NEW DELHI: Liquor consumption among men, including in Bihar, which has imposed prohibition on it, has gone up, while more and more women in India are taking up tobacco, according to the NFHS-6 (2023-24) data.
Thirteen states and UTs, including Telangana and UP, report an increase in any tobacco use among females in the age group of 15 years and above as compared to the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21). This is despite a slight national dip—from 8.9% to 8.4%—in women using tobacco of any kind. The same applies to men. Tobacco usage among men went down from 38.0% to 36.3%, as per the National Family Health Survey-6.
However, in many states and UTs, usage of tobacco is high among both men and women. According to Dr Shalini Singh, Director, Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, Noida (ICMR-NICPR), a national average that appears favourable can mask subnational crises.
“Tobacco control policy must be disaggregated to the state and district level. We need state-specific and, most importantly, district-level burden assessments and tailored interventions,” she told TNIE.
What is worrisome is that the use of tobacco has seen a rise among women, more so among rural women, in many states.
It is, however, not that men are not smoking. In 10 states, including in UP and Uttarakhand, more men are smoking as compared to the national average. Liquor consumption among men aged 15 years and above has seen a rise both nationally (from 18.7% to 18.9%) and in as many as 13 states and UTs, including in Andhra, Kerala, and Telangana.
In dry states like Bihar, Nagaland and Mizoram, its consumption has risen. The impact of a ban can only be seen in Gujarat, where there is a decline in its consumption among both men and women. Although nationally, consumption of liquor has slightly dipped among women from 1.3% to 1.1%, in eight states, including in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Telangana, it has gone up.