In Jammu Kashmir, 38.3 per cent of the male population and 3.6 per cent of the female population consume tobacco products, as per the National Family Health Survey.
“Tobacco products mostly used by men are cigarettes (27% ), bidis (4%), hookah, and cigars or pipe (2% each). Among women and men, the use of any form of tobacco is slightly higher in rural areas (1.4% for women and 35% for men) than in urban areas (0.7% for women and 24% for men),” the data revealed.
Over one-third (35%) of men who smoke cigarettes smoked 5 to 9 cigarettes in 24 hours.
In 2020, a survey conducted by the Government revealed that Kashmir is spending a whopping Rs 600 crore on the purchase of tobacco products annually. The Data revealed that people from nine districts of Kashmir spend Rs 595 crore on tobacco products.
Srinagar district spend the highest amount at Rs 122 crore followed by Anantnag with Rs 103 crore.
The districts of Baramulla and Kupwara spend Rs 98 crore and Rs 84 crore on tobacco consumption annually, as per the survey.
Pulwama spends Rs 55 crore, Kulgam Rs 41 crore, Bandipora Rs 37 crore, Ganderbal Rs 29 crore, and Shopian Rs 26 crore on smoking products, as per the Government survey.
A recent survey revealed the prevalence of cigarette smoking among adolescent boys in Srinagar and found that 23 percent school going adolescents are smokers in the capital city of Jammu Kashmir.
The survey conducted by the Department of Community Medicine Government Medical College Srinagar was published in the first issue of the Journal of Integrative Medicine and Public Health (JIMPH).