Rajasthan: More villagers consume tobacco than urban dwellers

The prevalence of tobacco use was higher in villages than in urban areas in Rajasthan, a state which registered a significant decline in the number of tobacco users between 2009-10 and 2016-17, according to a global survey.
The number of tobacco users in the western state has gone down from 32.3 per cent of the population in 2009-10 to 24.7 per cent in 2016-17, according to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS)-2.
The GATS-2 report was released in Jaipur yesterday.
According to the survey, the number of tobacco users in rural areas of Rajasthan was 26.8 per cent of the population as against 19.1 per cent in urban areas.

Smoking has decreased significantly among adults from 18.8 per cent in 2009-19 (GATS-1) to 13.2 per cent in 2016-17 (GATS-2). Smokeless tobacco use has also decreased by 4.8 per cent (from 18.9 to 14.1).
Bidi and gutka are the most commonly used tobacco products in the state -- 11.4 per cent of the adults smoke bidi and 9.0 per cent use gutka.

Per person monthly expenditure of cigarette smokers has also gone up to Rs 835 from Rs 570.50, while per capita bidi expenditure has risen to Rs 423.40 from Rs 247.30, according to the survey.
However, the number of dual tobacco users has come down to 2.6 per cent from 5.4 per cent previously.

The Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) is a global standard for systematically monitoring adult tobacco use (smoking and smokeless) and tracking key tobacco control indicators.
GATS is a household survey of persons aged 15 and above conducted in all 30 states of India and two Union Territories.
The prevalence of tobacco use among persons aged 15-17 has also decreased from 10.5 per cent in GATS-1 to 7.1 per cent in GATS-2.
According to data from GATS-2, the mean age at initiation of tobacco use has increased from 17.0 years in GATS-1 to 18.4 years in GATS-2.