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1. Name, Language, and seat
of the society: The name of the society shall be “International Society for the
Prevention of Tobacco-Induced Diseases”, hereinafter referred to as the
Society. The official language of the Society shall be English, except for the
governmental or court use within Germany, where the Society shall be registered
with the lower District Court of Essen and thus the governmental language
(German) shall be used for such purposes only. 2. Purposes and Function: a.
The Society has charitable purposes in accordance with the valid
German tax laws. It is a not-for-profit academic, scientific, and humanitarian
organization, independent from any political, governmental, ideological or
industrial group by any means. b.
The purposes of the Society: i.
to
foster scientific medical studies and any ethically and legally permissible
effort to prevent tobacco-abuse, tobacco-addiction, and tobacco-induced and/or
–worsened diseases in humans; and to facilitate communication and
dissemination of knowledge among scientists involved in such studies. ii.
to
foster scientific medical studies and any ethically and legally permissible
effort to prevent induced and/or worsened diseases through involuntary passive
smoking; and to facilitate communication and dissemination of knowledge among
scientists involved in such studies. iii.
to
promote and foster public health education, particularly those that aim at
education from early childhood; and to suggest educational strategies to
legislative or governmental bodies. 3. Membership The Society shall consist of “active members”, “sustaining members”,
and “honorary members”.
i.
Persons who are actively engaged or interested in clinical application,
non-industrial research, or teaching of biomedical procedures, or law-practice,
that lead to prevention OR to an enhanced scientific knowledge on prevention of
tobacco abuse, tobacco addition, and any other tobacco-induced and/or –worsened
diseases in humans can apply for membership in this category. Qualified persons
shall demonstrate holding of an academic degree (associate, bachelor, masters,
doctorate) in any medical, biomedical, biological, chemical, social or
psychological sciences, or law, earned following regular attendance at a
recognized university or college.
ii.
An applicant for membership MUST NOT be affiliated, by no means, directly or
indirectly, with any organization that produces, distributes, sales, or promotes
tobacco or tobacco-derived product(s). Such an independency must be confirmed
and signed by the applicant on her/his application form. Later finding of
falsification will lead to immediate cancellation of the membership without
reimbursement of the paid fees. The Society keeps the right to cancel a
membership even in a case of suspicion for falsification; legal prosecution of
the Society is not possible
iii.
An application for membership of the Society shall be delivered or posted
to the Secretary and accompanied by payment of the entrance fee and of the
annual membership fee. Except for the entrance fee (non-refundable fee for
evaluating and processing application), a prepaid payment of the annual
membership fee, minus bank charges, shall be refunded if the applicant is not
admitted to the Society as a new member. An entrance fee is required for each
single application; there will be no pooled applications. There is no deadline
for sending an application form for membership. The final acceptance or
rejection of an application will be announced two times a year, after the
Executive Committee Meetings.
iv.
There is no obligation for the Society, by any means, to admit an
applicant to the Society as a new member for any reason the Executive Committee
decides. The Executive Committee and/or the Membership Committee are not obliged
to announce the reason(s) leading to rejection of an application; legal
prosecution of the society is not possible.
v.
Membership of any person can
be terminated at any time by the Executive Committee if determined that the
member has been or newly is affiliated with any tobacco facility (as mentioned
in 3a-ii), or if her/his behavioral activities or testimonies leads to
disturbance during the annual meetings, or through her/his beyond the
Society’s oral testimonies, interviews, writings, advertisements etc. that
contain such testimonies harms the reputation and/or performance of the Society,
even if for a short period. Such a person may be liable to prosecution and civil
claims for damages of any kind.
vi.
A membership ends either
through a written request of the member to the Society's secretary at least
three months prior to the end of a calendar year, death of the member, or based
on a decision of the Executive Committee according to §3a-v.
i.
Persons, schools, colleges, universities, research facilities, clinics,
hospitals, health foundations, publishers, nonsmoking initiatives, health
insurance companies, or non-tobacco companies interested in purposes and
activities of the Society, and wishing to support the Society’s activities
through annual financial contributions, shall be eligible for membership.
ii.
Articles 3a-ii, 3a-iii, 3a-v and 3a-vi as mentioned for active members
apply to sustaining members as well. c.
Honorary Members:
i.
These member may be elected from distinguished persons of any country who
have made extraordinary contribution to the advancement of the scientific
knowledge on prevention, or adoption of prevention, of tobacco-induced /
-worsened diseases, to whom the Society desires to confer honor. An elected
honorary member must not necessarily be an active member of the Society.
ii.
