Witold Zatoński

Co-Principal Investigator, ITC Poland
Health Promotion Foundation (HPF), Warsaw, Poland
European Observatory of Health Inequalities, President
Stanisław Wojciechowski State University of Applied Sciences, Kalisz, Poland
Professor Zatoński has been a leading figure in medicine, public health, cancer epidemiology and tobacco control in Poland and Eastern Europe for over 50 years. He was Public Health Advisor to the Polish Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. He is also a medical doctor, professor of medicine, and doctor honoris causa of the University of Aberdeen in Great Britain. From 1965 to 1979, Professor Zatoński worked as an internist and as a biochemist at the Medical University in Wrocław, and from 1979 to 2016, he was the Director of the Division of Epidemiology and Prevention at the Maria SklodowskaCurie Cancer Centre in Warsaw, Poland. In 2018, Professor Zatoński become Director of the European Observatory of Health Inequalities at the State University of Applied Sciences in Kalisz, and is a Visiting Professor of Wrocław Medical University. He is the founder and Scientific Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Health Inequalities, founded in 2016

Professor Zatoński has been at the forefront of public health and tobacco control in Poland, Eastern Europe, and internationally, for decades. A passionate activist and researcher, and he has helped promote policy development through research and dissemination of translational knowledge and evidence, and best practice. In 2006, he was awarded the Luther L. Terry award for Distinguished Career by the American Cancer Society.

His primary research interest is in the health status of the Poles, and particularly the epidemiology of cancer, both in Poland and in the entire Central and Eastern Europe. He has authored and co-authored over 600 peer-review publications, and dozens of books. As a founder and the President of the Health Promotion Foundation (1991), Professor Zatoński has initiated many health campaigns addressed to Poles, the most popular one being “Let’s Quit Smoking Together”, also known as the Great Polish Smoke-out. The most important part of his professional life has been devoted to research and prevention activities related to lung cancer and other tobacco-related diseases, as well as the health education of Poles. Since the beginning of the 1990s, a broad anti-smoking public health campaign in which Zatoński was actively involved (including the Polish Parliament’s decision to introduce the 1995 Anti-Tobacco Law) have led to the reversal of smoking prevalence among the Polish population, as well as a decline in lung cancer incidence and mortality, which continues until today.

Institution Link: http://www.fundacjapromocjazdrowia.pl/
Institution Link: http://www.pwsz.kalisz.pl/index.php/en/main-page

Positions related to scientific activity 

1967–1979 employee of the Department and Clinic of Internal Medicine in Wrocław, successively as: intern, assistant, senior assistant, assistant professor
From 1979, head of the Epidemiology Laboratory, and from 1984 head of the Department of Cancer Control and Epidemiology of Cancer (currently the Department of Epidemiology and Prevention of Cancer) at the Oncology Center - Instytut im. Maria Skłodowskiej-Curie in Warsaw
From 1996 director of the WHO Collaborating Center in Warsaw
From 1 December 1999, Plenipotentiary of the Director for Prevention, Oncology Center in Warsaw
Honorary Professor: European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy; School of Public Health, Harvard University, USA; Clinical Trial Service Unit, Green College, Oxford, UK; Center for Public Health Research, University of Salford, UK; International Agency for Research on Cancer, WHO, Lyon, France

Research work abroad 

1978–1979 scholarship holder of the Humboldt Foundation at the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (German Cancer Research Center) in Heidelberg
1980–1981 research stay at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization in Lyon
1989–1990 Visiting Professor at Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ) in Heidelberg

