The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

The prevalence of tobacco use in India varies across the populations with higher prevalence among the lower socio economic and marginalised groups and studies that look into them are few.

Objective: To study the factors associated with tobacco use among adults in a coastal population

Methods: A cross sectional survey using structured interviews among 400 individuals who where 15 years and above selected by multistage systematic sampling in a coastal community in India.

Results: Though most of them (79 %) knew about the harmful health effects of tobacco, the current prevalence of tobacco use in any form among males was 72.4 % (tobacco chewing -60.6% & smoking-26.5%) and among females 16.5 % (only tobacco chewing). Majority of the men in the study were fishermen and 53.9 percent of them reported initiation of the habit of chewing tobacco to avoid seasickness and to stay awake during the night while working out in the sea. It was introduced to many of them by their elders and peers as a time-tested measure. 50.4 % of the tobacco chewers had started the habit before the age of twenty and about 12 % even before the age of ten. Many fishermen chewed tobacco since they found it difficult to hold their breath under water with smoking. Specific tobacco cessation strategies need to be designed for communities who perceive benefits out of tobacco use and where it is socially and culturally accepted.