Breaking New Grounds in Tobacco Control - Voluntary Health ...

Research News Feature:
Summary of Recent, Evidence-based
Findings for Tobacco Control
This feature presents summaries of a few recent published literatures on tobacco control
issues. The year 2010-11 was a significant year where many positive developments and
discourses took place in tobacco control. Tobacco taxes were raised in many states, the
Government issued guidelines to regulate smoking in movies, new pictorial health warnings
came into effect, more smoke free settings were declared and there was increased media
coverage on tobacco control. These developments signify a paradigm shift at the highest
level - policy makers are beginning to accept the arguments of public health experts and
activists. This research news feature is an effort to present an overview of evidence-based
findings that can serve as invaluable tools for tobacco control policies in India.
Research 1
Effectiveness of Mass Media Campaigns in Addressing
the Smokeless Tobacco Epidemic in India: Results of a
Recent Study
Nandita Murukutla, Tahir Turk, C V S Prasad, Ranjana Saradhi, Jagdish Kaur, Shefali Gupta,
Sandra Mullin, Faujdar Ram, Prakash C Gupta, Melanie Wakefield. Results of a National Mass
Media Campaign in India to Warn Against the Dangers of Smokeless Tobacco Consumption.
Tobacco Control, January 2012, Volume 21, Issue 1, pp12-17
A serious epidemic worldwide, tobacco
use prevalence is of significant concern in
India where it is has been projected that
tobacco-related deaths may exceed 1.5
million annually by 2020. India is also in
a unique situation, faced as it is with the
high levels of consumption of smoking and
smokeless forms of tobacco. In fact, 74%
of current tobacco users in India consume
it in smokeless forms. Smokeless tobacco
consumption has been linked to India’s
high oral cancer rates, poor reproductive
outcomes and high rates of cardiovascular
diseases.
Public education through mass media
campaigns is a proven effective strategy in
decreasing tobacco prevalence. Furthermore,
there is strong evidence that for anti-
tobacco messaging to be effective, it must
be graphic and negatively emotive, eliciting
fear, anger, disgust and concern. Armed
with this evidence, the Ministry of Health
and Family Welfare, with support from World
Lung Foundation, launched a campaign from
November through December 2009 targeted
at creating awareness about the harmful
effects of smokeless tobacco. Featuring
heartfelt accounts of patients who developed
oral cancers as a result of smokeless tobacco
consumption, this campaign was evaluated
with a nationally representative household
survey of smokeless tobacco users (2108
smokeless-only users and 790 dual users).
The study measured changes in knowledge,
attitudes, behavioral intentions and
behaviors towards smokeless tobacco as a
result of exposure to the campaign.
n 57
January - March & April - June 2012