Launch of the Information Portal of SARC-CCT: TobaccoUnmaskedSouth.Asia
Centre for Combating Tobacco (CCT) hosted by the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, is the tobacco observatory in Sri Lanka with a mandate to monitor tobacco industry interference and implementation of the Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), in the South Asian Region. WHO FCTC Article 5.3 requires Parties to protect their public health policies from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry.
CCT launched a regional consortium (South Asian Regional Consortium Centre for Combating Tobacco – SARC-CCT) to expand its actions to the South Asian Region in July 2019. SARC-CCT links individuals and institutions from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in monitoring the tobacco industry activities and interference in the region and in implementation of WHO FCTC Aritlce 5.3. CCT provides technical expertise for the SARC-CCT project and acts as the coordinating body for SARC-CCT. International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) generously funds this project. SARC-CCT Committee is comprised of invited representatives from all the countries in the South Asian Region. A SARC-CCT Technical Advisory Panel (SARC-CCT TAP) comprising of global and regional tobacco control experts provides technical inputs for the project.
A Fellowship program started to support SARC-CCT Fellows to develop their tobacco industry monitoring capacity including information compilation and dissemination in relation to their respective countries. One Fellow from each country joined the fellowship program for total of six months starting from 20th January 2020. The first two weeks of the Fellowship was in their own country and the second two weeks are now being spent in Sri Lanka. These Fellows receive training on monitoring and dissemination of information on the activities of and the interference by the tobacco industry in the region. Peer-reviewed investigative research findings generated by Fellows under the technical supervision of SARC-CCT Committee members are disseminated via an online information portal titled TobaccoUnmaskedSouth.Asia. It is a replication of the information generation and review process and the format of TobaccoUnmasked.lk, the information portal of CCT.
On 20th February 2020 Chief Guest the Vice-Chancellor of University of Colombo, Professor Chandrika N Wijeyaratne officially launched TobaccoUnmaskedSouth.Asia with the participation of distinguished guests, SARC-CCT Fellows, local implementation partners, global, regional and local stakeholders in tobacco control, well-wishers, journalists and media personnel at the Hotel Janaki. Fellows representing each country presented a case study in related to tobacco industry monitoring followed by a discussion at the event.
The Technical advisory panel member of CCT and the former Chairman of the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA), Dr. Palitha Abeykoon delivered the key note speech. Prof. Jeniffer Perera, Dean, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Dr. Mahesh Rajasuriya, Director, CCT, and Dr. Manuja Perera, Editor, TobaccoUnmasked also spoke at the event. Launch was followed by a press briefing.
