recognized as a Notable Practitioner in the IFLR 1000 2020 Rankings and has been categorized as a Recommended Lawyer in the prestigious RSG India Report 2019. Supratim has also been recognised as a ‘Leading Individual’ in 2021 in the Legal500 edition for Data Protection in India.
Supratim is a member of ASSOCHAM’s National Council for FinTech, Digital Assets and Blockchain Technology. He has spearheaded some of the important stakeholder consultation meets / feedback sessions organised by industry associations on the draft Personal Data Protection Bill. Supratim holds a GDPR FAS Certification and DPO Certification.
Upendra N Sharma
Partner, JSA Advocates & Solicitors
Upendra’s practice primarily covers mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity, restructuring, corporate commercial and anti-corruption matters.
Upendra’s vast experience, augmented over the years in representing multinational and domestic corporations, helps him appreciate the nuances of different sectors like manufacturing, real-estate, defence, media, entertainment, IT / ITES and retail with same vivacity.
His ability to quickly identify the critical issues in a transaction and suggest solutions for the same, has helped him navigate through some marquee assignments for clients like Philips, Suzuki, Samsung CT, Anheuser Busch InBev, Pepsi, Cinepolis, JUUL, Magneti Marelli, Avery Dennison, among several other leading global players (including several Japanese companies). Upendra’s practice primarily covers mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity, restructuring, corporate commercial and anti-corruption matters.
Upendra’s vast experience, augmented over the years in representing multinational and domestic corporations, helps him appreciate the nuances of different sectors like manufacturing, real-estate, defence, media, entertainment, IT / ITES and retail with same vivacity.
His ability to quickly identify the critical issues in a transaction and suggest solutions for the same, has helped him navigate through some marquee assignments for clients like Philips, Suzuki, Samsung CT, Anheuser Busch InBev, Pepsi, Cinepolis, JUUL, Magneti Marelli, Avery Dennison, among several other leading global players (including several Japanese companies).