Results of a national mass media campaign in India to warn against the dangers of smokeless tobacco consumption

Abstract

Objective Smokeless tobacco consumption in India is a significant source of morbidity and mortality. In order to educate smokeless tobacco users about the health harms of smokeless tobacco and to denormalise tobacco usage and encourage quitting, a national television and radio mass media campaign targeted at smokeless tobacco users was aired for 6 weeks during November and December 2009. Methods The campaign was evaluated with a nationally representative household survey of smokeless tobacco users (n=2898). The effect of campaign awareness was assessed with logistic regression analysis. Results The campaign affected smokeless tobacco users as intended: 63% of smokeless-only users and 72% of ..