Background. In August 2003, at the 12th World Conference on Tobacco or Health in Helsinki, the Swiss National Campaign "Smoking is harmful... Let it be" presented its project at that time "Tobacco - interventions in dental practices".

It was apparent that education and training of oral health professionals in tobacco use prevention and cessation has thus far reached only a limited number of faculty and students of dentistry and dental hygiene worldwide. Therefore, a decision was made to launch an international network of collaboration. Its mission is to

• connect oral health professionals interested in both providing and teaching tobacco use prevention and cessation,
   

• share resources regarding education and training for faculty and students using a common terminology,
   

• provide a platform to exchange experiences and knowledge,
   

• announce upcoming research workshops, conferences and other educational opportunities in the field.

Dr. Christoph A. Ramseier
University of Bern
Switzerland

Angela Fundak
Sorella Communications
Australia