“Vendors display tobacco products in ways that are appealing to children and youth.. Alarming

Investigators documented that in 225 tobacco points of sale observed, 91% of displays were at 1 metre – child’s eye level, 54% had no visible health warning; and 90 per cent of displays were, beside candies, sweets and toys, items marketed to children,” noted the study.

A report released on Wednesday finds that tobacco companies in India are systematically targeting children as young as eight by selling tobacco products and placing tobacco advertisements near schools.

These tactics, happening all over the country, is a clear violation of Section 5 and 6 of Cigarettes & Other Tobacco Products Act, it said.

To gather evidence regarding tobacco products being sold around educational institutions in violation of the law, two groups working in the area of tobacco control -- Consumer Voice and Voluntary Health Association of India -- undertook a study in 20 cities across six states in India.

Titled Tiny Targets, the study was conducted to determine the extent of tobacco products being marketed and sold around schools in India. A sample of 243 schools and 487 points of sale were closely surveyed during this study.

“Despite the prohibition on sales of tobacco products near educational institutions, numerous shops/vendors/points of sale sell and advertise tobacco products around schools,” found the study.

“Vendors display tobacco products in ways that are appealing to children and youth. Investigators documented that in 225 tobacco points of sale observed, 91% of displays were at 1 metre – child’s eye level, 54% had no visible health warning; and 90 per cent of displays were, beside candies, sweets and toys, items marketed to children,” noted the study.

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/tobacco-companies-targeting-children-study/article26006514.ece

Meaningful involvement of People living With NCDs @Nada India

The Healthy India Alliance (Nada India is founding member of HIA) plan to develop a National Advocacy Agenda of People Living with NCDs based on the inputs of those who took part in the five community conversations (Nada organized one such  Community Conversation among alcohol and drug using population ) held in the India.Nada India Team (Ms.Nidhi,Devender Joti peer educator (PLWNCD) ,Pushpa caregiver and Suneel Vatsyayan ) participated and contributed @The Healthy India Alliance Regional Consultancy Meeting for the Northern Region in Delhi on 28th August 2018.Nada India is also member of HIA Working group on patient engagement.

 Nidhi shared her experience and feedback

There's an old conventional way of convening corporate meetings but when we work on fronts of issues related to public at large then engagement of participants in the meeting requires breaking those barriers for formal conversation , cut off the veil and talk about the real things in a realistic way.

Mr.Suneel Vatsyayan had done the same , he shaken the participants in the meeting and tried to bring their attention on the fact that as we have to focus on meaningful engagement of people living with NCDs and it's risk factors like alcohol and drugs to do the same we hv you first meaningfully engage ourself in terms of language , personal real life experiences and real life experiences of people we are talking about.

The body language was intimate and words chosen were close to human beings ,that made most people relate as to talk more openly. 

Kept sticking to and time and again asked others to focus on the topic and reality. 

Perhaps Suneel Vatsyayan Chairperson Nada India was the only one who was more experienced than others in community work.

Very purposefully conveyed his msg. Also shook people to take off mask and talk freely as one time or another we all have to face same difficulties for the purpose we are here for discussions.

 Pushpa both as Nada community worker shared her experience well.

Also as care giver she shared her true feelings. Her wounds are fresh and she needs time to heal. But her spirits are high and ver courageous lady she is.

Devender Joti  of peer educator of Nada India shared his personal experience and professional experience well.

As he has worked in social sector that is unorganized work sector ,he has worked in a free environment with less obligations to adhere to certain way of work and that is good also as we are not in any race for perfection and one should not be.

Its good we as People Living with NCDs got opportunity to express ourselves freely and also hv choice for work. Nidhi Nada India Team

MEANINGFULLY INVOLVING

PEOPLE LIVING WITH NCDs

What is being done and why it matters

https://ncdalliance.org/sites/default...