Any scientist or appropriate person must be suggested by at least 10
active members or a specialty section of the Society; the final decision shall
be made by the Nomination Committee of the Society once a year.
iii.
An elected honorary member shall be entitled to all privileges of the
membership of the Society and shall be exempted from annual fees. 4. Internal Committees a.
Membership Committee There shall be a Membership Committee which consists of three active
members of the Society, only one of whom shall be a member of the Executive
Committee and shall chair the Membership Committee. Members of the Membership
Committee shall be appointed by the President and hold office for a period of 3
years, eligible for re-appointment for one more term. The Membership Committee
shall consider applications for membership and recommend acceptance or otherwise
to the Executive Committee. b.
Nomination Committee This Committee consists of three active members of the Society, only one
of whom shall be a member of the Executive Committee and shall chair the
Nomination Committee. Members of the Nomination Committee shall be elected and
hold office for a period of 3 years, eligible for reelection for one more time.
This Committee shall consider suggestions received from members or specialty
sections for nominations as honorary member or for awards or any other honorary
affairs of the Society. The Committee also evaluates the backgrounds and
suitability of candidates for presidency or other offices of the Society and
prepares a list of maximum two candidates for each office to be presented to the
Executive Committee and finally offered to the members for election. c.
Publication Committee This Committee consists of three active members of the Society, only one
of whom shall be a member of the Executive Committee and shall chair the
Publication Committee. Members of the Publication Committee shall be appointed
by the President and hold office for a period of 3 years, eligible for
re-appointment for one more term. Their areas of activities shall include
planning, evaluation, editing and preparation of all publications of the Society
according to the aims as mentioned in Article 2 of these bylaws. 5. Specialty Sections: Every active member can decide upon admission to mainly join ONE of the
following Specialty Sections according to her/his major filed of activity or
interest. Joining an additional section requires approval of the chairman of the
desired specialty section and payment of an additional specialty section annual
fee. Specialty sections are: i.
Clinical sciences (general practice, specialized fields, nursing,
dentistry) ii.
Laboratory sciences (general diagnostics, toxicology, immunology, biology,
genetics, chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacy) iii.
Epidemiology iv.
Behavioral Psychology v.
School Health Education vi.
Social Sciences (social education, medical journalism & communication,
advocacy) vii.
Law practice 6. Management and Executive Committee a.
The Executives during the establishment of the Society consist of at
least eight scientists; the Executive Committee (EC) following full
establishment shall consist of maximum 15 officers, all being active members of
the society. The EC at the beginning shall consist of the President, Secretary,
Treasurer and 5 other members. b.
The Executive Committee shall be responsible for the whole society
affairs. The management and control of the business and affairs of the Society
shall be vested in this EC and the EC may exercise all such powers and do all
such acts and things as the Society is by its constitution and bylaws or
otherwise authorized to exercise. c.
The Executive Committee shall have the right to raise funds, appoint
sub-committees and seek other ways and means for the proper execution of its
duties. d.
The President and other members of the EC shall be elected at the Annual
General Meeting after recommendation of the nomination committee based on the
screening of candidates each suggested by at least two active members of the
Society. They shall serve for three years and be eligible for re-election for
one more term. e.
No member of EC shall receive any remuneration for his services in the
capacity of a member of EC, other than out-of-pocket expenses and other costs
incurred in conducting the affairs of the Society. Such reimbursements must be
clarified with the treasurer prior to begin of the activity(-ies). f.
Each Specialty Section will be governed by a Chairman and three section
advisors. The chairman will annually report to the Society’s President and
other Executive Committee members at a general assembly. The chairman and the
advisors must be professional and internationally known by publication record in
the field that represent section’s area. They shall be elected by the votes of
at least two-third of the registered section members, for a three-year term,
eligible for only one more reelection. 7. Meetings of the Executive Committee a.
The Committee shall meet for the transaction of business at least
annually. b.
No business shall be transacted at a meeting of the Committee unless a
quorum of the members of EC is present. Half of the EC-members plus one shall
constitute a quorum and the quorum must include the President or the Vice
President. c.
At least thirty days notice shall be given to the EC-members of a
proposed urgent meeting, otherwise a notice will be given three months in
advance of a regular meeting. Such notice may be in writing or given verbally. d.
At every meeting of the EC, the President (or in his absence the Vice
President) shall be the chairperson. The time, place, and agenda of the meeting
shall be decided by the majority of the committee members, unless when the
President or the Vice President (upon agreement of the President) convene an
extraordinary meeting. e.
