BMJ  2004;328:1498-1499 (19 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7454.1498-b

Letter

Patterns and distribution of tobacco consumption in India

Impact of religion was not considered

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

EDITOR—Subramanian et al have confirmed in their study what we in the field have suspected for a long time¹: tobacco consumption in the South Asian communities based in the United Kingdom reflects what is happening in their countries of origin.²

Smoking and tobacco chewing is still a matter of health inequalities, and the strategy adopted by the UK Department of Health in tackling health inequalities has raised the profile of smoking cessation in addressing these health inequalities in the South Asian communities.³ South Asian communities have the highest smoking rates.⁴

However, what Subramanian et al have not looked at closely is the issue around religion and tobacco use. In 2001 the UK census was the first one of its kind to ask about religion. We now find that Sikh Punjabis who had been included within the Indian category have the lowest tobacco consumption rates both in the . . . [Full text of this article]

Quit, 211 Old Street, London EC1V 9NR k.sehmi@quit.org.uk

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