Launch of DALY Calculator by CPHR-MANT

Launch of DALY Calculator by CPHR-MANT

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Mrs Papiya Sen lighting the muhurat diya (inauguration lamp) at the launch program of CPHR

On 7th November 2022 MANT introduced CPHR-Mant to the world by launching our proprietary research tool, COVID-DALY, or “Disability Adjusted Life Years” calculator.

CPHR-Mant or The Centre for Public Health Research (CPHR) has recently gained media attention for its work in promoting public health and bringing about positive changes in society. Founded by the Manbhum Ananda Ashram Nityananda Trust (MANT) in the Northeastern region of India, we are an independent research organization that aims to generate evidence and chart a course for the future through the evaluation of the impact and effectiveness of its various scientific programs and initiatives.

“The Centre for Public Health Research thrives on enlightening civil society by empowering fellow civilians and shedding light on scientific knowledge. This organization is the brainchild of experienced professionals as well as young and talented scholars. DALY Calculator was invented by CPHR to know the impact of pandemic-influenced catastrophe that we experienced during last 2 years or so”, said Dr. Nirmalya Mukherjee, Director, MANT.

One tool we used to achieve our goals is the Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY) Calculator. This tool calculates the number of DALYs lost due to premature death or disability by taking into account the Years of Life Lost (YLL) due to premature death and the Years Lost Due to Disability (YLD) due to infection-related disability. The YLL is calculated based on the number of years a person would have lived if they had not experienced a premature death, while the YLD is based on the impact of a disability on a person’s quality of life, which can be classified as mild, moderate, or severe.

The opening ceremony seminar got glorified further with the presence of several erudite personalities, like Health Economist Dr. Barun Kanjilal, Dr. Raj Shankar Ghosh, Gates Foundation, New Delhi, Dr. Denny John, internationally acclaimed Research Methodologist; Mr. Pranay Lal, Senior Technical Advisor of The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, New Delhi who have been practicing in their respective areas of research with due effectiveness.

Dr Sanjay Kapur, Managing Director, JSI, New Delhi, Dr. Krishnamurthy Jyanna, Professor and Dean, Faculty of Life and Allied Health Sciences, Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bengaluru; Dr Vinod Pavarala, Professor, UNESCO Chair on Community Media, University of Hyderabad and Mr. Naseer Atiq, SBC Specialist, Polio RRT, UNICEF – ESARO, Kenya joined the Seminar, virtually. We thank all the dignitories and participants for supporting us with their presence and participation. 

The media has covered the CPHR and its use of the DALY Calculator in several publications, including 

  1. Content Media Solution
  2. Business News Week
  3. Smart Business News
  4. Biz News Desk
  5. PR Shreyas Web Media Solutions
  6. Online Media Cafe
  7. Media Bulletins
  8. The Kolkata Mail

Interview of Dr. Nirmalya Mukherjee on the launch of CPHR and COVID DALY Calculator

Some media coverage from print media

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Impact of ban on commercial smokeless tobacco products among users and vendors in West Bengal and Kerala states, India

Impact of ban on commercial smokeless tobacco products among users and vendors in West Bengal and Kerala states, India

Impact of ban on commercial smokeless tobacco products among users and vendors in West Bengal and Kerala states, India

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A person consuming a Gutkha - smokeless tobacco
Tobacco is a major health hazard, causing numerous diseases and even death. India is the world’s second-largest consumer of tobacco, with millions of people addicted to it. In an effort to curb this dangerous addiction, the sale of commercially available smokeless tobacco products such as gutkha has been banned in many Indian states since 2011.
We wanted to know how effective this ban has been in the states of West Bengal and Kerala, so we conducted a study to understand the impact of the ban on users and vendors of gutkha in these two states.
We selected three districts from each state, and from each district, we randomly selected one Municipality and two Community Development Blocks to represent each cluster. Then, we used line transect survey to identify Point of Sale (POS) of tobacco products, and interviewed tobacco consumers and vendors from these POS.
In total, we interviewed 865 tobacco users (450 from West Bengal and 415 from Kerala) and 173 vendors (90 from West Bengal and 83 from Kerala). We found that 16.1% of the total users from Kerala were using gutkha alone or in combination with other tobacco chewing products, while in West Bengal the corresponding figure was 17.3%.
Table 1 – General information of the consumers and vendors.
General information of the consumers and vendors.
N= Number of Consumers/Vendors.

We also found that knowledge about the ban was high among both the consumers and vendors in Kerala, with 95.7% of consumers and 100% of vendors being aware of it. However, in West Bengal, only 64% of consumers and 62.2% of vendors knew about the ban.

Interestingly, we found that gutkha was still available in 68% of the shops in West Bengal, while in Kerala, no sale of gutkha was reported in shops.

However, half of the vendors we interviewed in Kerala admitted to selling gutkha in the black market.

Overall, we found that the ban had little impact on the sale of gutkha in the open market in West Bengal, while it had a moderate impact in Kerala. However, the black market sales in Kerala are a matter of concern, and we believe that strict legislative measures are essential to cut the supply route for effective implementation of the ban.

This study, published in the Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health, sheds light on the effectiveness of the gutkha ban in two Indian states and highlights the need for more stringent measures to curb the sale and consumption of tobacco products. As responsible citizens, we should all do our part in spreading awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco and advocating for a healthier society.

Despite a Ban on sale of Gutkha

It is still on sale in open market as well as black market in some states of India. A stricter measures are needed to curb the sale and consumption of gutkha.

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