Background:
One of the greatest threat to global health is the epidemic of tobacco. One third of world's population use tobacco and almost half of whom die prematurely. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) brought out MPOWER package of interventions country-level implementation of effective measures to reduce the tobacco demand.

Methods:
This study has en undertaken to determine the correlation between prevalence of tobacco smoking and existing tobacco control policy initiatives of selected South East Asia Regional Countries.A secondary data based correlation study where data on tobacco smoking prevalence and nations' compliance to tobacco control policies during the year 2013 were obtained from Tobacco Atlas 2013, 5th Edition. Data were analyzed using Pearson´s Correlation Coefficient on SPSS version 16. Results were considered significant at 95% level of significance.

Results:
The study represented eleven countries of the WHO - South East Asia Region. Current smoking prevalence ranged between 2.8% and 39.8% with a mean prevalence of 20.5% (± 9.67). As smoking prevalence among boys increased in these eleven countries, prevalence increased among adult males as well with a positive moderate correlation (r= 0.67; P≤0.05). Advertisement ban compliance negatively correlated with the prevalence of male smoking in the region (r= - 0.69; P≤0.05). Total advertisement ban compliance correlated strongly with the indirect advertisement ban (r= 0.78; P≤0.01). Protection from smoke policies had a reduced effect on the male smoking prevalence (r= -0.67; P≤0.05) in the region.


[Tobacco Smoking Prevalence and MPOWER Policies]



Conclusions:
In this study, prevalence of tobacco smoking had a relationship with the major MPOWER policies such as total ban on tobacco advertisements and protection from smoke helps in reducing the prevalence. Hence, MPOWER policies contribute to reduce smoking prevalence in the WHO SEAR region.