India: 40% of Tobacco Consumers in Bihar are Women

Source from:  The Times of India 03/08/2013

She wanted to be a doctor but bad company and tobacco brought her to the other side of the table.
 
A native of Patna, Kalpana (name changed), 24, had gone to Allahabad to prepare for medical entrance exams. In hostel, she found a roommate who was in the habit of consuming gutka. Starting with occasional intake, Kalpana became a diehard addict and started taking 35-40 pouches per day. Her gums were damaged and she almost stopped taking food. When her parents came to know about her, they took her to Disha de-addiction centre. "After three-month treatment, she is now leading a tobacco-free life, said Rakhi Sharma of the centre.
 
Kalpana is not the one-odd case. According to Global Adult Tobacco Survey-2010, 40% of the tobacco consumers in the state are women! The state has the dubious distinction of having the largest number of tobacco consumers after five smaller states, including Mizoram, Manipur and Meghalaya of the northeast.
 
The GATS study says women mostly use bidi (6.5%), followed by other smokeless tobacco products (29.7%). Khaini (2.9%), betel (2.0%) and other tobacco products (5.5%) are other forms of tobacco used by women in the state.
 
A baby born of a woman using khaini and gutka is underweight by an average of 250 grams, said Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, an oncologist of Mumbai-based Tata Memorial Hospital. Quoting a research paper, he said, "The women who smoke are also at risk of giving birth to preterm babies. Pregnant women using smokeless tobacco are also 1.7 times more likely to become anaemic."
 
Noted gynaecologist Dr Shanti Rai said if a pregnant woman smokes, the carbon content may accumulate in the baby's windpipe that may cause respiratory problems as the brain lacks oxygen. "It's also observed that the girls who smoke have excessive bleeding in menses," she said.
 
Noted surgeon Dr A A Hai added, "Like active smoking, passive smoking is also very harmful, both for the mother and the foetus." A foetus may also suffer from malformation and still birth, say other experts.
 
Even a mother's life is at risk because smoking in pregnancy may cause miscarriage and other complications, including detachment of placenta and ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy that occurs outside the womb, a life-threatening condition for a woman), opine experts.
 
Needless to say, all these effects on women come added with the otherwise effects of tobacco that is a proven carcinogenic and causes different types of cancer.
 
With the westernized life-style, alcoholism is becoming a 'fashion trend' for women. Though there is no credible data to study this trend, Rakhi of the de-addiction centre says the consumption has increased over a period. Quoting the figures of her centre, she says Disha, during 2010-2011, provided treatment to 21 women admitted there out of the 2228 cases treated overall. While 17 cases were in the age group of 25-45, four were in the 45-60 age.
 
"Liquor consumption is hardly a taboo for modern women. It is definitely not a welcome development. While the women belonging to high income groups go to de-addiction centres, those from lower income groups do not tend to so," Rakhi said.
 
And if a woman drinks, it's just not she who suffers but the entire family. Juhi (name changed) of Patna was initiated to alcohol after five years of her marriage at a party that she attended with her husband, who works with a private organization. She became addicted and used to order her servant to bring alcohol from nearby outlets in her husband's absence and started neglecting her duties towards her nine-year-old daughter. Later, her husband took him to Disha. After more than three months of treatment and counselling, she finally got rid of it.
 
Noted gynaecologist Dr Manju Geeta Mishra warns pregnant women against drinking alcohol as it crosses from bloodstream through placenta to the baby's blood. "It has a harmful impact on the baby's growth and may damage its organs and nervous system," she said, adding, "Though the trend has not picked up fast in the state, young women who venture outside the state for higher studies or vocation, are prone to it."
 
Experts say if a pregnant woman drinks, the child may suffer from foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). The child's liver isn't fully developed so it does not quickly metabolize the alcohol. This, in turn, affects the development of the brain causing physical, mental, behavioural, and learning disabilities in the child with possible lifelong implications.
 
Experts also say too much drinking can lead to infertility, both in men and women. Therefore, it becomes important to avoid it when a woman is to conceive. Enditem