"At the age of 17 years, Mahesh has given up his schooling to work as a salesman." .... read more

Educate 500 families living with alcohol use & NCD
"At the age of 17 years, Mahesh has given up his schooling to work as a salesman." Alcohol violence in the family is forcing a lot of children to join work force. We target to sensitize 500 children about the issue of alcoholism and NCDs & encourage them to continue their education. Uma's troubles became worse when her husband started using alcohol and abuse became an everyday affair. We intend to counsel, heal 240 women survivors of violence to seek help and to live healthy & productive life.

Challenge
Worldwide, 3 million deaths every year result from harmful use of alcohol. It can lead to a range of mental, behavioural and other non-communicable conditions (NCDs). The harmful use of alcohol also brings significant social and economic losses to individuals and society at large. The recovering addicts and their families are usually not aware of NCDs and its relation with their alcohol and drug use. Moreover, discrimination from society leads to isolation of families affected by alcohol abuse.

Solution

The project aims to meet the need to engage "patient" before they accept this new identity of "patient" and promote informed choices among people effected and affected by NCDs & alcohol. Need has been identified to overcome the stigma and social repression associated with being diseased in order to empower and ensure the entitlement of women and children to assert their right to health. Prevention of NCDs with a focus on alcohol by using treatment readiness peer based approach..... 

China and India had the biggest fatality tolls from alcohol in 2016... Global status report on alcohol 18

New World Health Organization research shows a strong correlation between rising incomes, alcohol consumption and booze-related deaths in much of Asia

By ALAN BOYD SYDNEY, OCTOBER 6, 2018

Rising incomes are driving up alcohol consumption in much of Asia and the Pacific, with death rates from excessive drinking in Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea and Russia now among the highest anywhere in the world.

Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific are the only two regions that have seen increased per capita consumption since 2000, according to the latest Global Status Report compiled by the World Health Organization (WHO). The UN agency has called for stronger measures to prevent the growing medical toll.

“Concerted actions are needed to achieve at least stabilization of increasing trends in alcohol consumption in the Southeast Asia and Western Pacific regions …,” the report said. “Proven, cost-effective actions include increasing taxes on alcoholic drinks, bans or restrictions on alcohol advertising, and restricting the physical availability of alcohol.”

Only about 33.1% of people aged 15 or over consumed alcohol in the Southeast Asian region in 2016, which includes India and other South Asian countries. In contrast, almost 60% were drinkers in Europe, 54.1% in the Americas and 53.8% in the Western Pacific, a category which includes China in the WHO research.

But while other regions registered decreases, per capita consumption in Southeast Asia surged from 2.4 liters of pure alcohol per capita per year in 2000 to 4.5 liters in 2016, and from 4.8 liters to 7.3 liters in the Western Pacific.

The spikes were largely due to sharp increases in China (from 4.1 liters to 7.2 liters) and India (from 2.4 liters to 5.7 liters) respectively within the period.

AFR (Africa), AMR (Americas), EMR (Eastern Mediterranean) EUR (Europe), SEAR (Southeast Asia + India) WPR (Western Pacific + China) Source: WHO

WHO expects global per capita consumption to reach seven liters in the next 10 years, up from 6.4 liters in 2016, “unless projected increasing trends in alcohol consumption in the region of Americas and the Southeast Asia and Western Pacific regions are stopped and reversed.”

“The highest increase is expected in the Southeast Asia Region, with an increase of 2.2 liters alone in India … The second-highest increase is projected for the populations of the Western Pacific region, where the population of China is the largest, with an increase in per capita consumption of 0.9 liters of pure alcohol by 2025,” the report said.

Smaller increases are expected in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, but consumption will fall in some more advanced countries like Australia. There are 1.4 billion regular drinkers in Southeast Asia and 1.5 billion in the Western Pacific, accounting for half of all consumers worldwide.

Harmful alcohol use is linked to more than 200 health issues, including road injuries, liver diseases, violence, a range of cancers, cardiovascular diseases, suicides, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. However, figures on Asia’s death toll are distorted by consumption patterns of just a few countries.

Alcohol contributed to 21.6% of all deaths recorded in Russia in 2016, as well as 7.6% in South Korea, 7.4% in Thailand and 7.3% in Vietnam, according to WHO. Only the small European country of Moldova, where alcohol was a factor in 26.1% of deaths, had a bigger problem with booze in that year.

