CLIFFORD GARFIELD (GAR) MAHOOD, OC

Health Advocate

Clifford Garfield (Gar) Mahood is the Founder and President of the Campaign for Justice on Tobacco Fraud / Campagne Pour Obtenir Justice Face À La Fraude Du Tabac, (CJTF). Gar has a lengthy history in the field of tobacco control. He was the founding Executive Director of the Non-Smokers’ Rights Association (NSRA) and held that position for 36 years. Early in 2012, he embarked on his plan to incorporate the CJTF and press for health outcomes from tobacco-related litigation. The NSRA, Gar's life work to date, is a national, non-profit, health advocacy organization. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the NSRA pressed for the elimination of second-hand smoke in public places and workplaces from Calgary to St. John's. Then, while working closely with the Canadian Cancer Society and other agencies, the NSRA led campaigns for a world precedent-setting ban on tobacco advertising and sponsorship (1988), for global precedent-setting tobacco package warnings (1994), for Canada’s Tobacco Act (1997) and for the world’s first warnings using pictures, colours and more dramatic graphics (2000). In 1990, in a document leaked to delegates at the 7th World Conference on Smoking OR Health in Perth, Australia, Infotab, the international tobacco industry's research and intelligence gathering agency, described Gar as the No. 1 individual threat to the tobacco industry in the world at that time. In 2000, the NSRA was the recipient of the inaugural international Luther L. Terry Award in the "Outstanding Organization" category. An international selection panel cited the NSRA as a global leader in tobacco control. Prior to joining the NSRA, Gar served for three years as Executive Director of the Canadian Environmental Law Association. Gar is the recipient of a World Health Organization tobacco control gold medal, the Canadian Cancer Society's Citation of Merit for "creative and forceful leadership in the cause of cancer prevention," and the Canadian Public Health Hero Award from the Canadian Public Health Association / Public Health Agency of Canada. In 2007, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada, for "a lifetime of achievement and merit of a high degree, especially in service to Canada or to humanity at large."