Impact of India's National Tobacco Control Programme on Bidi and Cigarette Consumption: a Difference-In-Differences Analysis
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Tob Control: first published as 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2018-054621 on 15 December 2018. Downloaded from Research paper Impact of India’s National Tobacco Control Programme on bidi and cigarette consumption: a difference-in-differences analysis Gaurang P Nazar,1,2 Kiara C-M Chang,3 Swati Srivastava,4 Neil Pearce,2 Anup Karan,5 Christopher Millett1,3,6 ► Additional material is ABStract What this paper adds published online only. To view Background Despite the importance of decreasing please visit the journal online tobacco use to achieve mortality reduction targets of (http:// dx. doi. org/ 10. 1136/ Evaluations of tobacco control programmes the Sustainable Development Goals in low-income and ► tobaccocontrol- 2018- 054621). in low-income and middle-income countries middle-income countries (LMICs), evaluations of tobacco 1 (LMICs) are scarce but essential given the Health Promotion Division, control programmes in these settings are scarce. We importance of reducing tobacco use to achieve Public Health Foundation of assessed the impacts of India’s National Tobacco Control India, Gurugram, India both child and adult mortality reduction targets 2 Programme (NTCP), as implemented in 42 districts Department of Non- in the Sustainable Development Goals. communicable Disease during 2007–2009, on household-reported consumption This first evaluation of India’s National Tobacco Epidemiology, London School of of bidis and cigarettes. ► Control Programme (NTCP) (implemented Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Methods Secondary analysis of cross-sectional data (LSHTM), London, UK during 2007–2009) found that although India’s 3 from nationally representative Household Consumer Public Health Policy Evaluation overall consumption of bidis and cigarettes Expenditure Surveys (1999–2000; 2004–2005 and Unit, School of Public Health, declined between 1999–2000 and 2011–2012, Imperial College London, 2011–2012). Outcomes were: any bidi/cigarette the observed reductions were not significantly London, UK consumption in the household and monthly consumption 4 different between NTCP and non-NTCP districts. Department of International of bidi/cigarette sticks per person. A difference-in- Health, Johns Hopkins University Our findings indicate that early implementation differences two-part model was used to compare ► Bloomberg School of Public of the NTCP may not have produced reductions Health, Baltimore, USA changes in bidi/cigarette consumption between 5 in tobacco use. This may reflect inadequacies in Indian Institute of Public NTCP intervention and control districts, adjusting for copyright. initial programme implementation and highlight Health, Delhi (IIPHD), Public sociodemographic characteristics and time-based Health Foundation of India, the need to strengthen operationalisation of heterogeneity. Gurugram, India tobacco control programmes in India and other 6 Findings There was an overall decline in household- Center for Epidemiological LMICs. Studies in Health and Nutrition, reported bidi and cigarette consumption between University of São Paulo, São 1999–2000 and 2011–2012. However, compared with Paulo, Brazil control districts, NTCP districts had no significantly different reductions in the proportions of households its ratification of the WHO Framework Conven- Correspondence to 4 5 reporting bidi (adjusted OR (AOR): 1.03, 95% CI: 0.84 to tion on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2004. India’s http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/ Dr. Kiara C-M Chang, Public commitment towards the provision, and more effec- Health Policy Evaluation Unit, 1.28) or cigarette (AOR: 1.01 to 95% CI: 0.82 to 1.26) School of Public Health, Imperial consumption, or for the monthly per person consumption tive implementation and enforcement of tobacco College London, London W6 of bidi (adjusted coefficient: 0.07, 95% CI: −0.13 to control measures under COTPA and FCTC led to 8RP, UK; 0.28) or cigarette (adjusted coefficient: −0.002, 95% CI: the introduction of the National Tobacco Control chu- mei. chang@ imperial. ac. uk 6 −0.26 to 0.26) sticks among bidi/cigarette consuming Programme (NTCP) in 2007–2008. Initially devel- oped as a pilot project in two districts in each of Received 10 July 2018 households. 