Today, women are outperforming men in a variety of
fi elds and alarmingly, one of those fi elds is tobacco consumption.
Studies show that India has 12.1 million women smokers and
comes second only to the United States in this segment. While
an average male smokes 6.1 cigarettes a day, a woman smokes
an average of 7 cigarettes per day!
And as we all know, cigarette smoking comes with side-effects
and takes a severe toll on one’s health. These ill-effects are not
limited only to those who smoke cigarettes; inhaling second or
third hand smoke is just as harmful, if not worse. Smokeless
tobacco like gutkha, zarda, khaini, masheri and mawa is the most
dominant form of tobacco consumed in India. It is consumed
by chewing and equally dangerous.
STATISTICS SPEAK
According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), India
has an alarmingly high rate of tobacco consumption. Almost
275 million Indian adults, i.e. nearly 35% of the population,
consume some form of tobacco.
GATS fi ndings related to tobacco use among women state:
— 20.3% of adult women use tobacco products.
— Over 90% women tobacco users consume smokeless
tobacco (a large number of these users are in the
reproductive age group).
— The average age at initiation of tobacco use is 17.8 years
with 25.8% of females starting tobacco use before the
age of 15.
HAND-ME-DOWN HASSLES
Smoking affects not only the health of smokers, but also the
health of those around them who are exposed to the smoke.
Second hand smoke is a mixture of sidestream and mainstream
smoke - the smoke that comes from the burning end of a cigarette
and the smoke that is exhaled by the smoker respectively. On the
other hand, third hand smoke refers to the nicotine vapour that
53 SAVVY DECEMBER 2017