American Cancer Society to Present Highest Honor to Matthew L. Myers, Douglas R. Lowy, and Mark Schiffman for Outstanding Contributions to Ca...( Society's Medal of Honor Founded ...),Health

Society's Medal of Honor, Founded in 1949, to be Awarded Tonight

ATLANTA, Oct. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Cancer Society -- the nation's leading voluntary health organization -- will present its highest honor, the Medal of Honor, to three Americans who have made outstanding contributions to the fight against cancer. This year's winners, who will receive their awards at a ceremony during the American Cancer Society's annual meeting in Atlanta are: Matthew L. Myers for Cancer Control; Douglas R. Lowy, M.D., for Basic Research; and Mark Schiffman, M.D., M.P.H., for Clinical Research. The Medal of Honor, originally called the American Cancer Society Award, was first given in 1949.

Matthew L. Myers, president and chief executive officer of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, will receive the Society's Medal of Honor for Cancer Control. He is being honored for his relentless work to eliminate tobacco use among children. By changing public attitudes and public policies on tobacco, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, which is a leader in the fight to reduce tobacco use in the US and around the globe, strives to prevent kids from smoking, help smokers quit and protect everyone from secondhand smoke. The Campaign also acts as a counter force to the tobacco industry and its special interests.

Mr. Myers has spent the past 25 years participating in nearly every major tobacco-related legislative effort in the United States. In 1997, Mr. Myers participated in the negotiations with the state attorneys general that led to the historic 1997 settlement with the Liggett Tobacco Company, and later participated in the negotiations between the tobacco industry and the state attorneys general that led to the June 20, 1997 agreement between those parties. He then served as one of the leading spokespersons in the debate that followed in Congress and worked with Senator John McCain on his 1998 comprehensive tobacco legislation. On January 1, 2000, M
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