Background:Tobacco use is a major public health problem globally. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), tobacco is the second most important cause of death in the world. It is currently estimated to be responsible for about 5 million deaths each year worldwide. In India, it is responsible for over 8 lakh deaths every year.Objective:To estimate the prevalence of tobacco use among power loom workers in Mau Aima Town, District Allahabad, UP.Materials and Methods:Five hundred power loom workers were randomly chosen. Out of them 448 workers were interviewed through a questionnaire survey during May-June 2007. Data on demographics, education, and type of work were collected along with details regarding tobacco use and smoking status, duration of the habit, and daily consumption. Prevalence of tobacco chewing and/or bidi and cigarette smoking, and their sociodemographic correlates, were examined.Results:The overall prevalence of tobacco use was 85.9%; the prevalence of smoking and tobacco chewing were 62.28% and 66.07%, respectively. Statistical analysis showed that smoking is more common in the elderly, while chewing gutka (a type of chewing tobacco) is popular among the younger age-groups.Conclusion:The prevalence of tobacco use among power loom workers is very high compared to that in general population. Immediate intervention programs are warranted to reduce the future burden of tobacco-related morbidity among these workers who are already exposed to the highly polluted environment in power loom factories.

Objectives:To observe the prevalence of malaria, dengue, and chikungunya and their association with mosquito breeding sites.Methods:The study was observational and analytical. A total of 162 houses and 670 subjects were observed during the study period. One hundred forty-two febrile patients were eligible for the study. After obtaining informed consent from all febrile patients, 140 blood samples were collected to diagnose malaria, dengue, and chikungunya. Larval samples were collected by the standard protocol that follows. Correlation of data was performed by Pearson correlation test.Results:Forty-seven blood samples were found positive: 33 for chikungunya, 3 for dengue, and 11 for malaria. Fifty-one out of 224 larval samples were found positive. Out of the 51 positive samples, 37 were positive for Aedes, 12 were positive for Anopheles, and two were positive for Culex larvae.Interpretation and Conclusion:Mosquito-borne fevers, especially malaria, dengue, and chikungunya, have shown a significant relationship with mosquito breeding sites.

The objective of this study is to investigate the associated risk factors of haemorrhoids. The study was conducted in the Hospital of National Institute of Unani Medicine. It was a cross sectional study of 1 year duration. A total number of 311 patients were found to be suffering from haemorrhoids in which 236 were males and 75 were females. Patients were diagnosed on the basis of anorectal examination which includes inspection, digital examination and proctoscopy. Both modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors were recorded in a pretested semi-structured schedule. In the present study out of 416 patients, 311 were found to be having haemorrhoids. Prevalence of haemorrhoids was found maximum in age group of ≥ 40 years, and in those who were not doing morning or evening walk or other extra physical activities; in those whom family history of haemorrhoids was positive; which clearly shows the association of haemorrhoids with the advancement in age, sedentary lifestyle and heredity and genetic makeup.

Background and objectivesOne of the greatest challenges of health care systems at the dawn of the 21st century is tuberculosis (TB). Drug resistant strains of TB are becoming a global public health risk. These strains commonly appear due to faulty therapies. Patients frequently stop treatment due to the toxicity of anti-tubercular treatment (ATT) drugs. Amla (Emblica officinalis) is a well-known Unani single drug. Jawarish amla is a Unani compound formulation which is commonly used to administer amla. This study tested the efficacy of Jawarish amla as an adjuvant to ATT drugs in reducing their side effects.Methodology:Half of forty eligible pulmonary tuberculosis patients were randomly assigned to Test (Group B) and the other half to Control (Group A). Six grams of Jawarish amla twice daily was administered to the test group, and the same dosage of placebo was administered to control group along with directly observed treatment, short course chemotherapy (DOTS) for 60 days. Fisher exact test and paired t-test were applied for efficacy evaluation. Grading of symptoms was done to assess the toxicity of ATT and outcome of the adjuvant.Results and discussion:Significant improvements were observed in almost all subjective and objective parameters. The exceptions were serum creatine and serum uric acid, which showed non-significant slight elevations within normal limits.Conclusion:Jawarish amla was ascertained to be safe and effective adjuvant of DOTS in combating the adverse effects of ATT drugs.

Mankind has faced many hardships like natural disaster, drought and epidemics. Study focuses on epidemics caused by microbes.Unani medicine has a long experience in treating epidemic diseases because its history is as old as the history of human being itself. More or less entire of the civilisations throughout the history became the basis for evolution of Unani medicine. Hippocrates (460-380BC) regarded it asbothart and science, discussed the epidemics and wrote a book on Epidemics. Body is assumed healthy when the humours are balanced. So, Unani scholars have rightly said Fa’il (Active agent) is not able to produce any change (Actions & Reactions) in the body without the prior presence of Munfa’il(Pertinent) having the capacity to accept it like in Waba(epidemic). The aim is to explore the fundamental concept of Waba from the Unani literature and understand COVID-19 in reference to existing literature of Unani medicine. The literature of Unani medicine was surveyed for concept of Waba(Epidemic) & related concepts. Internet was used to access indexed papers using search engines like Medline, PubMed, Science Direct, etc. Logical preventive strategies like quarantine, and useof fumigants, prophylactic drugs are mentioned in Unani literature that have been used in epidemics with flue like symptoms. This knowledge and experience may be used for achieving methods for prophylaxis, cure or add on therapeutic measures for COVID-19 epidemic.