Do we need to monitor the tobacco industry? Launch of the Community Driven Tobacco Surveillance Sys

The tobacco industry is known for it’s interference and influence of the public and Governments. The influences reported from all over the world are commonest from the multinational cigarette companies, collectively known as ‘Big Tobacco’. In Sri Lanka, it is represented by the British American Tobacco (BAT) and its subsidiary Ceylon Tobacco Company (CTC). They need to make sure that Sri Lankans smoke more to ensure their sustenance as a profit-making venture. A main challenge to their profits is their clients dying prematurely. Hence, they need to recruit new users continuously to maintain their income and profits. ‘Big Tobacco’ around the world is known for using many tricks to engage new users, especially children and youth. Those vicious strategies, thus, have to be monitored, countered and defeated. Without monitoring, there cannot be effective tobacco control. Without effective tobacco control, we have little hope in saving our future generations from harms due to tobacco. 

• Without effective tobacco control, we have little hope in saving our future generations from harms due to tobacco
• The first step in fulfilling article 5.3 is to monitor the activities of the tobacco industry

The Centre for Combating Tobacco 

The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control of the World Health Organisation is the worlds only legally binding international treaty on a public health matter. The article 5.3 of FCTC mandates that member countries, in development and execution of their tobacco-related public health policies such as tobacco tax, “should act to protect these policies from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry in accordance with national law.” The first step in fulfilling article 5.3 is to monitor the activities of the tobacco industry driven by their “commercial and other interests” that would interfere with tobacco control, activities that would manipulate the policies of the country in order to promote tobacco use. Centre for Combating Tobacco (CCT) is the Sri Lankan tobacco observatory established at the Faculty of Medicine University of Colombo under the FCTC Article 5.3 to monitor the tobacco industry activities related to Article 5.3 in Sri Lanka and the region. 

CCT has taken a revolutionary decision to transform the entire country to one big tobacco observatory! What does that mean? All the citizens will have the power and know-how to monitor the activities of the Ceylon Tobacco Company and BAT and other members of the tobacco industry and report and share the findings via a central mechanism. 

A main challenge to their profits is their clients dying prematurely. Hence, they need to recruit new users continuously

TobaccoUnmasked HotSpots App

The free TU HotSpots App, which can be now downloaded at your phone app store, can help you to report any activity of the tobacco industry using your mobile phone. You can report activities that directly promote tobacco use, such as selling tobacco products to under aged, awarding special status (Abhisheka) to shops as a means of encouragement or branding, having mobile/temporary selling points, free distribution of tobacco products, advertisements, on site promotions and sponsorships. You can also report activities to manipulate the policy making/implementation processes related to tobacco control and interference in tobacco control actions. You can also report actions and interference though media to promote arguments that favour tobacco industry, activities such as product placement (depicting cigarettes and smoking in an appealing way) in mass or creative media, such as in cinema, television, social media, books/magazines. 

Tobacco industry interference

Sometimes, the tobacco industry, or their representatives, may have contacted you, if you are a government official or an academic or someone involved in tobacco control. They may have asked for favours from you, or just to listen to their story. These are examples of tobacco industry interference, too. You can report them as well using the TU HotSpots App. 

TobaccoUnmasked HotSpots Map

The input from the citizens from all over the island through the app is fed into an online map of Sri Lanka using GIS (Geographic Information System) technology. This map, called TU HotSpots Map, is freely available to the public. You’ll be able to see what you report appearing on this map as a GIS spot on the actual location of where you witnessed it. You can also use this Map to study the current patterns and trends in tobacco industry activities in Sri Lanka. 

Sometimes, the tobacco industry, or their representatives, may have contacted you, if you are a government official or an academic or someone involved in tobacco control

Launch of Community Driven Tobacco Surveillance System 

This innovative tobacco surveillance system made up of the mobile app and the GIS map is a truly people-driven movement, as you can see now. That is why we named it Community Driven Tobacco Surveillance System (CDTSS). This project is generously partnered by National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) and the Country office of World Health Organization for Sri Lanka. On March 11, 2019, Senior Professor Lakshman Dissanayake, Vice-Chancellor, University of Colombo officially launched CDTSS in front of a gathering of distinguished guests and a cross section of Sri Lankan people at the Light House Auditorium, Lakshman Kadiragamar Institute. Now, the TU HS App and Map are free to be used by anybody who wishes to do so. Dr. Mahesh Rajasuriya, Director, CCT and his team trained the participants in how to use the TU HotSpots App and Map. 

They also made a sincere appeal to everybody present to unite as one nation against the tobacco industry in Sri Lanka and in the world. 

(This article is compiled by the Centre for Combating Tobacco (CCT), Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo in collaboration with the World Health Organization Country Office for Sri Lanka and the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol) 

http://www.cct.lk/ http://tobaccounmasked.lk