A “Bottom-up approach” to introduce ban on tobacco products to prevent spitting during COVID-19: An early review of progress made and challenges

Abstract

On March 11, 2020, WHO announced that a novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) had transformed into pandemic. Since then, it has challenged health systems and tested the governance of every country. In India, national and sub-national governments have responded by proposing new policies to stop the advance COVID-19 through a slew of measures. Among these was prohibiting smoking and spitting, especially that induced by the use of smokeless tobacco in public places, which could potentially spread the infection further. States and districts were first to propose strict orders, which was followed by advisories and orders at the national level, which supported sub-national implementation. It is premature to estimate the impact of restricting tobacco trade, sale, and use on COVID-19 transmission; however, this early review assesses efforts made which national and sub-national commitment (or lack of it) towards tobacco control.

Keywords

• coronavirus disease 2019
• health policy
• public health
• sustainable development goals
• tobacco control