Effect of a Brief Sensitization Session on Tobacco Control Awareness Among Healthcare Professionals Across India: A Pre– and Post-intervention Evaluation

TL;DR

A short training session greatly improved healthcare professionals' awareness of tobacco control laws in India.

Contribution

A brief sensitization session significantly increased awareness of tobacco control policies among healthcare professionals in India.

Findings

Awareness of COTPA provisions increased from 43.2% to 84.3%.

Tobacco industry interference awareness rose from 48.3% to 96.8%.

Participants showed higher median composite scores after the session.

Abstract

Background: Awareness of India’s tobacco control laws, including the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), remains limited among healthcare professionals. This study evaluated the effect of a brief sensitization session on improving awareness across key tobacco control domains.

Methods: A multicity pre-post interventional study was conducted at 22 academic conferences (17 offline, five virtual) across 14 Indian cities between May 2023 and April 2025. A 30-minute standardized session covered COTPA provisions, tobacco industry interference (TII), WHO FCTC Article 5.3, and state-level COTPA implementation. A total of 1,233 healthcare professionals completed both pre- and post-intervention assessments. Data were analyzed using McNemar’s test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and Kruskal-Wallis test with post hoc comparisons.

Results: Significant improvements were observed in all four domains (p < 0.001 each). Awareness of COTPA increased from 533 (43.2%) to 1.040 (84.3%); TII from 596 (48.3%) to 1193 (96.8%); WHO FCTC Article 5.3 from 348 (28.2%) to 1117 (90.6%); and awareness of state-level implementation from 217 (17.6%) to 530 (43.0%). The median composite score rose from one (interquartile range (IQR): 0 to two) to three (IQR: three to four), with a median gain of two points (Wilcoxon W = 450775, p < 0.001; rank biserial correlation = 1.00). Score gains were significantly higher among medical faculty and participants from northern, eastern, and southern India (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: A brief, structured sensitization session significantly enhanced awareness of tobacco control policies among healthcare professionals and can support capacity-building efforts in India.

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