Tobacco addiction is one of the most common and deadliest addictions prevalent among youth. It is the second most used psychoactive substance worldwide and is the second leading cause of death in the world. More than 1 million adults die each year in India due to tobacco use accounting for 9.5 Percent of overall deaths. The usage is also more common in men than women. The results displayed by National Family Health Survey in 2019-2021 reveal that 38 percent of men and 9 percent of women in India who are aged 15 years and above use tobacco products.
The main reason many people consume tobacco in large quantity is that they believe it reduces the stress and anxiety level, brings relief and deviates them from unpleasant feelings. The presence of nicotine in the tobacco makes it highly addictive and dependent. It causes a rush of adrenaline thus increasing the level of dopamine hormone which is referred as brains happy chemical. Nicotine in the tobacco affects almost every part of the body including brain. It causes some serious illnesses like asthma, lung cancer, stomach cancers, tuberculosis and other cardio vascular diseases.
India is ranked as the second largest producer of tobacco in world after china with an estimated annual production of 800 million grams. Tobacco in India is mainly smoked in the form of beedies, cigarettes or using the devices like hooka, chuta, dhumti or chillum. Smoking cigarettes is one of the most regular methods of consuming tobacco and is highly practiced by young people who link it with fashion and style. According to the survey conducted by Global Adult Tobacco, 28.6 Percent of adults aged 15 years use tobacco in any form. The centre for Disease control and prevention estimates that Tobacco causes 6 million deaths per year which makes tobacco a leading cause of preventable death.
Every year May 31 is celebrated as the “World No Tobacco day” with the aim of spreading awareness about the possible health risks associated with tobacco consumption. The pledges, paintings and posters are carried out everywhere on this day to make public alert on the issue. However, to successfully combat the tobacco usage robust monitoring and planning needs to take place in order to curb this menace from its roots. The awareness campaigns and workshops need to be conducted frequently so that people don’t fall prey to this addiction. The governmental, non governmental agencies along with civil society members all need to come together on single platform, strongly advocate and spread the word across, then only we can expect to control the use of tobacco in our societies.
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