Episodic Drives against Smoking in Public Places Executed by the Para-Security Forces and Other Agencies Empowered by the Prevailing Laws to Reduce the Incidence of Smoking in Public Places

Background: Smoking is completely banned in various public places and workplaces by the prevalent law, but it still has not been enforced appropriately in these places. This poses serious health concerns, particularly for children and other vulnerable populations, arising out of the ill-effects of smoking and also the tendency to become victims of smoking. Objectives: This project made an attempt to assess the outcome of episodic drives against smoking (tobacco cessation intervention) in public places executed by different stakeholders empowered by the prevailing laws to reduce the incidence of smoking in public places and also identified the factors associated with smoking and smoking cessation. Material and Methods: It was a quasi-experimental study carried out over a period of 1 year in the urban and rural population of District Una, Himachal Pradesh. A total of 620 smokers (308 in urban and 312 in rural) were enrolled in the study, and a baseline and end-line survey using pre-tested, standardized, and semi-quantitative questionnaires were administered by the trained staff during house-to-house visits made for the identification of smokers, wherein the information on desired variables was collected. Special anti-smoking awareness and implementation drives involving the use of banners and audio messages were conducted, initially on monthly basis for 6 months followed by bimonthly programs during the next 6 months by various agencies such as scouts and guides; National Cadet Corps; Civil Defense; Panchayat members and Non-government Organizations along with one representative from among the project staff. Results: The majority of the participants in both the groups (rural and urban) belonged to the age group of 30– 45 years. The rural smokers were found to initiate smoking at a younger age as compared to urban ones. Before the start of the intervention, around half of both urban and rural smokers never considered quitting as an option. It was observed that the knowledge and attitude toward quitting smoking improved after these drives were conducted, which was better among urban participants. Smoking cessation was observed among 14.5% of smokers, with 83.3% of these in urban areas. The higher reduction observed in urban subjects could be attributed to higher literacy levels. Conclusion: Integration of such anti-smoking/tobacco control activities with developmental programs such as poverty alleviation, rural development schemes, women and child development, and tribal welfare programs can lead to extensive and widespread presence of these activities at the grassroots level.