Initiating tobacco cessation services in India: challenges and opportunities

Tobacco use contributes significantly to the diseases burden in India. Very few tobacco users spontaneously quit. Therefore, beginning 2002, a network of 19 tobacco cessation clinics (TCCs) was set up over a period of time to study the feasibility of establishing tobacco cessation services.

Review of the process and operational aspects of setting up TCCs was carried out by evaluation of the records of TCCs in India. Baseline and follow-up information was recorded on a pre-designed form.

During a five-year period, 34 741 subjects attended the TCCs. Baseline information was recorded in 23 320 cases. The clients were predominantly (92.5%) above 20 years, married (74.1%) and males (92.2%). All of them received simple tips for quitting tobacco; 68.9% received behavioural counselling for relapse prevention and 31% were prescribed adjunct medication. At six-week follow-up, 3255 (14%) of the tobacco users had quit and 5187 (22%) had reduced tobacco use by more than 50%. Data for three, three-monthly follow-ups was available for 12 813 patients. In this group, 26% had either quit or significantly reduced tobacco use at first follow-up (three-months), 21% at the second (six-months) and 18% at the third follow-up (nine-months) had done so.

It is feasible to set up effective tobacco cessation clinics in developing countries. Integration of these services into the health care delivery system still remains a challenge.