141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

281579
Implementation of the cigarettes and other tobacco products act (COTPA) in India: City population size as a predictor of compliance

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Rajiv N. Rimal, MA, PhD , Department of Prevention and Community Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC
Erin Mead, MHS , Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Joanna Cohen, PhD , Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Ellen Feighery, RN, MS , Public Health Institute, Oakland, CA
Nilesh Chatterjee, PhD, MA, MBBS , Bloomberg School of Public Health, JHUCCP (Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs), New Delhi, India
Jingyan Yang, MHS , Hbs, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltitmore, MD
Background. India enacted the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) in 2003, which prohibits smoking in public places and requires separate smoking and non-smoking areas in hotels and restaurants. This paper asks whether compliance rates differ by city population size. Methods. Cities in five states in India (Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan) were sampled according to population size (Tier 1: largest urban centers; Tier 2: cities with populations up to about 1 million; Tier 3: cities with populations less than 500,000; and Tier 4: two rural areas in close proximity to Tier 1 cities) (n=26 cities). Public venues (n=747) were randomly sampled from systematically identified locations within each city (n=26 cities). A composite score of overall compliance was computed by summing across venues for three outcomes: indoor smoking, “No Smoking” signage, and presence of facilitators of smoking. A hierarchical linear model was run using city size as the independent variable, adjusting for city- and state-level random intercepts. Results. Overall compliance rates ranged from 3 to 21. City size was associated with compliance, F(3, 22) = 5.29, p < .001. Compared to rural towns, compliance was significantly greater in Tier 1 (beta= 0.7, p<.05) and Tier 2 (beta = 0.82, p < .05) cities, with no difference in Tier 3 cities. Conclusions. Though overall compliance needs to be improved across the board, smaller cities appear to have a more difficult time with compliance. More aggressive efforts should be pursued to ensure compliance with COTPA in India.

Learning Areas:
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Identify key challenges in implementing anti-tobacco regulations. Compare differences in compliance rates by city population size.

Keywords: Tobacco Policy, Advocacy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I conceptualized and wrote the research project
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.