India: Punjab Sees Rise in Number of Tobacco Users

Source from:  The Times of India  09/17/2014

There seems to be an increase in the number of tobacco users in Punjab in recent years if the latest study of International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, is of any indication. The population of men who smoke in cities of the state has climbed to 14.2% while the figure is 10.5% for rural areas. Besides, 10.2% men use other forms of tobacco to get the kick.

A previous survey by Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) for Punjab in 2010 found that 11.7% of population uses tobacco (smoking and chewing) and the number of persons smoking bidis is more than cigarette users. This puts about four million Punjabis at the risk of developing tobacco related diseases and of these, about one million will die prematurely because of tobacco use.

Aswini K Nanda, professor, Population Research Centre, Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID), Chandigarh, said the increase in number of smokers in the state could be attributed to migration of cigarette and bidi addicts from other states. "Otherwise, incidence of smoking in Punjab is still much less as compared to other states," he pointed out.

However, the number of women smokers in the state continues to be negligible at 0.4% in cities and 0.2% in rural areas of Punjab.

An increase in tax collections of Punjab during the past one year also points to an increase in sales. However, government had recently brought down value added tax (VAT) on cigarettes on the plea that it was leading to inter-state smuggling. Enditem