In the recent release of the National Family Health Survey 5 (2019-21), it was revealed that 38 percent of men and 9 percent of women aged 15 and above use tobacco products. Additionally, only 1 percent of women consume alcohol, in contrast to 19 percent of men in the same age group.
Conducted in approximately 6.37 lakh sample households across 707 districts in 28 states and 8 Union Territories, the NFHS-5 survey included 7.24 lakh women and 1.01 lakh men to provide detailed estimates up to the district level.
The survey found that women (19 percent) and men (51 percent) belonging to Scheduled Tribes are more likely to use tobacco compared to other caste/tribe groups. Tobacco use is higher in rural areas (43 percent for men and 11 percent for women) than in urban areas (29 percent for men and 6 percent for women). Nearly three-fifths of men (58 percent) and 15 percent of women with no schooling or less than 5 years of schooling use tobacco.
Mizoram has the highest tobacco use among men aged 15 and over (73 percent), followed by Andaman & Nicobar Islands (59 percent) and Manipur (58 percent). Among women, Mizoram also tops the list (62 percent), followed by Tripura (51 percent), and Manipur (43 percent).
Alcohol use among women aged 15 and over is highest in Arunachal Pradesh (24 percent) and Sikkim (16 percent), while alcohol use among men is highest in Arunachal Pradesh (53 percent) and Telangana (43 percent). A higher proportion (40 percent and above) of alcohol consumption among men (15 years and over) is found in Telangana, Arunachal Pradesh, the upper Brahmaputra region of Assam, certain districts in Jharkhand, Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, and the Chhota Nagpur region of Jharkhand and Odisha. A lower level (below 30 percent) of alcohol consumption is observed in other parts of the country.
Dr. Pankaj Chaturvedi, Deputy Director at the Centre for Cancer Epidemiology, Tata Memorial Centre, emphasized that tobacco claims the lives of at least 13 lakh Indians annually, causing prolonged suffering and financial distress. He called for bold measures to address tobacco cultivation, processing, manufacturing, and promotion systematically, suggesting amendments to the Cigarette and other Tobacco Products Act 2003 to make the tobacco industry less profitable.
Regarding alcohol, Dr. Chaturvedi stressed that it is the second biggest preventable cause of death and diseases in India. He advocated for a national policy to control alcohol and highlighted the need to correct flaws in the system, especially the intense promotion of teenage drinking by celebrities and the alcohol industry. Dr. Chaturvedi proposed the implementation of warning display boards outside restaurants, emphasizing the illegality of underage drinking and the consequences for offenders.