People drinking inside a bar in the old French Quarter of Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi. Photo: iStock/Getty Images

Yet it contributed to just 1.4% of deaths in Turkey, 1.7% in Indonesia, 2.4% in Singapore and 3.8% in China. The global average was 5.3% deaths in 2016, with three million people losing their lives after abusing alcohol.

WHO said that one factor behind the increasing health risks was the transition from lower-strength beverages like beer to spirits and other more expensive drinks as incomes rise. Spirits are very high in alcohol content in some countries and they often contain harmful additives.

Much is home-made, with “unrecorded” alcohol — generally spirits — accounting for as much as 45.4% of total consumption in Southeast Asia. Spirits comprise about 88% of alcohol consumed in that region, compared with 59% in the Western Pacific region and a global average of 44.8%.

In Thailand, where per capita consumption averaged 8.3 liters of alcohol in 2016, 69% of drinkers consumed spirits, against 28% for beer. Spirits were also the main beverage for 69% of South Koreans, but were favored by only 39% and 8% respectively in less-developed Russia and Vietnam.

Not surprisingly, populous China and India had the biggest fatality tolls from alcohol in absolute numbers among Asian countries in 2016: there were 264,468 deaths in India and 249,906 in China. Russia recorded 63,089 deaths, Thailand 22,448 deaths and Vietnam 21,709 deaths, the WHO report said.

http://www.atimes.com/article/richer-drunker-and-unhealthier-in-asia/

Healthy India Alliance urge for a unified Minimum Limit Drinking Age across the country as 25 years

 Esteemed Sir,

Greetings from the Healthy India Alliance!

The Healthy India Alliance is a coalition of 13 Indian Multi-disciplinary Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), working collaboratively to strengthen CSO capacity and engagement for Non Communicable Disease (NCD) prevention and control in the country.

At the outset, we wish to congratulate the Government of National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, for maintaining a strong stand on keeping the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) at 25years in Delhi. We are writing to you in reference to the Public Interest Litigation filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for quashing of section 23 of Delhi Excise Act, 2009 which prescribes 25 years as MLDA in the NCT of Delhi. In support of this argument, the petition also mentions that NO RATIONALE basis for section 23 of Delhi Excise Act, 2009 which prescribes 25 years as theMLDA in the NCT of Delhi, which can be supported and justified by the evidence presented below.

Healthy India Alliance is committed to support the Government of NCT of Delhi to raise strong arguments against lowering the MLDA while making efforts for a unified age of 25 years across the Nation, while also ensuring stricter implementation and penalties for violation.

In India, NCDs are responsible for 6.4 million deaths every year, which is 62% of all deaths and alcohol use is one of the key preventable risk factors contributing to NCDs. Consumption of alcoholic beverages has become a major public health concern in India and is a major contributor to death and disability. According to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) Report, alcohol control is a best buy and presents an excellent case for a Return on Investment (RoI), i.e. for every $1 invested on alcohol control a return of $9.13 is expected.
A number of studies have shown that the adolescent brain is still developing until the age of 25 years. During this period, they are under social pressures to drink. At times, they try tocope with anxiety and depression with alcohol and if they're in an environment where the MLDA is less, they're not under the social stigma against getting drunk. Evidence suggests that during young adulthood, especially the college years between the ages of 18 and 25, is an important period in life during which key decisions in educational, occupational, and social realms are made that can have lifelong ramifications. Alcohol use during this period negatively affects two important regions of the brain Hippocampus (affecting memory and learning) and Prefrontal lobe (affecting planning, judgment, decision making, impulse control and language). Evidence shows that the more teenagers delay their alcohol drinking, the less likely they are to become regular consumers as an adult and can avoid alcohol-related problems later in life.
Studies also suggest that heavy drinking during adolescence and young adulthood is associated with poorer Neuro-cognitive functioning during the young adult years and particularly with impairment of attention and Visio-spatial skills. Brain imaging and studies of event-related potentials have demonstrated that heavy alcohol consumption during adolescence and young adulthood also can lead to subtle but significant abnormalities in brain structure and function.The brain continues to develop throughout adolescence and into young adulthood, and insults to the brain during this period therefore could have an impact on long-term brain function.  
We, the members of the Healthy India Alliance urge for a unified MLDA across the country as 25 years in contrast to the existing varying (18-25 years) sub-national MLDAs.
Therefore, the Government of NCT of Delhi’s decision to maintain the existing MLDA at 25 years is critically needed backed up by scientific evidence.Moreover, stricter enforcement of law that imposes firm penalties for violation of MLDA and other alcohol control measures, will further its effectiveness and success. This will also project Delhi as an ideal State and a best practice model for other states to follow.
Thanking you,

