Tobacco Control Measures and Their Evaluation Katsuhiro FUKUDA

Abstract: Tobacco control measures were reviewed in general and comprehensively classified into four groups, i.e. self help method, clinic based method, group based method, and community wide method, in terms of their major objectives and prominent methodological characteristics. Each method was further divided into several sub-categories and was briefly described in terms of its prominent features and the essential environmental factors necessary to yield good results. Of these, the Five A's method, which is easily applicable in various daily clinic settings, is characterized as being one of the best methods available since it is highly costeffective in terms of both cost-per-quit and cost-per-year-of-life-saved. In terms of recent global trends, this article emphasizes the fact that increasing attention is being focused on the community wide method, including national and international approaches. Moreover, the significance of active and comprehensive support for tobacco control measure by medical and co-medical professionals is highlighted in response to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control sponsored by WHO. Methods for evaluating each tobacco control method were briefly reviewed