World-wide Tobacco Control & Cessation

Almost 80% of the world’s 1 billion smokers live in low- and middle-income countries, with no affordable smoking cessation products. In 2002 we received a $1 million grant to fight big tobacco in Southeast Asia. As of 2018, grants from the NIH, Pfizer and other organizations help fund our work in Cambodia, Laos and Mongolia. Our ultimate aim is to reduce tobacco dependence to zero.

In Mongolia, we are testing cytisine, a plant-based smoking cessation treatment, costing less than 30 USD for the entire course of medication. Using GIS software, we identify locations where tobacco vendors and companies violate World Health Organization (WHO) regulations on package and price of cigarettes.

In Cambodia, we’ve been able to increase the price of cigarettes from 0.20 USD to 0.45 USD per pack. We discovered that women chewing tobacco during morning sickness was associated with high rates of infant mortality.

Compensating for its decline in the West, Big Tobacco is growing in Southeast Asia and other parts of the world. Infants, toddlers, and young children are encouraged to smoke to decrease their appetite for food. A high density of vendors sell low-cost cigarettes to children near their schools.

“There is much work to be done and we need help. Private donors have allowed us to collect pilot data and publish papers to support submitting roughly $6 million in grants.” - Pramil Singh, DrPH & Principle Investigator of Tobacco Research at Loma Linda University School of Public Health. 

Dean Helen Hopp Marshak giving address at plenary session on World No Tobacco Day 2018

Helen Hopp Marshak, PhD, Dean of Loma Linda University School of Public Health, addressing the plenary session of the 2018 World No Tobacco Day conference in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on Thursday, May 31. Marshak discussed trends in tobacco-use patterns in Asia and emphasized the need for international collaboration. Officials of the Mongolian government attended the conference along with faculty members and students of Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences.

Dr. Pramil Singh makes four presentation on World No Tobacco Day

Pramil Singh, DrPH, professor in the Loma Linda University School of Public Health, made four presentations during the 2018 World No Tobacco Day conference in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Speaking in English, which was translated into Mongolian, Singh shared examples of effective tobacco-control strategies.

Pramil Singh interviewed by Eagle news

Pramil Singh, DrPH, professor at Loma Linda University School of Public Health, was interviewed on Wednesday, May 30, by Eagle News in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Singh is in the East Asian nation to deliver several addresses at World No Tobacco Day on May 31. The interview will be broadcasted tonight over Eagle News.

Dr. Pramil Singh lecturing on GIS

Dr. Pramil Singh delivers lecture on Geographic Information Systems and its uses in healthcare management to students and faculty of Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences.

Pramil Singh and Helen Hopp Marshak mingle with students and faculty at Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences

At the conclusion of his lecture on geographical information systems at Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences, Pramil Singh, DrPH (center), a professor at Loma Linda University School of Public Health, celebrates with his friends and colleagues. To his left is Helen Hopp Marshak, PhD, dean of the LLU school. To his right is Dambadarjaa Davaallkham, MD, PhD, dean of MNUMS. Next to her are Bolormaa Purevdorj, MD, MPH, and Sukhbaatar Khandmaa, PhD, MPH, both lecturers at MNUMS. In the background, students display the commemorative certificates signed by officials of both universities. Singh and Marshak are in Mongolia for World No Tobacco Day celebrations on May 31.

Meet Our People

Jayakaran Job, MD, DrPH

Professor, School of Public Health

Jayakaran S. Job, MBBS, MD, DrPH, FACPM is a medical epidemiologist and academician with professional interests ranging from infectious disease control and maternal and child health to prevention of tobacco use particularly in global settings. With over 38 years of experience in the disciplines of medicine and health, Dr. Job currently serves as Professor in the School of Public Health (Global Health, Epidemiology/Biostatistics/Population Medicine) and the School of Medicine (Preventive Medicine, and Medicine), Loma Linda University, California, USA.

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Meet Our People

Pramil Singh, DrPH

Associate Professor, School of Public Health

During the past decade, Dr. Singh's research has focused on the study and measurement of lifestyle exposures (diet, tobacco, physical activity) in population-based studies in the U.S. and Asia. He has authored or co-authored numerous reports in peer-reviewed scientific journals and has been a PI or co-I on grants from the NIH, DHHS, and ASPH. At Loma Linda University, he holds a joint faculty appointment in Epidemiology and Global Health and is the Director of the Center for Health Research.

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