Surveillance and Information Systems

Given the importance of surveillance for tobacco control, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control has made strong provision for surveillance and exchange of information in the area of tobacco control. Articles 20 and 21 of the convention deal with these issues.

The fact that 1.2 million of the 5.1 million global tobacco deaths occur in the South-East Asia Region and that the morbidity due to tobacco is high in the Region, proper surveillance of tobacco related morbidity and mortality is an important element in its own right. Furthermore, the Region being one of the largest producers of tobacco and tobacco products as well as consumers of these products, it is imperative that the work of the industry also be monitored in an attempt to counter the ever growing menace of tobacco.

Thus, in order to understand the dynamics of the epidemic as well as to assess its trends, it is vital for WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia to collaborate with Member countries to collect, collate and report relevant data systematically and periodically. It is also vital to disseminate and share this information among Member countries and other concerned parties for designing and implementing effective tobacco control interventions, and in monitoring such interventions.

In order to achieve the goals in the area of surveillance and exchange of information, countries use a number of surveillance instruments such as Sentinel Surveys, STEPS survey and Regional Surveys in collaboration with Regional Office for South-East Asia. A Regional Survey Template has now been developed for collection of standardised information on tobacco control at country level.

In order to share and exchange information, Regional Office for South-East Asia has developed an online database on tobacco control information. This regional database provides the SEAR link to Global Information System on Tobacco Control (GISTOC) that links together all the Online Regional Databases of the Organisation.

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