Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) has been awarded five million dollars by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to strengthen the National Tobacco Control Program in two states of India, namely Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, over a three year period (2009-2012). Project STEPS will provide the much needed district specific strategic response to the rapidly escalating global tobacco epidemic in India.

The Government of India, in compliance with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, launched the National Tobacco Control Program (NTCP), under the 11th Five Year plan, to build state capacity to effectively implement tobacco control laws, and also to bring about greater awareness of the ill effects of tobacco use. Under the program, Tobacco Control Cells have been set up at each state for implementing State and District Tobacco Control Programs.

PHFI is a public-private partnership linking the government, academia, civil society and the private sector, and engages key stakeholder groups in strategic partnerships. PHFI and its educational institutions – the Indian Institutes of Public Health - are in a unique position to promote and sustain the tobacco control movement in India in partnership with the state governments. PHFI and IIPHs adopt a broad, integrated approach to tobacco control, targeting 11 districts in 2 states with long term vision of extending the successful models and interventions tested through this project, all over India.

The goal of project STEPS is to reduce the health burden of tobacco and associated risks; promote health equity through reduction in health and economic burdens resulting from tobacco consumption by engaging, enabling and empowering two key states and their stakeholders. STEPS seeks to facilitate state level action for implementation of centrally designed tobacco control programs. PHFI will be actively assisting the State Governments and NGOs in developing innovative models of community mobilization, community based self help cessation groups, replicating and adapting effective school based tobacco prevention interventions in India, alongside working with Indian Language Print Media to enhance tobacco control coverage in regional newspapers.

Project STEPS will also be conducting economic research to generate data to fill the research gap in India and examine various intervention models to identify opportunities and barriers for adopting alternate employment opportunities for the workforce involved in tobacco production, manufacture and distribution sector along with multiple government and NGO stakeholders. Along with Government of India and State Governments, this project will test models to mainstream tobacco control into existing health programs to improve quit rate among Indian tobacco users.