4. 3% decline in tobacco users in gujarat: survey

Health minister Kishor Kanani and others at the workshop (Right) Health commissioner Jayanti Ravi speaks The ratio of tobacco consumers in Gujarat has declined sharply as per the second

phase of Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), a senior government official said on Thursday. In the first phase of GATS, which was undertaken in 2009-10, tobacco users in Gujarat were 29.4%,

which declined to 25.1% in the second phase of the survey done in 2016-17, state's health commissioner Jayanti Ravi, said at the state level dissemination workshop on Global Adult

Tobacco Survey (GATS 2) survey in Gandhinagar. She said that the percentage of smokers in Gujarat had fallen from 21.6% to 19.2%. The percentage of those consuming gutkha was 12.8% in the

survey, and those smoking beedis 6.4%. Tobacco consumption in the age group of 15-17 declined from 6% in GATS 1 to 3.5% in GATS 2. The latest survey showed that tobacco consumption among

youths in Gujarat was starting at a later date compared with the earlier survey. From 18.3 years in the earlier survey, the average age at which youths were starting to consume tobacco

products had gone up to 18.6. Around 400 participants, including experts from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Faith Foundation, and representatives from education, agriculture and home

department, attended the workshop. Inaugurating the workshop, minister of state for health Kishor Kanani, attributed the decline in tobacco consumption to the effective steps taken by the

state government. He said that the government had banned gutkha in the state, and was also creating awareness among children and youths. He also appealed to farmers to fulfill their social

responsibility by growing crops other than tobacco. The GATS 2 survey was undertaken by TISS from August 2016 to February 2017, and covered 1,346 males and 1,385 females above the age of 15.

It was a part of the national survey which covered over 74,000 people across 30 states and two union territories. The survey revealed that percentage of people exposed to secondhand smoking

had also declined. From 31.7, the percentage of people exposed to secondhand smoking in public places fell to 19.9, whereas that at home fell from 57.8 to 37.9. Similarly, those exposed to

secondhand smoking at workplace declined from 31.18% to 20.9%, the state government said in a release. At the workshop, Gaurav Dahiya, director, National Health Mission, stressed on the role

of education, home and labour department in creating awareness for controlling tobacco consumption. He too said that tobacco farmers should start growing other crops. HIGHLIGHTS * Tobacco

consumption in the age group of 15-17 declined from 6% in GATS 1 to 3.5% in GATS 2.    * Around 400 participants, including experts from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Faith Foundation,

and representatives from education, agriculture and home department, attended the workshop.