David Sweanor

David received his undergraduate degree from the University of Western Ontario in 1978, a law degree from the University of Toronto in 1981, and was called to the bar of the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1983. He immediately turned his interest in public health policy into a career.

His primary policy involvement has been in spearheading the development of efforts to reduce cigarette smoking in Canada and globally. This has been done as legal counsel to health activist groups, an advisor to a wide range of entities and in numerous publications, media interviews and speeches. He has worked with such bodies as the World Health Organization, World Bank, Pan American Health Organization, International Union Against Cancer and numerous governments, foundations, law firms and non-governmental organizations.

His efforts have encompassed taxation policy, advertising restrictions, package warnings, protection from environmental tobacco smoke, smoking cessation interventions, litigation, product regulation and harm reduction initiatives.

He has testified before parliamentary committees federally and provincially in Canada as well as in other countries, and before both Senate and House committees in the United States of America. He has also received various awards for his work, including a ‘Public Health Hero’ lifetime achievement award from the Pan-American Health Organization.

David lives in Ottawa, and engages in extensive volunteer and philanthropic work that is focused on an eclectic range of issues. But they are still dominated by an interest in public policy interventions that increase the length and quality of life.

  • Company:Chair of the Advisory Board, Centre for Health Law, Policy & Ethics, University of Ottawa
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