Publications by authors named "Fikru T Tullu"
Background: The sale of aerated or sugar-sweetened beverages (ASBs) has been consistently growing in India which has also experienced a major increase in non-communicable diseases. This study estimates the price elasticities of ASBs by different household-income groups in India and examine the trends in their affordability.
Methods: The price elasticity for ASBs were estimated using a nationally representative household sample survey on consumption of ASBs in India and with Deaton's method which is robust to self-reported household expenditure surveys.
Background: Hypertension is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease in India, but less than 10% of the estimated people with hypertension have blood pressure under control. The India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI) was implemented to strengthen hypertension management and control in public sector health facilities. Since late March 2020, lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic limited healthcare access and disrupted the provision of essential health services.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Food policies and environment (availability, accessibility, affordability, marketing) in and around educational institutes can influence food choices and behaviours of children and adolescents.
Methods: Cross-sectional, mixed-methods study was implemented in schools (n = 9; Private = 6, Public = 3) and colleges (n = 4) from Delhi and National Capital Region (India). The data was collected from students of schools (n = 253) and colleges (n = 57), parents of school students (n = 190), teachers (n = 12, schools = 9, colleges = 3) and canteen operators of Private schools and colleges (n = 10; schools = 6, and colleges = 4).
Background: India's tobacco-free film and TV rules were implemented from 2012. To assess the effect of the rules, we studied tobacco depictions in top-grossing Bollywood films released between 2006 and 2017 and rule compliance after 2012.
Methods: Tobacco incidents and brand appearances were coded in 240 top-grossing Bollywood films (2006-2017) using the Breathe California method.
Article Synopsis
- The India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI) is a collaborative program aimed at controlling hypertension in India, involving 21,895 adult patients from four different states.
- A significant follow-up assessment revealed that blood pressure (BP) control improved from 26.3% to 59.8% among returning patients, indicating effective management, especially in primary care settings.
- Despite promising results, the initiative faced challenges with patient retention, highlighting the need for strategies to ensure more patients return for ongoing hypertension care.
Background: Bidi use remains an intractable public health problem for India. This is partly due to the informal nature of the bidi supply chain, including tax exemptions for small producers. The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of making all bidis subject to duty and Goods and Services Tax.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEstimating illicit cigarette consumption using a tax-gap approach, India.
Bull World Health Organ
October 2020
Objective: To estimate the magnitude of illicit cigarette consumption in India using a tax-gap approach.
Methods: In the tax-gap analysis, illicit cigarette consumption in India was defined as the difference between total and legal consumption. Data on total cigarette consumption came from two national Global Adult Tobacco Surveys carried out from 2009 to 2010 and from 2016 to 2017.
Introduction: About 28.6% of Indian adults use tobacco. This study estimates the economic burden of deaths and diseases attributable to smoking and smokeless tobacco (SLT) use for persons aged ≥35 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChanges in the affordability of tobacco products in India during 2007/2008 to 2017/2018: a price-relative-to-income analysis.
WHO South East Asia J Public Health
April 2020
Background: Increasing the price of tobacco through taxation is a very effective means of reducing tobacco use. However, the impact of price increases can be diluted if consumer incomes are growing strongly. The affordability of tobacco products has, therefore, become an important indicator for tobacco control.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- India implemented tobacco-free rules for films and TV to shield young audiences from tobacco exposure, but compliance with these regulations is lacking on streaming platforms.
- A study analyzed 188 episodes from 10 popular online series, finding that US productions showed significantly higher tobacco incidents than Indian series, with none of the platforms adhering to Indian regulations.
- The results highlight a pressing need for stricter enforcement of existing regulations and updates to global guidelines to protect youth from tobacco imagery in the evolving landscape of digital media.