The John Tung Foundation (JTF) was founded on May 19, 1984 by Dr. David Yen with the support of Mr. John Tung. The John Tung Foundation's guiding philosophy is to promote the idea of "Respect for Life", and its main objective is the promotion of "Health for All" for the people of Taiwan. JFT contains three sections: tobacco control, mental health and nutrition. JTF is also the first and main non-profit organization for tobacco control in Taiwan.

    JTF has invited movie stars, models, singers, politician and other famous figures as spokesperson, such as Jackie Chan and CoCo Lee, to attract public and media attention, and give a tremendous boost to preventing teenage smoking. Besides, the tobacco control section of JTF has completed several important projects recent years. three major projects are described as follows:

1. Quit and Win
    Quit & Win is an international biannual smoking cessation contest. Smokers from all over the world try to quit or refrain from smoking for a four-week period. The first international Quit & Win contest was organized in 1994 by the World Health Organization’s CINDI (Countrywide Integrated Noncommunicable Disease Intervention). Since then the competition has grown from 60,000 participants in 13 countries to 700,000 participants in 71 countries.

    As a joint collaboration between the John Tung Foundation and the Taiwan Department of Health, Taiwan has participated in Quit & Win since 2002. There were 23,096 smokers participating in this campaign, and the one-year follow-up survey founded that the one-year cessation rate is 37.2%! In 2004, around 35,000 people tried to abstain from smoking and the one-year cessation rate is over 30% again. The goal of 2006 Quit and Win in Taiwan is 40,000 participants.

2. Taiwan Service Center for Complaints on Tobacco Hazards
    Starting from January 1, 1992, the Department of Finance has begun the collection of tobacco health and welfare surcharge imposing 10% of which for exclusive use on tobacco control work. These taxes are used to fund tobacco control programs under the Bureau of Health Promotion including the Service Center for Complaints on Tobacco Hazards. This Center is operated by John Tung Foundation which has been entrusted with the tobacco control responsibilities by the Bureau of Health Promotion, DOH for the past 20 years. Founded on July 14, 2003, the program effectively combats second-hand smoking problems by offering a toll-free complaint hotline: 0800-531-531 and an email account for complaints: service@0800531531.org.tw. When the Center receives a complaint, it also assists local health units in implementing the Tobacco Control Act by addressing problems such as illegal tobacco advertisement and second-hand smoke. Taiwan citizens can call or email the center to report any violation of the Tobacco Hazard Prevention Act. The complaints received by John Tung Foundation are documented and given to the law enforcement agencies for follow-up. If the places in question are proven in violation of the Act, they would be fined by the police.

    The Service Center is an effective and anonymous method in enforcing the Tobacco Hazard Prevention Act. It utilizes citizens to help maintain a safe environment. The Center provides services to citizens filing complaint cases and assists in the processing of tobacco hazard lawsuits between administrative organs and violaters. In addition, it provides consultations for victims of tobacco hazards and supports tobacco-related litigations. The Center hopes to achieve the ultimate goal of creating a tobacco-free environment.

3. Asia Pacific Association for the Control of Tobacco
    Through the initiative and coordination of John Tung Foundation's late president David Yen, the Asia Pacific Association for the Control of Tobacco(APACT)was founded at Taipei on June 12, 1989. Its main objective was to unite Asian anti-tobacco strengths to fight againt the international tobacco companies' invasion into Asia.

    Dr. Ted Chen, professor of Tulane University, took over the president of APACT on behalf of JTF from 2005 to 2007, and JTF will host the 8th Asia Pacific Conference on Tobacco or Health in Taipei. JTF would continue its endeavors on tobacco control both domestically and internationally to accomplish the ultimate objective of APACT—building a smoke-free Asia.