Simon Fenton Chapman, AO (born 14 December 1951) is an Australian academic and tobacco control activist.

Life and career

Chapman was born in

Bowral Bowral () is the largest town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, about ninety minutes southwest of Sydney. It is the main business and entertainment precinct of the Wingecarribee Shire and Highlands. Bowral once served ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

to Margaret and Alec Chapman who had emigrated from England in 1948. He is an Emeritus Professor in

Public Health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. In his PhD in

social medicine The field of social medicine seeks to implement social care through # understanding how social and economic conditions impact health, disease and the practice of medicine and # fostering conditions in which this understanding can lead to a health ...

he examined the

semiotics Semiotics (also called semiotic studies) is the systematic study of sign processes ( semiosis) and meaning making. Semiosis is any activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, where a sign is defined as anything that communicates something ...

cigarette advertising Nicotine marketing is the marketing of nicotine-containing products or use. Traditionally, the tobacco industry markets cigarette smoking, but it is increasingly marketing other products, such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco produ ...

. He has authored 21 books and major reports, 338 papers and editorials, and 198 letters and commentaries in peer reviewed journals. Chapman is a regular writer on

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

matters in leading Australian newspapers and blogs, having written some 470 opinion page and journalistic articles since 1981. His main research interests are in tobacco control, media discourses on health and illness, and risk communication. He taught annual courses in Public Health Advocacy and Tobacco Control in the

's MPH program. He wrote a regular column, Smoke Signals, on public health matters for The Conversation from January 2015-August 2017 which by February 2022 had been read 3.558 million times. He blogs at simonchapman6.com In 1997 Chapman won the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

World No Tobacco Day World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) is observed around the world every year on 31 May. The yearly celebration informs the public on the dangers of using tobacco, the business practices of tobacco companies, what the World Health Organization (WHO) is ...

Medal; in 1999, the

National Heart Foundation of Australia The National Heart Foundation of Australia (known as the Heart Foundation) is a charity established in 1959. Its activities have been funding cardiovascular research, supporting health professionals in their practice, developing health promotion ...

's gold medal; in 2006 the Thoracic Society of Australia & New Zealand President's Award. In 2003 he was voted by his international peers to be awarded the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...

's Luther L. Terry Award for outstanding individual leadership in tobacco control. In 2005, his research on the tobacco industry was selected by the

National Health and Medical Research Council The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is the main statutory authority of the Australian Government responsible for medical research. It was the eighth largest research funding body in the world in 2016, and NHMRC-funded rese ...

as being one of its "top 10" projects. He was foundational deputy editor of the ''

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origi ...

s specialist journal, ''

Tobacco Control Tobacco control is a field of international public health science, policy and practice dedicated to addressing tobacco use and thereby reducing the morbidity and mortality it causes. Since most cigarettes and cigars and hookahs contain/use ...

'' from 1992 to 1998, and its editor from 1999 to 2008. He was Tobacco Control's commissioning editor for Low and Middle Income Countries from 2008 to 2010 and is now editor emeritus. Chapman studied health complaints regarding

wind farm A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used Wind power, to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundre ...

s in Australia in 2012 and concluded the complaints were likely to be the result of

nocebo A nocebo effect is said to occur when negative expectations of the patient regarding a treatment cause the treatment to have a more negative effect than it otherwise would have. For example, when a patient anticipates a side effect of a medicatio ...

effects. In 2008 he was awarded the $50,000 NSW Premier's award for Cancer Researcher of the Year, voted to become a Fellow of the

Academy of Social Sciences in Australia The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) is an independent, non-governmental organisation devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the social sciences. It has its origins in the Social Science Research Council of Austr ...

