Why tobacco control should be a priority agenda item of Joint External Monitoring Missions for TB control?

Introduction: Tobacco smoking is a significant risk factor for developing tuberculosis (TB), contributing to diagnostic delays, poor treatment outcomes and an increased risk of death and relapse. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that TB rates could decline by as much as 20% if smoking were eliminated. Tobacco smoking was a risk factor in at least 860,000 TB cases in 2018, and has been documented as one of the leading contributors to TB in India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal and Philippines.

Prevalence of Smoke-Free Zone Compliance among Schools in Indonesia: A Nationwide Representative Survey.

Background: With the increasing prevalence of teenage or school-age smokers, schools have become the main focus of the Indonesian government in tobacco control, including through the smoke-free zone (SFZ) policy. This study aims to obtain information related to the implementation of SFZ policies in schools.

Methods: A nationally representative survey was employed in 900 elementary, junior high, and senior high schools that were located in 60 regions or 24 provinces of Indonesia.

Influenza vaccination guidelines and vaccine sales in southeast Asia: 2008-2011.

Background: Southeast Asia is a region with great potential for the emergence of a pandemic influenza virus. Global efforts to improve influenza surveillance in this region have documented the burden and seasonality of influenza viruses and have informed influenza prevention strategies, but little information exists about influenza vaccination guidelines and vaccine sales.

Methods: To ascertain the existence of influenza vaccine guidelines and define the scope of vaccine sales, we sent a standard three-page questionnaire to the ten member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.