It is estimated that more than 10,00,000 people die each year due to tobacco use in India
world over 60,00,000 people die annually due to tobacco use
Opinion Poll
Events
End-Game for Tobacco Conference 2013
- Category: Events
SAVE THE DATE
1st International Conference on Public Health in the 21st Century: The End-Game for Tobacco
We are pleased to announce that the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and HRIDAY (Health Related Information Dissemination Amongst Youth) propose to organize the ‘Ist International Conference on Public Health in the 21st Century: The End-Game for Tobacco’ to be held on September 10-12, 2013.
The Conference envisions providing a platform not only for knowledge transfer and information sharing but agenda setting, for the future pathways of tobacco control globally to put an end to tobacco. With the decisions at the recently concluded Fifth Session of the Conference of Parties of the WHO-FCTC in the background, the conference programme will encompass various themes related to the current tobacco endgame narrative including youth tobacco use prevention programmes, monitoring and surveillance, protection from industry interference, plain packaging of all tobacco products, alternative livelihoods for tobacco growers, tobacco taxation measures and curbing illicit trade among others.
Tobacco-Free Awards in Gujarat
- Category: Events
Government of Gujarat and PHFI announce state-wide winners of Tobacco Free Awards & Smoke Free Awards
Ahmedabad: The Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar (IIPH-G) have collaborated with the Government of Gujarat to confer Tobacco-Free and Smoke-Free Awards to educational institutions and Gram Panchayats, Municipal Corporation and Municipality for their efforts in tobacco control. The Awards had been initiated under the aegis of PHFI’s Project STEPS (Strengthening of Tobacco Control Efforts through Innovative Partnership and Strategies).
PHFI and IIPH-G, in collaboration with the Commissionerate of Health, Government of Gujarat, is implementing a tobacco control project entitled Project STEPS in six districts of Gujarat, namely Kheda, Banaskantha, Rajkot, Surat and Tapi and Anand. The project aims to reduce the health burden of tobacco through evidence based economic and policy research, advocacy, community based cessation strategies, media interventions and multi-level tobacco control initiatives in India.
The Awards have been declared following a nine month nomination process where the concerned departments were invited to nominate those eligible in two categories
(a) Tobacco-Free Awards for Educational Institutions
(b) Smoke-Free Awards for Gram Panchayat, Municipal Corporation and Municipality.
The nominees were adjudged by a Jury comprising of members from the Health Department, the Gujarat Council of Education Research and Training (GCERT), the Police Department, civil society organization and IIPH-G. The nominees were scored on the basis of their efforts in advancing tobacco control and working towards tobacco-free settings. It also included adherence to Guidelines under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003 as well as effective implementation of the law.
“COTPA, 2003 is a comprehensive guideline for tobacco control and effective implementation helps a lot in control of use of tobacco. These awards are an attempt to recognize people’s efforts towards tobacco control and prevention. It sets an example that motivates others for effective implementation of tobacco control law,” said Dr. Paresh Dave, Addl. Director (Public Health), Gandhinagar, Government of Gujarat.
Sister Nivedita Uchchattar Madhyamik School, Rajkot won in the category of Tobacco Free Awards for Educational Institutions and the Sarvoday Schools, Rajkot were declared second. The Nagarpalika, Palanpur won in the category of Smoke Free Awards for Gram Panchayat, Municipal Corporation and Municipality and the Jasara Grampanchayat, Ta. Deesa, Di. Banaskantha was declared runners-up.
“Through these Awards, PHFI envisioned incentivizing tobacco control activities and encouraging educational institutions and local authorities to make sincere efforts to advance tobacco control. We are grateful to the Government of Gujarat for supporting this initiative and hope that the Awards form a legacy for others to emulate these best practices in tobacco control,” said Dr. Monika Arora, Director, Health Promotion and Tobacco Control, PHFI.
As per the Global Adult Tobacco Survey, 2009-10 India Report, 29.4 % adults in Gujarat use tobacco in one form or the other. Smokeless tobacco use is more prevalent in the state with 18.4 % of the adult population using smokeless tobacco products while 7.8% use smoking forms. About 46.2% males and 11.3% females are current tobacco users. 
