11/02/2020
*Kashmiris annually spend Rs 600 Cr on to***co products: GoI*
_*Srinagar tops list with Rs 122 Cr, Anantnag 2nd with Rs 103 Cr, Baramulla 3rd with Rs 98 Cr*_
*Rise in lung cancer in Valley a cause of huge to***co sales*
Srinagar: Kashmir is spending a whopping Rs 600 crore on the purchase of to***co products annually.
An official at the Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir said during a year, people from nine districts of Kashmir spend Rs 595 crore on to***co products.
Srinagar spends Rs 122 crore followed by Anantnag with Rs 103 crore, Baramulla Rs 98 crore, Kupwara Rs 84 crore, Pulwama Rs 55 crore, Kulgam Rs 41 crore, Bandipora Rs 37 crore, Ganderbal Rs 29 crore, and Shopian Rs 26 crore.
However, the figures of central Kashmir’s Budgam district are not available.
These are the figures based on a survey conducted earlier by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India (GoI).
Jammu Kashmir is among the states with a huge number of to***co consumers due to poor enforcement of Ci******es and Other To***co Products Act (COTPA).
According to the Global Adult To***co Survey (GATS) of 2016-17, in J&K, there are 23.7 percent to***co users and 20.8 percent smoke while 4.3 percent consume smokeless to***co.
As per the Health officials, although the government has imposed blanket ban on e-ci******es and loose ci******es, the sale of loose ci******es continues rampantly.
Dr Naheed Anjum Malik, Divisional Nodal Officer, National To***co Control Programme (NTCP) said by reducing the consumption they could reduce the economic burden.
“We are creating awareness about the harmful effects of to***co consumption. We are in a process of implementing the provisions under COPTA Act of 2003,” she said.
Dr Naheed said they had distributed a lot of IEC material in all the districts across the Valley and were in training the manpower against to***co.
“Training of health, social workers, NGOs, school teachers, counsellors, ASHAs has been conducted in all the districts,” she said. “In Budgam we have covered 70 schools under the awareness programmes.”
As per the Health experts, almost 40 percent of TB deaths among men were associated with smoking saying the incidence of impotence is 85 percent higher among smokers.
According to officials, around 75 percent of cigarette sales in India were through loose ci******es and every gazetted officer was authorized to challan the person found smoking at a public places.
Dr Mohammad Naseer, program coordinator of Union of To***co and Lung Diseases, an NGO working in collaboration with the NTCP, said to***co sale was a big problem in J&K saying it had caused a rise in lung cancer.
“Illegal and loose ci******es are being sold rampantly,” he said. “There should be monitoring to prevent people from second-hand smoking.”
The Health department had launched a “yellow line campaign” within a radius of 100 meters from any educational institution to ban the sale of to***co products.
He said although the government imposed blanket ban on e-ci******es and loose ci******es, the sale of loose ci******es continues rampantly.
Naseer said to***co industry was the least remunerative and an exploitative industry which pushes people to further poverty.
“Health impact of to***co is underestimated and its control too is underestimated and remains ignored,” he said. “A mechanism has to be developed in a sustained way.”
Previously, the GATS survey revealed that with every fourth person in Jammu Kashmir is a smoker.
According to the survey, 19.4 percent people of J&K smoke, 1.4 percent smoke as well as consume smokeless to***co, 2.9 percent only consume smokeless to***co while the remaining 76.3 percent are non-smokers.
The survey conducted by Mumbai-based International Institute of Population Science (IIPS) in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said cigarette, ho**ah and bidi were the most commonly used to***co products in J&K.
It reveals that among the adults, a total of 10.4 per cent smoke cigarette, 6.3 per cent smoke from the sukkah and 6.2 per cent smoke bidi.
The survey shows that the mean age at initiation of to***co use had increased from 17.2 years in GATS-1 to 18.0 years in GATS-2.
“A total of 50.1 per cent of smokers are advised by a healthcare provider to quit smoking and 38.8 per cent of smokeless to***co users were advised by a health work providers to quit smokeless to***co use,” it said.
The survey said 57.5 per cent of all adults who worked indoors were exposed to second-hand smoke at their workplaces while 35.3 per cent of all adults were exposed to second-hand smoke at any public place.
The survey revealed that 55.4 per cent of cigarette smokers and 25.4 per cent of bidi smokers thought of quitting smoking because of warning label on the pack, while 26.2 per cent of smokeless to***co users thought of quitting smokeless to***co use due to the warning label.
“A total of 35.2 per cent of men, 5.1 per cent of women and 20.8 per cent of all adults currently smoke to***co, while as 6.8 per cent of men, 1.5 per cent of women and 43.3 per cent of all adults either smoke to***co or use smokeless to***co,” the survey mentions.
It also notes that 39.7 per cent of men, 6.2 per cent of women and 23.7 per cent of all adults either smoke to***co or use smokeless to***co.
The survey reveals that to***co use has come down by 2.9 per cent in the last seven years in the State.
The prevalence of any to***co use has decreased significantly by 2.9 per cent from 26.6 per cent in GATS-2 (conducted during 2009-10) to 23.7 per cent in GATS-2 held in 2016-17.
“From GATS-1 to GATS-2, the prevalence of smoking has decreased by 1.1 per cent, however, the decrease is not significant,” the survey reveals.
