38% men, 9% women above 15 years use tobacco products: Health survey

Women (19 per cent) and men (51 per cent) belonging to Scheduled Tribes are more likely to use tobacco than those from any other caste/tribe groups. Among men as well as women, the use of tobacco is higher in rural areas (43 per cent for men and 11 per cent for women) than in urban areas (29 per cent for men and 6 per cent for women). Nearly three-fifths of men (58 per cent) and 15 per cent of women with no schooling or less than 5 years of schooling use tobacco.

Tobacco use among men aged 15 and over is the highest in Mizoram (73 per cent), followed by Andaman & Nicobar Islands (59 per cent) and Manipur (58 per cent). Tobacco use among women is also the highest in Mizoram (62 per cent), followed by Tripura (51 per cent), and Manipur (43 per cent).The percentage of men 15 years old and above who use any kind of tobacco exceeds 40 per cent in most parts of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, the northeastern states, the northern part of Maharashtra, western Gujarat, and southern Rajasthan. Use of tobacco is also high (30–40 per cent) in Ladakh, Uttarakhand, most parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, northern parts of Rajasthan, and northwestern Gujarat. Lower prevalence of tobacco use (below 30 per cent) is mostly observed in Punjab and southern states, except in central parts of Karnataka.

Alcohol use among women aged 15 and over is the highest in Arunachal Pradesh (24 per cent) and Sikkim (16 per cent). Alcohol use among men is the highest in Arunachal Pradesh (53 per cent) and Telangana (43 per cent), and is the lowest in Lakshadweep. A higher proportion (40 per cent and above) of alcohol consumption among men (15 years and over) is found in Telangana, Arunachal Pradesh, upper Brahmaputra region of Assam, a few districts in Jharkhand, Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, and the Chhota Nagpur region of Jharkhand and Odisha. A 30-40 per cent level of alcohol consumption is found in the districts of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, and a few districts of Odisha. A lower level (below 30 per cent) of alcohol consumption is observed in the remaining parts of the states in India. Drinking alcohol is more common among women from Scheduled Tribes (6 per cent) than from any other caste/tribe groups.

Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, Deputy Director, Centre for Cancer Epidemiology, Tata Memorial Centre told The Indian Express that tobacco kills at least 13 lakh Indians every year after prolonged suffering and financial distress. “It is time to take bold steps and work on tobacco cultivation/processing/manufacturing/promotion in a systematic manner, especially as the revenue from tobacco is only 10 per cent of the loss from it. Tobacco not only affects those consuming it but also people around them. As a first step, let us amend the Cigarette and other Tobacco Products Act 2003 in a way that the Tobacco Industry becomes a less profitable industry,” Dr Chaturvedi said.

“Alcohol is the second biggest preventable cause of death and diseases in India. It is a serious public health issue like tobacco and we need a national policy to control alcohol. Control of alcohol coming under the excise department was the biggest flaw in the system that needs to be urgently corrected. A visit to a bar shows that teenage drinking is rising due to intense promotion by celebrities and the alcohol Industry. We need display boards outside restaurants warning that underage drinking is illegal and offenders will be sent to a remand home,” Dr Chaturvedi added.