Dr. Aswathy Sreedevi of Amrita Hospital Wins BMJ South Asia Award for Tobacco-Smoke Free Home Initiative

KOCHI: Dr. Aswathy Sreedevi, Professor and Head of Community Medicine at Amrita Hospital, Kochi, has been honored with the prestigious BMJ South Asia Award in the Primary Care category. The accolade recognizes her leadership in implementing the “Kochi Intervention for Tobacco-Smoke Free Homes” (KIFT) project, a community-driven initiative aimed at protecting women and children in urban slums from second-hand smoke. Implemented across 30 urban settlements in Kochi in collaboration with the Kochi Corporation, National Health Mission (Ernakulam), and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the project engaged local Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and ASHA workers to deliver an ‘Ask, Advice, and Act’ strategy. Over a 16-month trial involving 17,073 residents, household indoor smoking dropped significantly to 10%, accompanied by measurable reductions in PM2.5 air pollution and cotinine levels. The scalable model offers a cost-effective roadmap for integration into India’s National Tobacco Control Programme.