'India second largest consumer of tobacco'

New Delhi, Jul 30: India is the second largest consumer of tobacco after China and 8-9 lakh deaths can be attributed to it each year, the government today. "India is the second largest consumer of tobacco after China.

As per the report of Tobacco Control 2004 published by Health Ministry, each year 8-9 lakh deaths in India can be attributed to tobacco use," Minister of State for Health Shripad Naik told Rajya Sabha today.

He said that as per the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS 2010) conducted by Health Ministry, 35 per cent of adults in the age group of 15 years and above consume tobacco in some form or the other.

"Among them, 33 per cent of the adult males and 18 per cent of the adult females use smokeless forms of tobacco," Naik said. The Minister said that the government has taken a series of measures to educate citizens on the ill-effects of tobacco use and persuade them to quit it.

He said that public awareness campaigns on ill effects of tobacco use through media at national and state level as part of the National Tobacco Control Programme and National Health Mission has been undertaken while notification to regulate depiction of tobacco products or their use in films and TV programmes has been done.

Naik also said that notification for display of pictorial warning on tobacco product packages has been done while the government has set up tobacco cessation centre to provide counselling to those who desire to quit it as part of the district level activities under National Tobacco Control Programme in the 12th Five year plan has been done.

PTI