Membership in institutions, corporations and scientific organizations 

Member of the Polish Society of Internal Medicine - since 1968.
Member of the Polish Medical Society - since 1970
Member of the Polish Biochemical Society - from 1972
Member of the Polish Oncological Society - since 1979.
Vice-chairman of the Main Board of the Polish Medical Society 1984–1991
Founder and member of the Board of the European Medical Association Smoking or Health (Bordeaux, France) - since 1989
Member (since 1990) and Chairman of the Epidemiology Committee (1993–1996) of the Human Ecology Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences (since 1996 under the name: Human Ecology and Health Promotion Committee at the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences); member of the Committee on Epidemiology and Public Health of the Polish Academy of Sciences 1999–2002
Founder and Head of the Epidemiology and Prevention Section of the Polish Cancer Society 1992–1999
Member of the Prevention Committee of the Polish Cardiac Society 1993–1999
Vice-president of the International Doctors Against Tobacco Association 1996–1998
Member of the Luther L. Terry Awards Committee, USA - since 1999.
Member of the Main Board of the Polish Oncology Union - since 2001
Member of the Council of the European Association for Cancer Research - since 2002
Member of the Chapter of the Gloria Medicinae Medal - 2002 - 2006
Member of the International Steering Committee of the European Society for Quality in Healthcare - since 3.12.2003
Honorary Chairman of the Association of Polish Cancer Registers since 2006


Member of editorial boards of journals 

"Nowotwory" since 1984, "Health Promotion" since 1986, "Polish Journal of Occupational Medicine & Environmental Health" 1987-2000, "European Journal of Oncology" since 1990, "Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention" since 1991, "Tobacco Control" since 1992, "The Breast" 1992–2001, " Zdrowie Publiczne " 1993-2001, "Medycyna po Diplie" (Polish language version of "Postgraduate Medicine Poland") since 1993, Journal of Epidemiology and Biostatistics since 1995, Nicotine & Tobacco Research since 1998, Antyaging since 2003, Polish Population Review since 2005; Central European Journal of Medicine since 2005; Health System in Transition since 2006; "Medycyna Wieku Rozwojowego" (scientific committee) since 2006; " Practical Medicine. Oncology”Since 2007; Current Drug Abuse Reviews since 2007; Oral Oncology since 2007

Research 

In the last decade, mainly research on health, especially the epidemiology of malignant neoplasms and factors determining the health condition of Poles and other inhabitants of Central and Eastern Europe (see the list of publications)

Publications 

Author and co-author of over 450 publications and scientific messages, as well as author and co-author of 125 books and chapters in books. He is one of four Polish cancer researchers on the prestigious list of the most cited authors, prepared on the basis of the American Science Citation Index database for the years 1965–2011.

The most important original works 

Zatoński W. et al. Is tee a protective factor in cancer of the pancreas? Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology 1990, 116: 351
Zatoński W. et al. Tobacco, alcohol and diet in the etiology of laryngeal cancer: a population-based casecontrol study. Cancer Causes and Control 1991, 48: 390–394
Zatoński W., Boyle P. Commentary. Health transformations in Poland after 1988. Journal of Epidemiology and Biostatistics 1996, 1, (4): 183–197
Zatoński W. et al. Epidemiological aspects of gallbladder cancer: a case-control study of the SEARCH program of the International Agency for Research Cancer. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1997, 89: 1132–1138
Zatoński W. et al. Ecological study of reasons for sharp decline in mortality from ischaemic heart disease in Poland since 1991. British Medical Journal 1998, 318: 147–1051
Zatoński W. (2003) Decreasing Smoking in Poland: The Importance of a Comprehensive Governmental Policy. J. Clin. Psychiatry Monograph; 18 (1): 74-82
Zatoński W., Willett W. Changes in dietary fat and declining coronary heart disease in Poland: population based study. (2005) BMJ; 331: 187-188
Zatonski W., Cedzynska M., Tutka P., West R. (2006) An uncontrolled trial of cytisine (Tabex) for smoking cessation. Tob. Control; 15: 481-484
Zatoński W. (2007) The East-West Health Gap in Europe - what are the causes? Europ J Public Health; 2007; 17; 2: 121
Zatoński W., Campos H., Willett W. Rapid declines in coronary heart disease mortality in Eastern Europe are associated with increased consumption of oils of rich in alpha-linolenic acid. Eur J Epidemiol.; 2007: DOI10.1007 / s10654-007-9195-1