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Janmastami is tobacco-free in Rajkot
- Category: Events
The fair and festivities of Janmastami is giving a fresh air to breath for the people of Rajkot. The five day Jamnastami fair has been declared smoke-free. Thousands of people attending the Mela are here in Rajkot are breathing air free of smoke and the youth volunteers dressed as Krishna & Radha are motivating them to quit the tobacco habit distributing leaflets and other awareness materials. About 40 others are moving around the mela with anti-tobacco messages wearing t-shirts and caps.
“With hundreds of thousands of people gathering for Vivekanand Janam Jayanti Lok Mela in Rajkot, we have decided to make the fair tobacco-free. This will be a step towards making the district of Rajkot tobacco-free,” said District Deputy Collector Shri G. M. Dixit.
The district administration of Rajkot is implementing the tobacco control law (COTPA) with full spirit. The Government of Gujarat, in association with Public Health Foundation of India, Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar and district level NGOs have been implementing project STEPS in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. STEPS aims to contribute to reducing the health and economic burden of tobacco use in India, by piloting multi-level community-based, health systems and policy level and youth interventions. In Gujarat, STEPS is being implemented in Anand, Banaskantha, Khera, Rajkot, Surat and Tapi districts.
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Secretary Kathleen Sebelius of the U.S Department of Health and Human Services(HHS) at PHFI
- Category: Conferences and Seminars
Secretary of the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Ms. Kathleen Sebelius, visited The Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and interacted with youth health advocates from schools across Delhi. Youth shared their experiences, advocacy campaigns undertaken by them, their journey of being health advocates and promoting good health among their peers with the Secretary. Since tobacco control is one of the priority areas of the HHS, the Secretary emphasized on the implementation of graphic pictorial warnings on tobacco products and prevention from exposure to Second Hand Smoke (SHS) as some of the key measures to protect youth from getting hooked to tobacco.
Consultation on Finalization of Counselling Guide for Tobacco Control
- Category: Conferences and Seminars
Date: 24th October, 2011
Venue: PHFI, PHD House, New Delhi
PHFI at SAMVAAD –II (November 2011)
- Category: Conferences and Seminars
The Indian film industry produces double the number of films produced in Hollywood. Although depiction of smoking in Hollywood films has already been established as a risk factor for teen smoking in the United States and Europe, no such estimate has previously been available for Bollywood films and their influence on Indian adolescents. With viewership of nearly 3 million world-over, the impact of these films on audience behaviour and attitudes, particularly youth, is insurmountable.
Orientation cum training Workshop for NGO partners in AP (20-21 Oct 2011)
- Category: Conferences and Seminars
The Public Health Foundation of India and the Indian Institute of Public Health Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh in collaboration with the Department of Health, Government of Andhra Pradesh is implementing a tobacco control project entitled “Strengthening of Tobacco Control Efforts through Innovative Partnership and Strategies (STEPS)” in 6 districts of Andhra Pradesh (Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, Prakasam, Kurnool, Mahabubnagar and Karimnagar). With intent to develop a district specific plan of action for implementation of the project activities in the community, a two days “Orientation cum training Workshop for NGO partners” is being organised on October 20-21, 2011 at Hotel Central Court Lakdikapool, Hyderabad.
Capacity Building Workshop for NGO partners in Gujarat (18-19 Oct 2011)
- Category: Conferences and Seminars
The Public Health Foundation of India and the Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar, Gujarat in collaboration with the Department of Health, Government of Gujarat is implementing a tobacco control project entitled “Strengthening of Tobacco Control Efforts through Innovative Partnership and Strategies (STEPS)” in 5 districts of Gujarat (Surat, Tapi, Banaskantha, Kheda and Rajkot). With intent to develop a district specific plan of action for implementation of the project activities in the community, a two days “Capacity Building Workshop for NGO partners” is being organised on October 18-19, 2011 at Hotel ‘Treatotel’.
Training of Master Trainers GJ (26th Aug 2011)
- Category: Conferences and Seminars
Date: 26th August 2011
Venue: Circuit House, Gujarat
Training Objectives
1. To sensitize and train master trainers on ‘tobacco control training’ for health care service providers
2. To impart skill based training on motivational interviewing for tobacco control
3. To develop district specific ‘training action plan’ for training of health care service providers in the intervention districts