January 19, 2026, OTTAWA – As Canada continues to grapple with rising youth vaping and rapidly evolving nicotine products, national and international leaders in smoking cessation will gather in the capital for the 18th Annual Ottawa Conference: State-of-the-Art Clinical Approaches to Smoking Cessation, January 23–24 at the Rogers Centre (55 Colonel By Drive).
Organized by the Ottawa Heart Institute, the Ottawa Conference is Canada’s leading forum for healthcare professionals focused on the clinical treatment of tobacco and nicotine addiction. The 2026 program spotlights new clinical guidelines, international system-wide approaches to cessation, and frontline responses to the youth vaping crisis, alongside patient perspectives and emerging research.
Media are invited to attend the conference proceedings, which bring together physicians, nurses, researchers, community practitioners, and policymakers from across Canada and abroad.
New and newsworthy in 2026
- Updated clinical smoking cessation guidelines and their implications for practice
- Youth vaping crisis: prevention, cessation, and real-world clinical responses
- Patient panel sharing lived experiences navigating vaping
- Emerging nicotine products and shifting market trends
- International case study applying the Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation: The National Health Service CURE Project and system-wide implementation
- Smoking cessation across cancer care and cardiometabolic health
Media opportunities and invited speakers
Media-friendly opportunities include expert interviews, keynote presentations, and patient panels. Interviews are available upon request (subject to speaker availability).
Invited speakers include:
- Dr. Hassan Mir, MD, MPH, MHI, FRCPC, FACP
University of Ottawa Heart Institute – clinical guidelines and cardiometabolic health - Dr. Andrew Pipe, CM, BA, MD, LLD (Hons), DSc (Hons)
University of Ottawa Heart Institute – landmark clinical approaches to smoking cessation - Dr. Tea Rosic, MD, PhD
Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) – youth nicotine vaping crisis and emerging best practices to support youth cessation - Dr. Matthew Evison, MD, MRCP
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (UK) – system-wide smoking cessation models - Dr. David Hammond, PhD
University of Waterloo – emerging nicotine products and market trends
To attend a live in-person presentation or to arrange an interview with a conference delegate, patient panelist, or smoking cessation expert, please contact the liaison below.
Media contact
Leigh B. Morris
Communications Officer
University of Ottawa Heart Institute
613-316-6409 (cell)
lmorris@ottawaheart.ca