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A Case for 100% Smoke-Free Policy in South Africa

Results from the 2017 South African Social Attitude Survey

Background

Where are we with noncommunicable diseases health promotion in South Africa, where should we be, and how can we get to where we need to be?

The necessity to have healthy individuals and populations, and for countries to take concerted actions to optimise health, is largely self-evident and also strongly reinforced by a robust international evidence base. In South Africa, this need is urgent due to a growing disease prevalence and burden, especially from non-communicable diseases  (NCDs)2.

Tobacco use and nicotine dependence among people living with HIV who drink heavily in South Africa: A cross-sectional baseline study

Background

Tobacco use is associated with many health conditions including several types of cancer.[1] The average smoker dies 10 years earlier[2] and starts to suffer disability 12 years earlier than the general population.[3] As of 2016, there were about 7 million people living with HIV (PLWH) in South Africa, with 56%  having access to antiretroviral therapy (ART).[4] PLWH already have a compromised immune system due to their HIV status but this is worsened by the use of tobacco products thus increasing morbidity and mortality rates

Alcohol & HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa: Situational Analysis, 2012

The role of alcohol consumption in HIV disease is of particular concern in Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA), which has among the highest HIV prevalence rates globally (UNAIDS, 2010a) and high levels of harmful use of alcohol (WHO, 2011).

Cannabinoids for medical use

This SAMRC Policy Brief summarises the key points of a systematic review evaluating the medicinal use of cannabis. The review was published in June 2015 by Whiting et al. in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) [1].

Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Dr Penny Whiting, author of the review, who kindly shared her time and expertise in preparation of this SAMRC Policy Brief.

Selected Findings (Year 1) from the Alcohol Environment Protocol component of the International Alcohol Control Study (South Africa) and Policy Considerations

In May 2010 the Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol was approved by Member States at the 63rd session of the World Health Assembly in Geneva. A major goal of the Strategy is to support and complement public health policies in Member States. The Strategy recognises that harmful use of alcohol can be reduced if effective actions that are based on current scientific knowledge, available evidence on effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, experience and good practice, are taken by countries (World Health Organization, 2010).

Pilot test of the South African Addiction Treatment Services Assessment. Phase 1

This report details and discusses the psychometric analysis of the South African Addiction Treatment Service Assessment measurement instrument (SAATSA). The SAATSA was developed by the Service Quality Measurement (SQM) initiative, a project funded by the Centres for Disease Control and located at the Medical Research Council (MRC). The SQM and the SAATSA was initiated to address the glaring lack of proper metrics for the assessment of service quality in the treatment of substance abuse in South Africa.

Pilot test of the South African Addiction Treatment Services Assessment. Phase 2

The purpose of the second iteration of the SAATSA pilot was to address the methodological and measurement shortcomings identified in the first iteration. These related variously to 1) the fieldwork, data capture and data vetting processes, 2) the collection and capture of relevant background demographic and administrative data, and 3), the measurement of individual SAATSA items and SAATSA scales.

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