The Bob Elphick Award
The Bob Elphick Medal is awarded to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to tobacco control in Australia during the previous year. It commemorates the exceptional achievements and contributions of ACOSH’s long-time President Dr. Bob Elphick.
ACOSH and its member organisations have been leaders in the fight against tobacco. As the founding President Dr Elphick was a driving force within ACOSH and an inspiring mentor to several generations of chest physicians and tobacco control activists.
ACOSH acknowledges Dr. Elphick’s pioneering work in tobacco control with the establishment of the Bob Elphick Medal to honour and commemorate his exceptional achievements and contribution to ACOSH. The Bob Elphick Medal is awarded annually, by the decision of the Council, to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to tobacco control in WA during the previous year.
Our exceptional previous award winners include:
2024 – Associate Professor Raglan Maddox
2022 – Professor Emily Banks AM
2021 – Addy Carroll and Shirley Frizzell
2020 – Dr Denise Sullivan
2019 – Hon Barry Hodge
Dirty Ashtray Awards
In 2024, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of our partnership with the AMA in delivering our Dirty Ashtray Awards. These awards call out unacceptable behaviour and tactics by the tobacco industry in Australia.
This year, the Dirty Ashtray Award was given to the Australian Association of Convenience Stores, or AACS, for their refusal to disclose their funding from the tobacco industry when presenting at a Senate Inquiry into tobacco control legislation.
AACS has been at the forefront of supporting tobacco industry rhetoric over the past two decades, and at the Senate Inquiry was asked to disclose any financial ties to the industry. The organisation refused, citing commercial confidentiality.
The Exploding Vape Award was given to the Australian Taxpayers Alliance, for their “Bust the Black-Market Campaign”. This initiative was textbook astroturfing. The Alliance purports to “represent the everyday Australian taxpayer” through what they call “grassroots campaigning” to oppose what they call “over-regulation”. The reality is, this campaign had clear links to Big Tobacco and showed complete disregard for the evidence-based reforms put forward by public health experts.
The need to expose and fight against Big Tobacco and their allies is still so important 30 years later.
