Assessing the Efficacy of a Tobacco Prevention and Control Intervention in a Rural Area of India: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

Background: Tobacco use, disproportionately higher in rural areas, is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in India. Interventions to reduce tobacco use in rural areas are scarce.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of a community-directed tobacco prevention intervention in reducing tobacco use in rural areas.

Materials And Methods: A single-group pre-/postquasi-experimental study was conducted in Lakhmapur village, Maharashtra. Data were collected from one adult each in 296 and 307 randomly selected village households before and at the end of intervention, respectively.

Results: Between pretest and posttest, reported tobacco use reduced from 56.4% to 23.5%; average daily expenditure on tobacco from INR 16.07 to INR 9.47, respectively. A logistic model, controlling for sociodemographic variables, showed that the postintervention group had a significantly lower likelihood of using tobacco; however, males and lower education subgroups were more likely to use.

Conclusions: Multipronged community-based interventions involving schools, students, teachers, frontline workers, elected leaders, and community influencers hold promise in reducing tobacco use in rural India.