Rajasthan has highest tobacco users in northern India: Report

JAIPUR: World Health Organisation (WHO) had praised state government’s efforts in tobacco control, but the state has a lot to do in this direction and should not stop here. Figures released by the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) India report shows that the state has the highest tobacco consumption among states in northern India.
Not only men, but also women consume tobacco in different forms. NFHS-5 India report shows 6.9% of women in the state consume tobacco, while 41.9% of their male counterparts consume tobacco, the highest in 9 UTs/States in north India.
The nine UTs/states in north India are Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan, which have been compared in terms of tobacco consumption in the report.
However, in comparison to all the three states in central India — Chhattisgarh, MP and UP — mentioned in the report, the consumption of tobacco is lowest. In Madhya Pradesh, the consumption of tobacco among men is 46.4%, in Uttar Pradesh it is 44% and in Chhattisgarh, 43.1% of men consume tobacco. Among women, 17.3% women in Chhattisgarh, 10.3% in Madhya Pradesh and 8.5% of women in Uttar Pradesh consume tobacco.
The report says 6% of women in urban Rajasthan consume tobacco and 7.2% in rural areas. Among men, the tobacco consumption is 33.1% in urban areas and 44.9% in rural areas.
Over the past few years, tobacco consumption in the state has reduced significantly, earning the state government’s ‘strong anti-tobacco policies’ praise from WHO. As per Global Adult Tobacco Survey results, the number of tobacco users in Rajasthan fell from 13.5 million in 2009-10 to 12.6 million to 2016-17.