More than one-third (at least 38%) of men in India consume tobacco and 18.8% consume alcohol, data from the National Family Health Survey, released on Wednesday, showed.
Tobacco and alcohol intake was captured for the first time in the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey. The survey conducted between 2019 and 2021, studied over one lakh men and 7.24 lakh women in the age group of 15-49.
Among women, the intake of tobacco and alcohol was lower than men. The survey showed that 8.9% women above the age of 15 consume tobacco and 1.3% consume alcohol.
The consumption of both tobacco and alcohol is higher in rural areas. Even in Gujarat, which is a dry states, 5.8% of the surveyed men consume alcohol.
Tobacco consumption is over 40%, higher than national average, in at least 16 states across India. It is much higher in northeastern states such as Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, and Tripura, where more than 50% men consume tobacco.
The maximum tobacco consumption is in Mizoram, where 72% men and 61.6% women are habitual to tobacco. Tobacco consumption among women is also high (over 50%) in Tripura.
While most states reported a higher consumption of tobacco than alcohol, the trend reverses in Punjab where 22.8% men consume alcohol and 12.9% tobacco, the survey showed. Less than 1% women in Punjab consume alcohol or tobacco.
Alcohol consumption among men is the highest (52%) in Arunachal Pradesh, followed by Telangana (43%).
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