GATS begins to assess status of tobacco use
Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) formally began in the country yesterday to measure the status of tobacco use among people above 15 years of age.
With the support of WHO and Bloomberg Global Initiative, the survey will track prevalence of adult tobacco use, exposure to risk, knowledge of laws and variety of tobacco consumption.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has allocated Tk two crore for the survey.
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, NIPORT, NIPSOM, and oncology department of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) are working on it.
Health Secretary Sheikh Altaf Ali is the head of the steering committee, while joint secretary, WHO, Anowar Hossain Munshi is spearheading the technical committee.
A total of eighteen teams comprising four data collectors and one supervisor are working across the country in 400 primary sample collection units. Total sample size is 12,000.
NIPSOM Director Prof Abdur Rahman is the principal investigator, while Associate Prof Amirul Hassan, occupational health expert Prof S K Akhter, epidemiologists Prof Anisur Rahman and Dr Shafiqul Islam, oncologist Prof Syed Akram Hussain and WHO National Programme Officer Dr Mostafa Zaman are the co-principal investigators.
Initially, the GATS is conducting the survey in 16 low and middle-income countries where more than half of the world's smokers live and that bear the highest burden of tobacco use.
The countries are Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Russian Federation, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay and Vietnam.
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