, won the Public Health Association of Australia's Sidney Sax medal, and was included in the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

s ''Sydney Magazine'' list of 100 of Sydney's most influential people. He appeared in that magazine's list again in 2012. In 2013 he was given a Distinguished Professorial Award by the faculty of Medicine at the University of Sydney and made an Honorary Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

(UK). Simon Chapman is a life member of the

Australian Consumers' Association Most commonly known as CHOICE (all capitals), the Australian Consumers' Association is an Australian not for profit consumer advocacy organisation. It is an independent membership based organisation founded in 1959 that researches and campai ...

and was its chairman 1999–2002. He served on the board of

The Cancer Council New South Wales ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

for nine years until 2006. He was a key member of the Coalition for Gun Control which won the 1996 Australian

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission The Australian Human Rights Commission is the national human rights institution of Australia, established in 1986 as the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) and renamed in 2008. It is a statutory body funded by, but oper ...

's Community Human Rights award for its advocacy for gun law reform after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996. The

Australian Skeptics Australian Skeptics is a loose confederation of like-minded organisations across Australia that began in 1980. Australian Skeptics investigate paranormal and pseudoscientific claims using scientific methodologies. This page covers all Australia ...

Inc conferred on him the award of Australian Skeptic of the Year in 2013. He was a staff elected Fellow of Senate, at the University of Sydney from 2007 to 2011. He was a board member of

Action on Smoking and Health Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) is the name of a number of autonomous pressure groups (charities) in the anglosphere that seek to publicize the risks associated with tobacco smoking and campaign for greater restrictions on use and on cigar ...

(ASH) from 1996 to 2013. He was lead singer with a Sydney-based rock covers band, the Original Faux Pas, from 2007 to 2012 and then with The Bleeding Hearts. In November 2019, he directed the inaugural St.Anmoré (Stanmore) Festival of Music to honour the late conductor and musical educator Richard Gill AO. He was awarded senior citizen of the year 2020 by Sydney's Inner West Council. Chapman was made an Officer (AO) in the General Division of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

on 10 June 2013. He retired in January 2016 and was awarded Emeritus Professor status by the

commencing 2016. In December 2017, Public Health England accused him of presenting factual errors during a Federal Government Enquiry His full reply to these claims was published in Hansard (submission 313.1

Selected books

* Chapman, S. (2022) ''Quit smoking weapons of mass destruction'' (Sydney, Sydney University Press) * Chapman, S, Crichton, F (2017) ''Wind turbine syndrome: a communicated disease''. (Sydney, Sydney University Press) * Chapman, S. (2016) ''Smoke signals: selected writing''. (Sydney, Darlington Press) * Chapman, S, Freeman B. (2014) ''Removing the emperor's clothes: tobacco plain packaging in Australia''. (Sydney, Sydney University Press) * Chapman, S, Barratt A, Stockler M.(2010) ''Let sleeping dogs lie? What men should know before getting tested for prostate cancer''. (Sydney, Sydney University Press) * Chapman, S. (2007) ''Public health advocacy and tobacco control: making smoking history'' (Oxford, Blackwell) * Chapman, S. (1998) ''Over our dead bodies: Port Arthur and Australia's fight for gun control'' (Sydney, Pluto Press). Reprinted 2013 by Sydney University Press * Chapman, S. (1995) ''The last right?: Australians take sides on the right to die'' (Sydney: Mandarin) * Chapman, S. & Lupton, D. (1994) ''The fight for public health: principles and practice of media advocacy'' (London, BMJ). * Chapman, S. (1990) ''Tobacco in the third world: a resource atlas'' (International Organisation of Consumers' Unions). * Chapman, S. (1986) ''Great expectorations: advertising and the tobacco industry'' (London: Comedia). * Chapman, S. (1983) ''The lung goodbye: tactics for counteracting the tobacco industry in the 1980s'' (International Organisation of Consumers' Unions).

References

External links

Professor Simon Chapman
at the University of Sydney wit
Curriculum vitae, February 2021
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Simon 1951 births Living people Australian health activists Australian sociologists Gun control advocates People from Bowral People from Sydney University of Sydney faculty Officers of the Order of Australia Anti-smoking activists Medical journal editors