Browsing by Author "Periyannan, D."

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    Community driven tobacco surveillance system: Engaging communities to monitor tobacco industry using a mobile app
    (EUEP European Publishing, 2021) Perera, C.N.S; Perera, K.M.N.; Wijesuriya, H.; Kandeepan, S.; Periyannan, D.; Lakmal, P.A.C.S.; Fernando, A.B.I.; Rajasuriya, M.
    INTRODUCTION: Centre for Combating Tobacco (CCT) is the tobacco observatory in Sri Lanka established under the FCTC Article 5.3. CCT has experimented several resource-efficient methods in low-resource settings. Sri Lanka, a developing lower-middle income country, reports user rates closer to 100% for smart mobile device and social media. OBJECTIVES: To effectively engage the public in monitoring tobacco industry interference and activities (TIIA) METHODS: “Tobacco Unmasked HotSpots” (TU-HotSpots) mobile app, was developed and launched in two stages. The preliminary launch (May 2018) was to pilot the app for feasibility and acceptability. A community network to monitor TIIA, Community-Driven Tobacco Surveillance System (CDTSS) using an upgraded app (based on the pilot project findings) was launched in March 2019. Freely downloadable from any mobile app store, TU-HotSpots enables registered users to report TIIA under three categories: “Report a HotSpot” (geographical location of TIIA (Articles 5.3, 6, 12, 13, 15, 16), “Interference through Media” (Article 13) and “Tobacco Industry contacted me” (Article 5.3). Data is fed to the TU-HotSpots Map, a website with an interactive map and a dashboard of interactive graphs and charts after reviewing and approval by the CCT team. RESULTS: Two evaluations done to explore the feasibility and acceptability revealed that 91.4% (n=54) agreed this app would be useful in tobacco control and 82.8% (n=48) stated that it would be accepted by the public. Inadequate technological knowledge and interrupted online connection were the perceived challenges for implementation. Active promotion using organized trainings among youth and field officers were the main suggestions for improvement. As at October 2019, 289 registrants reported 786 incidents; with 315 approved “Report a HotSpot” and 383 approved “Interference through Media” reports. “Tobacco Industry contacted me” category only had a one reporting. CONCLUSION(S):A mobile app coupled with an actively established community network is an effective tool to engage the public in monitoring TIIA.
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    Tobacco industry targeting political giants in Sri Lanka: Presidential candidates 2019
    (EUEP European Publishing, 2021) Kandeepan, S.; Perera, C.; Wijesuriya, H.; Dias, I.S.; Periyannan, D.; Perera, K.M.N.; Rajasuriya, M.
    INTRODUCTION: The presidential election to elect the 7th Executive President of Sri Lanka was held on November 2019. Ceylon Tobacco Company (CTC), a subsidiary of British American Tobacco (BAT), holds the monopoly of manufacturing and selling cigarettes in Sri Lanka, which has a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertisement, promotion and sponsorship under the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) Act. OBJECTIVES: To explore tobacco industry (TI) engagements of the 2019 presidential election candidates. METHODS: Investigative research techniques were used. Key informant interviews, news reports, online content, industry reports and community-level documentary evidence were used. A deductive data analysis approach was used based on the themes ‘type of engagement’, ‘TI investment’ and ‘potential impact’. RESULTS: All three top ranked candidates depicted a positive result. Two had a history of direct engagement with the CTC and the other declared support for beedi industry during the election campaign. The engagements of the candidate who was a former Defence Secretary included accepting sponsorships to construct police stations and Army welfare shops. Police are one of the authorized officers of the NATA Act and Sri Lanka Army distributed tax free cigarettes for its soldiers until recent past. The candidate who was a former Agriculture Minister accepted CTC sponsorships for renovation of water reservoirs. CTC cultivates almost all tobacco they need for manufacturing cigarettes and is accused of exploiting the Sri Lankan farmers during the process. One candidate was the guest of honour of the opening ceremony of a pilgrim’s rest in a Buddhist shrine constructed with CTC sponsorship (around 70% of Sri Lankans are Buddhists). All TI engagements of these leading politicians received positive media coverage. CONCLUSION(S): TI engaging main political figures in Sri Lanka has potential to cause serious policy implications, thus, highlights the need for a national policy for implementation of the FCTC Article 5.3.