Integrating tobacco cessation within the TB programme: findings from the ‘TB & Tobacco’ study
In Nepal, the prevalence of current adult tobacco smoking is 18.5% (27% for male and 10.3% for female).
Smoking increases the risk of acquiring TB infection & doubles the risk of death due to TB. In Nepal, Practical Approach to Lung Health (PAL) was initiated in 2007 for the management of lung patients
who attend primary health care services. Smoking cessation service (counselling) was included as one of the interventions in PAL including recording of smoking status and progress of smoking cessation. Since 2015, PAL initiative was discontinued due to its high implementation cost and other implementation
barriers for scale-up.
We developed and tested a behavioural support intervention in two different phases in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Population, National Tuberculosis Programme (NTP) and National Health Education Information and Communication Centre (NHEICC).