National Symposium on Tobacco and Alcohol Prevention

• Combating tobacco and alcohol through public health policy development and implementation

The National Symposium on Tobacco and Alcohol Prevention (NSTAP) successfully culminated on 26 November 2021 at the Water’s Edge, Battaramulla. This national-level symposium was organised for the first time by the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA), which was established under Section 2 of the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol Act No. 27 of 2006. One of its main aims is to reduce tobacco and alcohol-related harm through public health policy development and implementation and advocacy. Some of their key objectives are to:

• To identify broad and specific policies concerning tobacco and alcohol (and other narcotics) for protecting public health

• To eliminate tobacco and alcohol-related harm through the assessment and monitoring of the production, marketing, advertising, and consumption of tobacco products and alcohol products
• To make provisions discouraging persons, especially children, from smoking or consuming alcohol by curtailing their access to tobacco products and alcohol products
• To promote, adopt, and implement clean air laws and restrict the availability of spaces to protect the community from tobacco and alcohol misuse
• To propose and promote all other measures, including commencement of tobacco and alcohol prevention programmes necessary for cessation of undue harm caused by tobacco and alcohol use

The recently concluded symposium aimed at enriching the literature in tobacco and alcohol-related research conducted in the Sri Lankan setting and creating a platform for Sri Lankan researchers who are interested in mitigating tobacco and alcohol use, as it has now escalated to epidemic levels. To bring about sustainable changes, a platform is required for the use of findings from these studies to inform the development of national policies. Bringing together different stakeholders under this common platform provides the opportunity to accelerate the efforts of NATA. Research abstracts were entertained under six themes covering a vast scale of tobacco and alcohol control aspects in the country. Those were:

1. Cessation and prevention of tobacco and alcohol consumption
2. Social impact of tobacco and alcohol consumption
3. The economic impact of tobacco and alcohol consumption
4. Health impact of tobacco and alcohol consumption
5. Environmental sustainability and tobacco and alcohol control
6. Legal aspects of tobacco and alcohol control

The panel of reviewers included 19 professionals who are involved in tobacco and alcohol control in the country. Details of the reviewer panel are as follows:

1. National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol Chairman Dr. Samadhi W. Rajapaksa 
2. University of Colombo Faculty of Medicine Department of Medical Education Prof. Asela Olupeliyawa
3. University of Colombo Faculty of Art Department of Economics Prof. K. Amirthalingam
4. University of Peradeniya Faculty of Agriculture Dean Prof. Gamini Pushpakumara
5. University of Peradeniya Faculty of Agriculture Economist Prof. H.L.J. Weerahewa
6. National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol General Manager Dr. Chandani Mendis
7. Ministry of Justice Senior Assistant Secretary Legal Hiranya Perera
8. National Cancer Control Programme Director Dr. Janaki Vidanapathirana
9. University of Colombo Institute of Indigenous Medicine Senior Lecturer Dr. Kaumadi Karunagoda
10. University of Colombo Institute of Indigenous Medicine Senior Lecturer Dr. Kamal Perera
11. Rajarata University of Sri Lanka Faculty of Medicine Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry Dr. Amila Isuru
12. Rajarata University of Sri Lanka Faculty of Applied Sciences Senior Lecturer in Health Promotion Dr. Manoj Fernando
13. University of Sri Jayewardenepura Faculty of Medical Sciences Department of Psychiatry Senior Lecturer Dr. Jayamal De Silva
14. University of Peradeniya Faculty of Agriculture Senior Lecturer Dr. Saman Atavuda
15. University of Ruhuna Faculty of Medicine Department of Community Medicine Lecturer Dr. I.L.A.N. Dharshana
16. Consultant Community Physician Dr. Pubudu Chulasiri
17. Consultant Psychiatrist Dr. Medhani Hewagama
18. Consultant Psychiatrist Dr. Dhanuja Mahesh
19. Attorney-at-law Shakya Nanayakkara

The keynote address at the NSTAP 2021 was delivered by University of Colombo Senior Professor Diyanath Samarasinghe and Ministry of Health Additional Secretary Dr. Lakshmi Somathunga. Prof. Samarasinghe delivered an insightful speech on “Overview and the challenges in tobacco and alcohol control in Sri Lanka” and Dr. Somathunga spoke on “Commit to quit”, which was the main theme of the symposium. Their presence at the symposium was greatly appreciated by NATA and the participants alike. A total of 19 oral presentations and six e-posters were presented at the symposium by delegates representing different entities such as; 

 

• National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol
• National Cancer Control Programme, Ministry of Health
• National Dangerous Drugs Control Board
• National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency
• Department of Sociology, University of Colombo
• Department of Demography, University of Colombo
• Institute of Indigenous Medicine, University of Colombo
• Department of Health Promotion, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka
• Department of Sociology, University of Ruhuna
• Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya
• Department of Agricultural Economics and Business Management, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya

Some of the key findings at the NSTAP 2021

 

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  A gap was identified in the existing medical curriculum related to tobacco, alcohol, and substance use prevention. Improving the curriculum to reduce this gap has been incepted at Sabaragamuwa University as an initial step and later, this will be implemented in the rest of the nine medical faculties in Sri Lanka

 

• • A study revealed that some voluntarily used the telephone quitline for quitting tobacco, alcohol, and smokeless tobacco
  • Children have been empowered to address the tobacco and alcohol effects in their households in one village of the Anuradhapura District
  • There is evidence that prevention and management of tobacco and alcohol addiction can be facilitated through Ayurvedic methods via Ayurvedic lifestyle, counseling, psychotherapy meditation, and yoga
  • Tobacco taxes modeled with the TETSiM model predicts that a 91.6 to 124.6 billion increase in tobacco excise taxation from 2022 to 2026 would lead to a 1.1 % drop in consumption and approximately 101.8 to 136.9 billion increase in government revenue and decrease in tobacco consumption in Sri Lanka

 

• An islandwide prison inmate study showed a higher prevalence of tobacco, alcohol, and other substance use before imprisonment compared to the general population, and considerable use after imprisonment was also observed. Additionally, 15% of prison inmates who had no previous history of substance use had started substance use following imprisonment. Within the confined prison environment a significant number of inmates continued their substance use following imprisonment  

 

• The public opinion survey towards selected key tobacco and alcohol regulations in Sri Lanka carried out by NATA revealed that the majority of people are in favour of banning public smoking in all public places, banning the sale of tobacco and alcohol products within an area of 500 metres from schools, banning single sticks and quarter arrack bottle sales, and including pictorial health warnings in alcohol packaging
• Smokeless tobacco use with betel chew among the indigenous population has shown profound negative oral health impacts
• The majority of people who use drugs revealed a significant association of using  cigarettes or alcohol as gateway agents before consuming other narcotics in later life

As the first symposium organised by the NATA, they strongly believe that the latest scientific evidence on tobacco and alcohol control aspects revealed through this initiative will provide an inspiration to researchers to contribute to enrich the local literature based on scientific evidence.