Descriptive evaluation of cigarettes and other tobacco products act in a North Indian city.

BACKGROUND: India is a signatory to Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and also enacted cigarettes and other tobacco products Act (COTPA) in 2003. OBJECTIVES: To undertake a comprehensive assessment (Section 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 under COTPA) of legislation against tobacco products in a North Indian city. METHODS: An observational, cross-sectional study was conducted at 108 public places which included educational institutions, offices, health institutes, transit sites, and hotels/restaurants. Structured checklists with compliance indicators for various sections under COTPA were used. Different brands of tobacco products were observed for pictorial warnings. RESULTS: No active smoking was observed at 80.5% public places, while 54.6% places had displayed "No smoking" signage. About 68.5% public places were found free of evidence of smell/ashes of recent smoking, and 86.1% places had no smoking aids. Merely, one-third public places (36.1%) were complying with all Section 4 indicators. Around 42.3% point of sale had advertisements of tobacco products, and 73.1% had a display of tobacco products visible to minors. Around 60% educational institutions displayed signages as per Section 6b of COTPA, and 32.5% had tobacco shops being run within 100 yards of institution's radius. There was minimal smoking activity within the campus. Health warnings were present in 80.8% of tobacco products, more with Indian brands as compared to foreign brands. CONCLUSION: The city of Chandigarh, which was declared the first smoke-free city of India, showed poor compliance with COTPA.

Is Exposure to Tobacco Advertising, Promotion and Sponsorship Associated with Initiation of Tobacco Use among Current Tobacco Users in Youth in India?

BACKGROUND: The rise in consumption of tobacco products among youth is a public health concern in India. Several studies have shown that advertisements promoting tobacco products influence decisions and behaviour of youth towards smoking. OBJECTIVE: To ascertain which method of Tobacco Advertising, Promotion and Sponsorship (TAPS) was more influential for initiating tobacco use in youth in India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The secondary data of youth (15-24 years) from nationally representative Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) conducted in 2009-2010 was analyzed. Odds ratio and p-value were used to know the association between TAPS and initiation of use of tobacco products among youth. Logistic regression was used to determine the most significant means of TAPS altering the youth's behaviour towards tobacco products. RESULTS: Out of 13,383 youths, 1,982 (14.7%) used smokeless forms of tobacco and 860 (6.38%) used smoke forms. Logistic regression reveals that promotional activities mainly through cinemas (p<0.05) and providing free samples of tobacco products (p<=.001) were most influential means of initiating consumption of tobacco products among youth. CONCLUSIONS: The smoking in youth is associated with watching advertisements particularly in cinema and promotional activities like distribution of free samples, coupons and sales on the price of tobacco products. Stronger legislative measures should be enforced to curb promotional advertisements in cinemas and distribution of free samples.