Team Herald
PANJIM; The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which recently released Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS 2), has said that almost 9.7 per cent of adults in Goa consume tobacco in some form or the other.
The survey also states that tobacco consumption in Goa has increased by one per cent in 8 years. However, an overall reduction in tobacco consumption at the national level has been noted in the survey.
New Delhi based Consumer VOICE along with Goa based National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE), is working has initiated several tobacco related intervention programmes in Goa focussed primarily on youth and children, to sensitize different stakeholders and spreading awareness on reducing the consumption of tobacco.
“The rise in number of tobacco users especially smokeless is a cause of worry because it is easily accessible to children and youth. We are working in the state through our programmes to protect the public, especially youth and children from exposure to tobacco use,” Consumer Voice Chief Operating Officer Ashim Sanyal said.
Tobacco use is the leading single preventable cause of deaths worldwide. Each year an estimated seven million deaths are attributed to the use of tobacco. India is the third largest tobacco producing nation and second largest consumer of tobacco world-wide. Mortality due to tobacco in India is estimated at upwards of 1.3 million.
In India every third adult in rural areas and every fifth adult in urban areas uses tobacco in some form or the other, the survey revealed that 28.6 per cent of adults—aged 15 and above— in India currently use tobacco in some form. Among the adults 24.9 per cent are daily tobacco users and 3.7 per cent are occasional users.
From GATS 1 to GATS 2, the prevalence of smoking in Goa has decreased by 0.6 percentage points; however the decrease is not significant. However, it is noteworthy to mention that the prevalence of smokeless tobacco use has increased significantly by 1.9 percentage points.
“The ascent in tobacco consumption in Goa is an indicator that government needs to strengthen tobacco control efforts and people need more awareness on the health and financial burden that tobacco use brings with it,” NOTE India President Dr Shekhar Salkar said.
He said, “We will continue our efforts to protect people from the hazards of tobacco use.”
GATS is a global standard for monitoring adult tobacco usage (smoking and smokeless ) and this GATS report indicates that creating awareness on harmful effects of consuming tobacco has helped the cause of tobacco consumption reduction. GATS enhances countries’ capacity to design, implement and evaluate tobacco control policies and programmes.
