WHO supports Training of Trainers on tobacco cessation

The National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM) of the Government of Bangladesh organized a ‘Training of Trainers (ToT)’ on Brief Tobacco Intervention on 8 – 9 January 2017 in Dhaka, with the support from WHO and European Respiratory Society (ERS). Thirty participants composed of selected primary health care physicians, tobacco control professionals and faculties from NIPSOM joined the training, with facilitators from WHO and the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS).

Survey shows that about 70 percent of smokers and 50 percent of smokeless tobacco users are willing to quit tobacco in Bangladesh. However, tobacco cessation service is only available in a few non-government health care facilities offering limited services. Against this backdrop, the government has taken the initiative to build the capacity of the public health care facilities to offer tobacco cessation service. Master trainers from the ToT to train health care service providers on ‘Brief Tobacco Intervention’ is the first step. A pilot model on brief intervention based tobacco cessation service would also be conducted in public hospitals in coming months.

The NIPSOM has also established a ‘Training Network for Tobacco Cessation’ involving stakeholders to strengthen the cessation service in Bangladesh.