Questions arising at any Meeting of the EC shall be decided by a majority
of the votes and each member present shall have one vote (no holding vote shall
be permitted). f.
A resolution in writing signed by a majority of members of the EC shall
be as valid and effectual as if it had been passed at a meeting of the EC duly
convened and held. g.
The past president of the Society shall join the EC meetings as a
consultant but holds no EC office. 8. Financial assets a.
Assets consist of
i.
annual membership fees
ii.
income from publications
iii.
meeting registration fees
iv.
contributions, donations b.
The banking accounts of the Society shall be maintained by the Treasurer
and audited by a well qualified auditor; the EC shall name an auditor. c.
The amounts of the annual membership fees shall be suggested by the
treasurer and determined during an annual member meeting. d.
Assets are to be used for the purposes of the society (as mentioned in
Article 2) only. The Executive Committee is responsible for the proper use and
record of the assets and will report to the membership at the Annual Meeting. 9. General Meetings a.
The first Annual Meeting of the Society shall be held at such time as the
Executive Committee may determine. b.
Subsequent Annual Meetings of the Society shall be held at a time and
place as the Executive Committee may determine. The date of a meeting shall be
announced at least three years in advance. c.
The Executive Committee or the President may convene an extraordinary
meeting. d.
Each annual meeting will include a Scientific Program (scientific
sessions for plenary lectures, posters, and commercial medical exhibits) and a
Business General Assembly meeting. e.
The business of a General Assembly Meeting shall be:
i.
to receive and consider the report of the Executive Committee
ii.
to receive and consider the accounts of the Society for the past year
iii.
to elect officers of the Society
iv.
to elect members of the Exxecutive Committee when applicable
v.
to admit new members of the Society. A list of applicants must be sent to
each EC-member at least 3 weeks prior to meeting
vi.
to determine the entrance-fee payable by persons on their admission as
members of the Society, and to determine annual membership-fee payable as to
January 15 of each year
vii.
to transact all such other business as by statute or this constitution or
by the By-laws is required to be transacted at the Annual Meeting. f.
The content of the Scientific Program of an annual meeting will be
determined by a Program Committee consisting of all Specialty Section Chairmen
and 5 local scientists from where the meeting takes place. These latter local
scientists as a group take all responsibilities for the local organization and
process of the annual meeting. g.
Each Annual Meeting shall take place in a different country approved by
at least two-third of the present members at a general assembly meeting. A group
of at least five active members of the Society from any country can send a
suggestion for organization of a meeting in that country. Such a suggestion
shall be sent in written to the Society’s Executive Committee at least three
years in advance. h.
No business shall be transacted at any general meeting unless a quorum of
the members is present. Unless otherwise decided by the EC and included in these
bylaws, the quorum for a general meeting shall be at least ten percent of the
active members of the Society. Is there an urgent business to be transacted but
the quorum is below ten present, the Executive Committee is permitted to
determine a new meeting, at which such a business shall be transacted regardless
of the presence of the mentioned quorum. i.
The President shall preside at every meeting of the Society. j.
If there is no President, or if the President is not present within
fifteen minutes after the time appointed for the holding of a meeting, or is
unwilling to act, the Vice President if present shall preside at the meeting. k.
At every general meeting a
resolution put to the vote of the meeting shall be decided simply by the
majority via show of hands unless a secret ballot is demanded by members
entitled to vote and present at the meeting. l.
A member may vote in person or by postal ballot. m.
Only active members of the Society (not the sustaining members) may vote
at the Annual General Meeting of the Society as described in Article 3a of this
constitution. 10. Amendments a.
Changes to this constitution may be wished by the EC or the membership
present at an Annual Meeting of the Society by a two-third majority of the
active members present at the meeting. The purposes of the Society as mentioned
in Article 2 cannot be eliminated or replaced by opposite purposes; the changes
to this constitution must solely aim at improvement and better support of the
purposes and functions as mentioned in Article 2.
b.
The proposed changes shall be submitted in writing over the signature of
at least three active members of the Society. Members of the Society shall be
notified in writing by the Secretary, of the proposed changes latest one month
prior to an annual meeting at which the changes will be considered. 11. Dissolution a.
The dissolution of the Society requires the approval of two-thirds of all
active members. b.
In the event of dissolution, the Executive Committee shall submit a
resolution to the Business General Assembly Meeting governing the allotment of
the funds of the Society. Under no circumstances, however, may these funds be
distributed among the members. 12. Conflicts The Lower District Court of
Essen shall be the appropriate authority in the case of any conflict regarding
this constitution.
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