With best regards,

Member Organisations of the Healthy India Alliance
Nada India Foundation is a co-signature as Healthy India Alliance board member of this appeal to Delhi Government  
To June 4, 2018
Shri AmjadTak
Commisioner (Excise,Entertainment & Luxury Tax)
Excice, Entertainment and Luxury Tax Department
Government of NCT of Delhi

With a copy to: 
• Shri Arvind Kejriwal, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Government of NCT of Delhi
• Shri ShriSatyendar Jain, Hon' ble Minister of Health, Government of NCT of Delhi

Nada India Foundation  is governing board member of Healthy India Alliance.

Mental health services are missing in Kerala ? People are turning to liquor....

As Kerala reels under floods, a new report has emerged that Keralites consumed liquor worth over Rs 500 crore in around 10-day period since rain started pouring in the state and caused massive destruction.

According to ibtimes report,  the Kerala State Beverages Corporation (Bevco) released data stating that the total sale of liquor and beer stood at Rs 516 crore within the time period starting from Independence day August 15) to Onam (August 26).

Unattended grief and loss makes a person vulnerable and may turn him or her to self medication. Use of alcohol or other substance increase after disaster like flood ,earthquake etc. in order to deal with emotional pain. It is important to understand that alcohol intensify emotional experience  negatively and delay grief process. Nada India urges government and civil society to provide barrier free mental health services as other relief work is on.

"Other risk factors can raise the chance for substance abuse during the grieving process. For example, a person with a history of anxiety, depression, previous addiction, or a lack of social support is more prone to turn to alcohol or drugs to cope after a loved one’s death. Those with a family history of alcoholism or drug addiction may be more vulnerable as well." 

Kerala witnessed one of the worst flood situations in a century. Over 3.26 lakh people are still in relief camps across Kerala even after a fortnight of the devastating deluge that left a trail of destruction claiming 322 lives and rendering thousands homeless. With rehabilitation measures on, the government said an immediate relief of Rs 10,000 would be disbursed soon to the flood-affected.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday urged all Malayalis to donate one month salary to rebuild the state.

In many districts, people have started moving from camps to their homes after cleaning work has been completed. The receding flood waters had left mounds of mud and debris in their homes and surroundings.

As Kerala struggles to stand on her feet, water logging of homes in various places, especially in Kuttanad region of the worst-hit Alapuzha district continues to be a worrying factor.

Huge pumps will be used to flush out water from homes and premises, after which the cleaning process will be taken up by removing the accumulated silt, authorities said.

Vijayan, who had accompanied Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh during the aerial surveys, said they were touched by the intensity of the devastation and he hoped that the Centre would provide more funds.

The Prime Minister assured the Governor that Kerala would get more central funds from the National Disaster Response Fund as per laid down procedure and that the Rs 600 crore central aid released so far was only the advance assistance.

As on date a total of 10 Columns and 12 Engineer Task Force of the Army are carrying out continuous rescue and relief operations in the area.

The troops are involved in road opening, clearing of landslides and construction of temporary bridges, utilising the natural resources available in the area.

So far approximately 26 temporary bridges have been constructed, repaired and approximately 50 roads cleared for the general public, a defence press release said.

At least 3.64 lakh carcasses of birds and over 17,000 of big animals have been retrieved and buried so far.
https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-in-kerala-liquor-sales-go-up-to-rs-500-crore-during-10-days-of-century-s-worst-flood-2656006