Tobacco consumption among teenagers in North East alarming

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Tobacco consumption among teenagers in the north-eastern States is the highest in the country.

The Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) 2019 for India was released by the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare MansukhMandaviya on August 10 2021, has revealed that the national average for tobacco consumption in the age group of 13-15 years is about 8.5% for any type of tobacco use. Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have recorded the highest prevalence (57.9% each) followed by Nagaland (42.6%), Meghalaya (33.6%), Sikkim (24.8%), Uttar Pradesh (22.9%), Uttarakhand (18.5%) and Assam (11.9%). Lowest prevalence of tobacco consumption in the same age group was found in Himachal Pradesh (1.1%), Karnataka (1.2%), Goa (2.4%), and Kerala (3.2%).

In the survey among the school children in the age group of 13-15 years, 987 schools across the country covered 97,302 students out of which 80,772 responded. Earlier, such studies were conducted in 2003, 2006 and 2009. The survey was conducted in collaboration with the International Institute for Population Sciences, an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Exposure to tobacco smoke at home has declined from 36.4% in 2003 to 11.2% in 2019. Interestingly, 54.7% tobacco vendors refused to sell cigarettes to students in 2019 as against 44.9% in 2003. In 2019, 70.6% of students thought that other people's tobacco smoking is harmful to them. Though the Government has authorised the schools to collect fines for violation under Section-6 of COTPA (Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products Act) 2003, only 39.2% in rural and 36.4% in urban schools complied.

The virtual inaugural programme was attended by Dr Amal Chandra Kataki, Director of Dr B Borooah Cancer Institute (BBCI). It may be stated that BBCI has one of the four regional Tobacco Quitline Centres in the country with a quit rate of about 46%.

Also Read: Training on Cigarette and Other Products of Tobacco Act (COPTA) conducted

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