Survey shows that Jharkhand smokes more, chews less tabacco

Tobacco consumers in Jharkhand are more likely to light a cigarette and make a smoke bubble rather than chew it. A Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS-2), which was released by Jharkhand health minister Ramchandra Chandravanshi on Tuesday, confirms that Jharkhand is smoking more and chewing less these days.

The study has reached the conclusion following a household survey of tobacco consumers in Jharkhand. The survey confirms that consumption of smokeless tobacco such as khaini and gutkha have gone down by 12.5 per cent in last seven years.

The study in 2009-10 had found 47.9% users of smokeless tobacco in Jharkhand, a number which has slipped to 35.4%  in 2016-17.

Ironically, however, the number of smokers has gone up by 1.5 per cent from 9.6 to 11.1 during the period.

The Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) is a global standard for systematically monitoring adult tobacco use (Smoking and smokeless) and tracking key tobacco control indicators. It involves a household survey of persons aged 15 and above.

There are, however, some welcome signs as well. In a sharp departure from GATS-1 (2009-10) figures-which had revealed that as many as 50.1 per cent of the state's population of 15 years and above consumed tobacco-the GATS 2 study, conducted during 2016-17, deciphered that the figure of tobacco consumers in Jharkhand has gone down by 11.2 per cent to 38.9.

Clearly, the number of smokers may have gone up, a fact largely attributed to population growth, the proportion of smokers has decreased in Jharkhand. Across the nation, the numbers have registered a 6 per cent dip from 34.6 in 2009-10 to 28.6 in 2016-17.

The study also churned out other heartening facts. To top it all, fewer youths in the age group of 15-17 years in Jharkhand have been found to have addicted to tobacco in the past seven years. While 16.7 per cent used tobacco during 2009-10, the latest survey found only 10.6 per cent doing so now. 

This is not all.  The exposure of adults to second-hand smoking or passive smoking at home has also been found to have declined in Jharkhand - from 56 per cent in 2009-10 to 32 per cent during 2016-17.

The survey also revealed that as many as 51 per cent of cigarette smokers and 8.6 per cent of bidi smokers are considering quitting smoking because of the warning on packets.

Earlier in October, another study conducted by the International Institute of Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, too has estimated that the country tally of smokers will decline from about 344 million in 2015 to 327 million by 2020 and 303 million by 2025.

India's overall population of tobacco smokers will decrease by nearly 12 per cent during the decade ending 2025, but sharp population increases might just cause a higher numbers of smokers in some states like Bengal and Bihar.

The National Family Health Survey of 2015-16 too had detected a sharp decline in tobacco use. Public health experts credit the government for the declining trend in India. Tighter tobacco rules that the government has been pushing over the past decade, including ban on smoking in public places, pictorial warnings on cigarette packs and the anti-tobacco messages in cinemas and on TV, have together contributed a decline in the proportion of smoking in the country.