The most important textbooks, books 

Atlas of Cancer Mortality in Poland, 1975–1979. Springer Verlag, Heidelberg 1988 (co. N. Becker)
Malignant neoplasms in Poland. Publishing House "Wiedza i Życie" and the Oncology Center, Warsaw 1993
Atlas of Cancer Mortality in Central Europe. IARC Scientific Publications, Lyon 1996 (co. M.Smans, J. Tyczyński, P. Boyle)
How to quit smoking Health Promotion Foundation, Warsaw, eighteen editions in the years 1994–2007 (with a total circulation of over one million copies) (the last edition with illustrations by A. Mleczko)
Democracy is healthier. The health miracle on the Vistula (and the Democracy is healthier version. A health miracle on the Vistula). Oncology Center - Institute, Warsaw 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004
Zatoński W. (2003) Democracy and Health: Tobacco Control in Poland. In: de Beyer., Waverley Bridgen L. (eds.) Tobacco Control Policy, Strategies, Successes, and Setbacks. World Bank: 97-120; A Nation's Recovery,
Democracy is Healthier, Case Study of Poland's Experience in Tobacco Control. Health Promotion Foundation, Warsaw
Tobacco. Science, Policy and Public Health. Oxford University Press, 2004 (eds. In co-operation with Boyle P., Gray N., Henningford J., Seffrin J.)
Zatoński W., (ed. Górecka D., Opolski G., Pużyński S., Radziwiłł K., Steciwko A., Woy-Wojciechowski J. et al.) (2006) Consensus on the diagnosis and treatment of tobacco dependence syndrome. Practical Medicine - special edition 7/2006
Zatoński W. (ed.) (2007) European Code of Fight against Cancer, third version (2003) Polish edition. (Adapted from European code against cancer and scientific justification: third version 2003). (co-authors: Lissowska J., Didkowska J., Jabłońska J.) Medycyna Praktyczna, Kraków

The most important awards and decorations (selection) 

1991 - Gold Medal awarded by the WHO Headquarters (Geneva)
1993 - Medal of the City of Paris awarded by Jacques Chirac for work to improve the health of the inhabitants of Eastern Europe
11.11.1997 - Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta awarded by the President of the Republic of Poland for work to improve the health of Poles
1998 - Award of the Year for Humanitarian Activities in the Field of Healthcare awarded by the Polish Committee for Social Welfare
2002 - Prize them. Hugo Steinhaus awarded by the Polish Foundation for the Promotion of Science and the Society for the Promotion and Promotion of Science
2004 - Medal of the Year 2004 of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC-WHO) for outstanding achievements in the fight against cancer in the world
2004 - Medal "Gloria Medicinae" - the highest award of the Polish Medical Society "For dedicated service to people, for the highest respect for human health and life ..."
2004 - Award of the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Józef Glemp, "Ecclesiae populoque servitium praestanti"
2006 - World Cancer Congress - American Cancer Society: Luther L. Terry Award - category: the Distinguished Career Award

Non-scientific activities 

Deputy National Specialist for Oncology 1985–1991
Consultant of the World Health Organization in the fight against chronic diseases and health promotion - since 1990
Chairman of the Tobacco Control Project for Eastern and Central Europe - International Union Against Cancer (UICC) - since 1991
Member of the Sanitary and Epidemiological Council of the Minister of Health (1992–1997), Chairman of the Council's Epidemiological Committee (1992–1994), Deputy Chairman of the Council (1994–1997)
Founder, Founder and President of the Management Board of the "Health Promotion" Foundation - since 1992
World Bank consultant for the fight against chronic diseases and health promotion - since 1995
Coordinator of the national program to reduce the health effects of smoking, Ministry of Health, from 1995-2006
Public health advisor to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz, 1996–1997
Member of the Forecasting Committee 2000, Presidium of the Polish Academy of Sciences 1996-2000
Member of the expert group overseeing the World Bank project "Improve health status, close gap between Hungary and Western Europe" (3597-HU) 1997–2000
Public health advisor, member of the political office of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Poland, Minister of Finance, Professor Leszek Balcerowicz 1997–2000
Member of the Committee for a Tobacco Free Europe, World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen 1999–2002
Member of the Sub-Board for Public Health, Open Society Institute in New York - from 2000-2005
Member of the Scientific Council at the Minister of Health in 2006-2007
Plenipotentiary of the Minister of Health for Primary Prevention in the National Program for Combating Cancer Diseases since 2006
Member of the Sanitary and Epidemiological Council at the Chief Sanitary Inspector February 21, 2008 - February 20, 2011