Illicit cigarette trade in the cities of Pakistan: comparing findings between the consumer and waste recycle store surveys.

Background: Concerns about the magnitude of illicit cigarette trade have prevented the Government of Pakistan from increasing tobacco taxes. We estimated the proportion of illicit cigarettes sold in Pakistani cities. Moreover, we compared two methods for collecting cigarette packs and investigated if the illicit cigarette trade equates to tax evasion.

Attitudes of smokers towards tobacco control policies: findings from the Studying Tobacco users of Pakistan (STOP) survey.

Background: Public attitude is a political driver in successful implementation of tobacco control policies. We assessed support for a range of tobacco control policies among smokers in Pakistan.

Methods: We conducted a household survey among adult smokers in 10 cities of Pakistan, using a two-stage random sampling strategy to select households and Kish grid method to select one smoker per household.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Smoking Patterns in Pakistan: Findings From a Longitudinal Survey of Smokers.

Introduction: We investigated the influence of COVID-19 on smoking patterns in Pakistan.

Methods: In a longitudinal survey, we asked cigarette smokers in Pakistan about their smoking behaviors before and since COVID-19. Smokers were recruited before COVID-19 using two-stage random probability sampling.

Identification of Policy Priorities to Address the Burden of Smokeless Tobacco in Pakistan: A Multimethod Analysis.

Introduction: We assessed the magnitude of smokeless tobacco (ST) use in Pakistan and identified policy gaps to help ascertain short-, medium-, and long-term priorities. We then elicited stakeholders' views as to which of these identified priorities are most important.

Methods: In a multimethod study, we: analyzed Global Tobacco Surveillance System data sets to estimate ST consumption and disease burden; conducted a documentary review to identify gaps in policies to control ST in comparison with smoking; elicited stakeholders' views in an interactive workshop to identify a set of policy options available to address ST burden in Pakistan; and ranked policy priorities using a postevent survey.

PubMed-based quantitative analysis of biomedical publications in the SAARC countries: 1985-2009.

Objective: To conduct a geographical analysis of biomedical publications from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries over the past 25 years (1985-2009) using the PubMed database.

Study Design: A qualitative study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Web-based search during September 2010.