Abstract N.29 Photographic evidence can strengthen tobacco control interventions Title: Category: Track: Content: Photographic evidence can strengthen tobacco control interventions Public health practice Tobacco control Background – In India, the tobacco law states that direct or indirect advertisements of tobacco products are prohibited under section 5 of the 2003 COTPA Act. Nonetheless, tobacco companies continue to market their products outside points of sale using backlit billboards, stickers, and posters. According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey in 2010, in Rajasthan, 28.4% of adults were aware of advertisements for cigarettes, 47% for bidis and 54.7% for smokeless tobacco. Until recently, the COTPA Act had not been enforced because District Tobacco Control Committees (DTCC) didn’t exist. Intervention- Population Services International conducted a series of meetings with health officials and the District Collector in order to raise awareness of non-compliance with the COPTA Act. PSI officials took photographs of 177 point of sale advertisements from 33 different market places in Udaipur City, which were submitted to the District Collector who is also Chairman of the new DTCC. Upon receipt of the photographic evidence, the District Magistrate and Collector of Udaipur conducted a meeting with tobacco distributors to issue directives for compliance with the law. Under Section 5 of the Act, distributors were directed to remove all tobacco advertising from points of sale in Udaipur. Despite this effort, PSI officials observed that very few tobacco shop advertisements had been removed. PSI again took and shared photographs of the points of sale with the District Collector to alert him to the Section 5 violations. The District Collector again conducted a meeting with the tobacco industry officials with their legal advisor. The District Collector strictly ordered them to remove all advertisement boards from all points of sale in Udaipur. The District Collector also formed an anti-tobacco squad and directed the team to monitor and enforce points of sale in the Udaipur city. Results: After a fifteen day period, more than 750 point of sale advertisements had been removed from the city. Most large retailers have removed their advertisements. Conclusion: Photographic evidence can be a useful tool in advocating for the enforcement of policies that help prevent tobacco use. Keywords: Photographic evidence Institutions and authors: Institutions 1: Population Services International (PSI) R Parmar 1 B Pandya 2 Institutions 2: International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) P Lal Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org) 1