Assessing the impact of tobacco control policies on smokeless tobacco uptake and use among secondary school students in South Asia: protocol for a feasibility study of conducting longitudinal surveys

<ns4:p> <ns4:bold>Background:</ns4:bold> Smokeless tobacco (ST) use is common among youth in South Asia where 85% of the world’s 300 million ST users live and use the most lethal ST forms. Little is known about the impact of tobacco control policies on the youth ST uptake in those countries. We planned to conduct longitudinal surveys among secondary school students to evaluate existing tobacco control policies on ST uptake and use, and a feasibility study for that prospective, observational cohort study. </ns4:p> <ns4:p> <ns4:bold>Study objectives:</ns4:bold> (1) To demonstrate the feasibility of selection, recruitment and retention of schools and of study participants; (2) To assess the feasibility and acceptability of the study procedure and study tool (questionnaire); (3) To assess if the questionnaire…