Based on patterns of tobacco use in the countries of Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific, a heavy tobacco-related disease burden is predicted if strong and effective tobacco control programs are not implemented. As policy makers and others move to implement and evaluate tobacco control interventions, they will require research and surveillance support. The Rockefeller-funded program, Trading Tobacco for Health (TTFH), was initiated in 2000 with the goal of developing local capacity for tobacco control research and policy development in four countries in Southeast Asia: Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Key partners in the initiative include the Institute for Global Tobacco Control (IGTC), the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA), the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC), the Thai Health Foundation, and numerous country partner agencies and researchers in each of the four countries. IGTC was primarily responsible for training and capacity building in research design, data analysis, epidemiology and surveillance methodology. It has provided technical assistance to the TTFH research network through continuous training and mentoring, needs assessment, development of survey and research tools and advancement of the small grant process. During the project period, IGTC has provided ongoing mentoring of five epidemiology research award recipients and twelve surveillance research grantee teams. We have worked to continue to strengthen the expertise among the core group of researchers through regional workshops and trainings, distance-based mentoring and country consultative visits. Tracking Tobacco Control Measures in Southeast Asia Mapping Tobacco Industry Activities in Southeast Asia | 
