Sri Lanka is a country of 20 million people comprising nine provinces. Currently noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are among the leading causes of mortality and morbidity and a significant amount of health resources are being spent to deal with the NCDs. Tobacco use is the second largest cause of all deaths and disabilities from NCDs.  According to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey conducted in 2007, 5.1% youth (13-15 years old) ever smoke cigarettes, 39.5% of them smoked cigarettes before age 10, 8.6% are current users of other tobacco products, 65.9% are exposed to secondhand smoke in public places. According to the 2008 WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 29.9% males and 2.5% females are current smokers. Against this backdrop, the Government is refocusing its health priorities to address the issues of NCDs, including effective control of tobacco use.  There is high political commitment to tobacco control in the country. The country was the first in the South-East Asia Region to ratify the WHO FCTC. The country enacted a Tobacco Control Act in 2006 for comprehensive tobacco control and established NATA to implement the Act. However, strong enforcement and overall implementation of the Act has not yet been fully achieved. Institutional and functional capacity of NATA and other relevant national agencies need to be strengthened so that the Act may be applied to reducing the disease burden caused by tobacco use.

Prof. A.J. Berrick is a professor in mathematics at the National University of Singapore. The recipient of Singapore’s prestigious National Science Award in 2007, he is a staunch anti-tobacco activist as well. His proposal on Tobacco Free Generations received much accolade when it was published in the BMJ’s Tobacco Control Journal in 2010. The same proposal will be presented as one of the papers at the first plenary session in this year’s Tobacco or Health Conference to be held in Singapore (in March).

Established in April 2010, under the able leadership of Dr. A. Keetheswaran, Regional Director of Health Service, the DTCC Jaffna has performed exceptionally well among the DTCCs. It has undertaken many initiatives aimed at tobacco and alcohol control within the district that include stringent law enforcement and community empowerment programmes. In addition, with the support of the district agriculture officials, it has promoted a programme encouraging farmers from cultivating alternative crops in lieu of tobacco.

At a seminar attended by high officials of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agrarian Services Department, FAO, IUCN, environmentalists and media, the Sinhala and English editions of the NATA publication “Impact of tobacco vs. alternative crop cultivation on socio-economic status of farmers” were launched at the Narayanswamy Conference Hall, Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute on 22 November 2011 at 11.00 am under the auspices of Ven. Athureliye Rathana Thero, Member of Parliament.

The DTCC Review Meeting 2011 was held at the Heritage Hotel Anuradhapura on 14 October. Chairman NATA Prof. Carlo Fonseka thanked all the DTCC representatives who came from across the length and breadth of the country for their hard, dedicated work since establishing the DTCCs in their respective districts.