Child health and tobacco

This study also threw up a few other serious findings,such as — most poor households with at least one smoker spend almost 10 per cent of their income on cigarettes. For families living on or barely above the poverty line in India,such figures would mean that with the costs incurred through tobacco use,very little is left over for simple yet vital needs such as food. It is common knowledge that most households in the rural and semi-urban regions in India,the man of the house is the sole breadwinner. In such circumstances,when a substantial amount of the earning is thrown away in tobacco use,it impacts the nutrition of the children in these households. Moreover such families live in slums and have small houses,so the children are directly exposed to tobacco through proximity to the smoker in the family,thus making the undernoursihed children exposed to the dangers of tobacco as well.

The study also found such stark figures as 70 per cent of cigarette expenditures in poor households being financed by the household food budget rather than the non-food budget. In this scenario,it becomes imperative to take steps to curb the use of tobacco,lest the next generation be irreversibly impacted by this deadly vice. Reducing tobacco use will improve children’s heath as money previously spent on tobacco can be used to buy food. To this end,implementing strong tobacco control policies will reduce tobacco consumption,leaving poor households with more money for food and improving children’s nutritional health.

Prenatal smoking & children
In another serious cause of concern,the number of women smokers is increasing in large numbers across the world,and also in India,in particular. Today,smoking is seen as a form of liberation by women — especially by teenagers and young adults. This habit,not only adversely affects the health of the smokers but in the long run,when they fail to stop smoking during their pregnancy,it takes a toll on the foetus. A recent study conducted in Australia has shown that maternal smoking during pregnancy has a direct bearing on poorer lung function among offspring in early adulthood. Researchers have also stated that there may be a risk of these ill effects in the children persisting beyond their early adulthood.

In terms of clear numbers,overall,38.5 per cent of mothers reported smoking during pregnancy,43.4 per cent smoked when their child was aged six months,36.8 per cent smoked when their child was aged five years,and 31.4 per cent smoked when their child was aged 14 years. The subsequent analysis has revealed that among males,exposure to maternal smoking during the pregnancy or when the child was aged between six months to 14 years,was associated with significant reductions in respiratory flow,compared with those who were not exposed. The effects of prenatal smoking are also manifested in such difficulties as low birth weight and an increased asthma rate. On the basis of such empirical data,it can be clearly said that prenatal smoking has a direct bearing on the health of the unborn child and also long after the birth.

The authorities may do whatever is possible to curb tobacco use to the highest extent possible,but in the end,it is upto the youth themselves to realise the harm they cause to themselves and those around them through their use of this deadly substance.

The writer is the director at Healis Sekhsaria Institute For Public Health