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BackgroundWe measured how student tobacco use and psychological risk factors (intention to use and perceived ease of access to tobacco products) were associated with tobacco vendor compliance with India's Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act provisions regulating the point-of-sale (POS) environment.MethodsWe conducted a population-based cross-sectional survey of high school students (n=1373) and tobacco vendors (n=436) in school-adjacent communities (n=26) in Mumbai, India. We used in-class self-administered questionnaires of high school students, face-to-face interviews with tobacco vendors and compliance checks of tobacco POS environments. Logistic regression models with adjustments for clustering were used to measure associations between student tobacco use, psychological risk factors and tobacco POS compliance.ResultsCompliance with POS laws was low overall and was associated with lower risk of student current tobacco use (OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.26 to 0.91) and current smokeless tobacco use (OR 0.40, 95% CI 0.21 to 0.77), when controlling for student-level and community-level tobacco use risk factors. Compliance was not associated with student intention to use tobacco (OR 0.50; 95% CI 0.21 to 1.18) and perceived ease of access to tobacco (OR 0.73; 95% CI 0.53 to 1.00).ConclusionsImproving vendor compliance with tobacco POS laws may reduce student tobacco use. Future studies should test strategies to improve compliance with tobacco POS laws, particularly in low-income and middle-income country settings like urban India.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, the cervical cancer screening rate dropped by 84% soon after the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic. The challenges facing cervical cancer screening were largely attributed to the required in-person nature of the screening process and the measures implemented to control the spread of the virus. While the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer screening is well-documented in high-income countries, less is known about the low- and middle-income countries that bear 90% of the global burden of cervical cancer deaths. In this paper, we aim to offer a comprehensive view of the impact of COVID-19 on cervical cancer screening in LMICs. Using our study, "Prevention of Cervical Cancer in India through Self-Sampling" (PCCIS), as a case example, we present the challenges COVID-19 has exerted on patients, healthcare practitioners, and health systems, as well as potential opportunities to mitigate these challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Low participation in screening and poor follow-up are major challenges in implementing population based screening in developing countries. Determinants of participation in a community-based organized cervical cancer screening program are discussed here. Objectives: The objectives were to study factors determining compliance of women for cervical cancer screening in an urban low socioeconomic setting. Methodology: Community-based service program was conducted for screening uterine cervix cancers with a visual inspection of the cervix on the application of 5% acetic acid by trained primary health workers. The process involved the selection of clusters, household surveys, health education, and screening of eligible women for uterine cervix cancer. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify determinants of participation in cervical cancer screening. Results: A total of 138,383 population were surveyed, of which 21,422 eligible women were contacted and 16,424 (82.50%) complied for screening. According to the results of univariate and multivariate analysis, women belonging to the age group of 30–39 (80.69%), literate women with school level or education up to Senior College (78.97% and 80.86%) (odds ratio [OR], 1.323; P ≤ 0.001) and (OR, 1.402; P ≤ 0.001), belonging to Hindu religion (77.20%), speaking Marathi (77.07%), and with a family history of cancer (81.93%) had higher participation for screening, while women belonging to the Muslim community (73.95%) (OR, 0.743; P ≤ 0.001), speaking other than Marathi and Hindi language (73%) (OR, 0.872; P = 0.017), illiterate women (70.71%), and graduate women (70.78%) had lower participation. Conclusion: High compliance can be achieved by providing good-quality health education and setting up of screening clinics in vicinity of participating women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats, killing nearly seven million people annually. With implementation of smoke-free public places legislation, cabs in India are smoke free. However, large majority of cab drivers are addicted to tobacco. Aims: The objectives were to measure cab drivers' knowledge, attitude, and practices about tobacco pre and post intervention, educate them regarding hazards of tobacco and need for smoke-free cabs, perform oral cancer screening, and provide assistance to quit tobacco. Subjects and Methods: This interventional study among cab drivers was conducted in Mumbai during 2015–2018. Different cab unions in Mumbai were contacted and 400 cab drivers were enrolled and interviewed. They were offered health education, oral cancer screening, and tobacco cessation assistance at regular intervals for 1 year. Results: About 63.8% of cab drivers used tobacco, mainly in smokeless forms. Almost 94.1% intended to quit, 66.3% had made previous quit attempts, and 69.8% expressed the need of assistance for quitting. One hundred and twelve cab drivers were diagnosed with oral precancers and one with oral carcinoma. About 49.4% of cab drivers quit tobacco and 46.7% reduced tobacco consumption at the end of 1 year. According to multivariate logistic regression analysis, Muslim cab drivers were less likely to quit tobacco as compared to Hindus. Conclusion: Adherence to smoke-free laws plays a significant role in reducing exposure of cab drivers to secondhand smoke. This program demonstrates the successful implementation of tobacco cessation program that could be replicated among other workforces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]