India: ''94% Tobacco Users Don''t Want to Quit''

Source from:  Times of India 10/22/2013

At least 94 per cent of tobacco users in India have no intention to quit, states a recent report by Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project India (TCP India project). The TCP India project is part of the International Tobacco Control Project, a multi-country initiative to evaluate the impact of Framework Convention on Tobacco Control of WHO.

The project survey is based on the research conducted in various Indian states including Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra. The survey reveals that in all the four states, the prevalence of tobacco use was high among men and low-income and less-educated adultsthan women and high-income and more highly educated adults. The World Bank recommends imposing 66 to 80 per cent of tax on the retail price of tobacco products to deter people from consuming tobacco. But, taxes account for approximately 38 per cent of the retail price of cigarettes and 9 per cent of the retail price of bidis in India. Smokeless tobacco products are often sold tax-free, says the report.

The survey conducted face-to-face interviews with 8,000 tobacco users and 2,400 non-tobacco users across four states - focusing upon one city and its surrounding rural district in each state. It found that current tobacco use among adults aged 15 years and older ranged from 23 to 47 per cent (47% in Bihar, 33% in West Bengal, 28% in Maharashtra, and 23% in Madhya Pradesh). Smokeless tobacco was the most common form of tobacco product used in all four states with at least 2 out of 5 adults using smokeless tobacco. (rising to 84 percent of tobacco users in Maharashtra).

Cigarettes were the most common smoked tobacco product in three of the four states. The majority of smokers (63 to 81%) and smokeless users (64 to 87%) expressed regret for starting to use tobacco.

According to the report there are approximately 275 million tobacco users in India. Tobacco use accounts for nearly half of all cancers among males and a quarter of all cancers among females and it is estimated that there will be 1.5 million tobacco-related deaths annually by 2020. Enditem