Online Mode of Tobacco Hazards Awareness for Capacity Building and Awareness Generation: A Promising Initiative in Addition to the Existing Tobacco Control Measures

Our tobacco hazards awareness work in Mumbai since 2014 had to be stopped with the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. There was a need to prioritize and strengthen tobacco cessation efforts and disseminate information in society and to medical professionals and healthcare workers to highlight such facilities. Hence, this online tobacco hazards awareness initiative was undertaken on various platforms for a diverse audience. This included: 1. Creating awareness in society about the hazards of tobacco and the facilities available for cessation through articles for online newspapers, online talks, blogs, videos for news channel websites, and interviews on television (TV) in Marathi. 2. Capacity building for: a. Medical professionals by conducting lectures and presentations at medical conferences about the need to integrate tobacco control in healthcare delivery at all levels-to ask all adults about tobacco use in any form at each visit and document it. If using tobacco, advise, including elderly patients, to quit and share the toll-free quitline number or refer them. Address tobacco use in women and integrate tobacco cessation advice in antenatal care and preventing initiation of tobacco use by adolescents. b. Government healthcare staff-doctors and healthcare workers. c. Medical and dental undergraduate and postgraduate students through talks. 3. An online school-based tobacco hazards program was conducted. Using the online mode, dissemination of this information was possible across various regions of India. In addition to existing tobacco control initiatives, the online mode of creating awareness about incorporating tobacco control at all levels of healthcare delivery needs consideration for capacity building and training of the healthcare workforce. Tobacco control modules must be included in graduate and postgraduate medical training curricula across all specialties.