7 Revised 12 November 2018 Interpretation Our findings indicate that early nine Indian states, the NTCP was expanded in Accepted 20 November 2018 implementation of the NTCP may not have produced 2008–2009 to cover a total of 42 districts and 21 reductions in tobacco use reflecting generally poor states (online supplementary table S1) and has been performance against the Framework Convention for expanded to 400 districts across India with a budget allocation of INR 650 million (US$8.8 million) for on September 23, 2021 by guest. Protected Tobacco Control objectives in India. This study highlights 8 the importance of strengthening the implementation the year 2018–2019. and enforcement of tobacco control policies in LMICs Key objectives of the NTCP are to: (a) increase to achieve national and international child health and awareness about existing tobacco control laws and premature NCD mortality reduction targets. the harmful effects of tobacco use; and (b) facil- itate effective implementation of tobacco control laws and policies. NTCP activities include district © Author(s) (or their level establishment and expansion of tobacco employer(s)) 2018. Re-use permitted under CC BY. INTRODUCTION cessation facilities, school-based tobacco control 1 Published by BMJ. India is home to 267 million tobacco users, the programmes, training and capacity building for second largest number of tobacco consumers in the teachers, health professionals and other stake- To cite: Nazar GP, world and the country faces a substantial tobac- holders, and monitoring of tobacco control activ- Chang KC-M, Srivastava S, 2 3 6 7 et al. Tob Control Epub ahead co-related mortality and morbidity burden. ities under COTPA. While both national-level of print: [please include Day Efforts to strengthen tobacco control in India are and state-level governments have an important Month Year]. doi:10.1136/ underpinned by the enactment of the Cigarettes and role in tobacco control including taxation policy, tobaccocontrol-2018-054621 Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) in 2003 and public awareness campaigns, establishment of Nazar GP, et al. Tob Control 2018;0:1–8. doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2018-054621 1 Tob Control: first published as 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2018-054621 on 15 December 2018. Downloaded from Research paper tobacco testing laboratories and research into alternative Explanatory variables crops, much of the focus of NTCP activities is at the district Main explanatory variables were: (a) an NTCP indicator, equals level. to 1 for households residing in an NTCP district (those listed Robust assessment of tobacco control programmes in low-in- in the operational guidelines of NTCP, and online supplemen- 7 come and middle-income countries (LMICs) is essential given tary table S1), 0 otherwise ; (b) two time indicators, t2 (1 for the importance of reducing tobacco use to achieve both child survey year 2004–2005, 0 otherwise) and t3 (1 for survey year and adult mortality reduction targets in the Sustainable Devel- 2011–2012, 0 otherwise); and (c) two interaction terms: (1) an 9 10 opment Goals (SDGs). This includes regular monitoring interaction term between NTCP indicator and t2 (DID1); and (2) of achievement against programme goals and objectives and an interaction term between the NTCP indicator and t3 (DID2). ensuring that resources are allocated properly and spent effec- We controlled for an array of demographic and socioeco- tively.11 However, robust monitoring and evaluation in LMICs nomic status (SES) that have been previously shown associated is often constrained by lack of surveillance data although new with tobacco smoking in India.17 18 These included household’s initiatives are seeking to address this, such as the International area of residence (rural or urban) and wealth quintile (poorest, Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project for India which aims poor, middle, rich, richest); household size (number of house- to collect longitudinal survey data on key FCTC policy measures hold members ≤5 or >5); proportion of household members from around 10 600 adult informants in four states.12 Its wave 1 in each age group (0–4 years; 5–14 years; 15–29 years; 30–59 (2010–2011) findings have highlighted a slow and inconsistent years; ≥60 years); proportion of male and female members progression of tobacco control policies across states (eg, pictorial in the household, proportion of household members at each health warnings, smoke-free public places) and an urgent need educational level (illiterate, primary, middle, secondary, higher to strengthen them.13 secondary, graduate and above); household religion (Hindu, Since the introduction of the NTCP, operational challenges Muslim, Christian and others); caste (A system of rigid social have been reported including insufficient staffing and mech- stratification characterised by hereditary status, endogamy, and anisms to monitor the programme, and an evaluation of social barriers sanctioned by custom, law or religion.) (sched- programme effectiveness is not available to date.4–6 Therefore, uled tribe, scheduled caste, other backward class and others); we aimed to evaluate impacts of the early phase of the NTCP and employment type (self-employed, regular labourer, casual implemented during 2007–2009, on household level bidi labourer and others).19 Household characteristics of