Patterns and distribution of tobacco consumption in India: Study should be interpreted cautiously

doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7454.1498-a

BMJ 2004;328:1498 (19 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7454.1498-a

Letter

Patterns and distribution of tobacco consumption in India

Study should be interpreted cautiously

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—The article by Subramanian et al on patterns anddistribution of tobacco consumption in India is interestingand informative but raises issues.¹

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Unadjusted prevalence of adults aged 18 and above who smoke or chew tobacco in 1998-9 by Indian state

The second national family health survey collected data frommore than 90 000 ever married women aged 15-49 years in India,covering all states. The data on the consumption pattern ofpaan masala, tobacco, smoking, and alcohol among household membersaged 15 years and above were collected. However, no direct interviewswere conducted of the adult men in the household (the informationwas collected by the women interviewed). In view of the above,under-reporting is a strong possibility as the women interviewedmight not be aware of the consumption of tobacco outside thehousehold. Also, because of the social stigma attached withthe consumption of tobacco women might . . . [Full text of this article]

Preeti Singh, research scientist

itispreeti@hotmail.com

Umesh Kapil, professor

Department of Human Nutrition, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi-110029, India

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Relevant Article

Patterns and distribution of tobacco consumption in India: cross sectional multilevel evidence from the 1998-9 national family health survey: S V Subramanian, Shailen Nandy, Michelle Kelly, Dave Gordon, and George Davey Smith
BMJ 2004 328: 801-806. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]