University of Athens Honors Entrepreneur & Philanthropist George D. Behrakis [Video]

During a special ceremony at the University of Athens, Greek-American entrepreneur and philanthropist George D. Behrakis was named honorary doctor by the School of Medicine.

The event took place last Friday, the third day of the annual symposium against smoking that the Greek-American has founded together with his relative Panagiotis Behrakis, a renowned pulmonologist in Greece. The annual anti-smoking conference, part of the 6-year effort of the H.E.A.R.T. campaign that Behrakis started, was attended by Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, Greek Minister of Education Nikos Filis, and other dignitaries.

The University of Athens honored George Behrakis because of his achievements in Pharmacology as well as his philanthropic endeavors that span through science, culture, the arts, Hellenism and Orthodoxy. The serial entrepreneur was able to invent new effective drugs such as Tylenol, and Volmex for asthma, among many others. After retiring from the pharmaceutical business, Behrakis started a quest to give back to society in the US and Greece. Through The Behrakis Foundation, the Greek-American is positively changing people’s lives and plants Greek references whenever he can.

Watch our profile interview with George D. Behrakis below:

HEART (Hellenic Action through Research Against Tobacco)
HEART is a program designed to promote research towards the hazardous effects of smoking and also creates awareness on these effects. The second leg of the program primarily targets schools in Greece and focuses on elementary school children to prepare them so they never touch a cigarette. Harvard University in collaboration with Panayiotis Behrakis of the University of Athens, School of Medicine with the support of The Behrakis Foundation, have implemented the program aiming to change the mentality of Greeks towards their favorite lethal habit, smoking.