The global tobacco epidemic is increasing at higher speed and in order to control the spread of tobacco around the globe there is a need to develop tobacco control programme.

One such program is organized by the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and it has received a fund of $5 million by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

This program is known as the National Tobacco Control Programme and will be launched in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, over a three-year period (2009-2012).

The grant will provide the much-needed district specific strategic response to the (STEPS) Strengthening of Tobacco Control Efforts through Innovative Partnerships and Strategies.

Project STEPS will be active in following districts: Prakasam, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, Mahboodnagar, Karim Nagar and Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh) and Kheda, Rajkot, Banaskantha, Anand and Surat (Gujarat).