One-fifth of students aged 13-15 used some sort of tobacco product: Survey

Nearly one-fifth of the students aged 13-15 years used some form of a tobacco product in their lives but the use has declined by 42 per cent during 2009-2019, according to a survey report released on Tuesday.

The National Fact Sheet Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS-4) stated that 38 per cent of cigarette, 47 per cent of bidi smokers and 52 per cent of smokeless tobacco users initiated the use before their 10th birthday. The median age at initiation of cigarette and bidi smoking, and smokeless tobacco use were 11.5 years, 10.5 years and 9.9 years respectively.

According to the fact sheet, 69 per cent of current cigarette smokers and 78 per cent of current bidi smokers bought cigarettes or bidis from a store, paan shop, street vendor or vending machine. Among the current smokers who bought cigarette or bidi, 45 per cent of cigarette smokers and 47 per cent of bidi smokers were not refused because of their age.

The use of tobacco among students across the states and union territories ranged from the highest in Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram (58 pc each) to the lowest in Himachal Pradesh (1.1pc) and Karnataka (1.2 pc).

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya presided over the release of GYTS-4, India, 2019, on Tuesday,

He emphasised the role of teachers as most crucial in creating awareness among children and their parents about harm due to tobacco use and for shaping the attitude of children in this regard, a health ministry statement said.

"The more and the sooner, we create awareness among children about harms due to tobacco use, the better will be the outcomes in terms of reduction in prevalence of tobacco use among children and consequently among adults," he was quoted as saying in the statement.

'Harmful effects of tobacco use' should be incorporated in school curricula at various levels starting right from the primary school level, he added.

The GYTS-4 was conducted in 2019 by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) under the Ministry of Health.

The survey was designed to produce national estimates of tobacco use among school going children aged 13-15 years at the state level and Union Territory (UT) by sex, location of school (rural-urban), and management of school (public-private).

The first three rounds of GYTS were conducted in 2003, 2006 and 2009.

A total of 97,302 students from 987 schools (public-544; private-443) participated in the survey. Of them, 80,772 students aged 13-15 years were considered for reporting, the ministry's statement said.

The objective of the survey was to provide information on tobacco use, cessation, second-hand smoke, access and availability, exposure to anti-tobacco information, awareness and receptivity to tobacco marketing, knowledge, and attitudes.

According to the key findings of the survey, nearly one-fifth of the students aged 13-15 used any form of the tobacco product (smoking, smokeless, and any other form) in their life. However, the current use (during last 30 days) was 8.5 per cent.

Between the last two surveys, the current use declined by 42 per cent (2009-2019).

Prevalence of tobacco use among boys was 9.6 per cent and among girls was 7.4 per cent. The prevalence of smoking tobacco was 7.3 per cent. In case of smokeless tobacco product, the prevalence was4.1 per cent, the fact sheet stated.

Ever use of e-cigarette among the students was 2.8 per cent, it said.

Use of any form of tobacco was higher among boys than girls.

As far as cessation is concerned, 2 in 10 current smokers tried to quit smoking in the past 12 months and another 2 in 10 students wanted to quit smoking now.

Also, 27 per cent of current users of smokeless tobacco tried to quit using in past 12 months and another 25% wanted to quit now.

As about second-hand smoke, 29.5 per cent of the students were exposed to second-hand smoke (11.2% at home, 21.2% inside enclosed public places, 23.4 at outdoor public places).

According to the findings, 52 per cent of students noticed anti-tobacco messages in the mass media and 18 per cent of students noticed tobacco advertisements or promotions when visiting points of sale.

Besides, 71 per cent of students thought other people's cigarette smoking is harmful to them and 58 per cent of students favoured ban on smoking inside enclosed public places.

As per the findings, 85 per cent of school heads were aware of COTPA, 2003 and 83 per cent of schools were aware of the policy to display 'tobacco-free school' board.