Bhubaneswar, June 22: Women in Orissa are lighting up the cancer
stick or chewing tobacco more often than their counterparts in other states.
In a recent survey, the state stood second when it came to tobacco
consumption among women, next only to Mizoram.
The percentage of girls (from 15 years and above) who chewed some form of
tobacco in 1998 was 34.9 per cent. Now, according to National Family Health
Survey, the percentage has risen to 50 per cent and more.
Similarly, the percentage of women smokers has increased from mere 0.9 per
cent to 6 per cent.
More than 50 per cent of the women in the state, who are into tobacco
consumption, are mainly from tobacco growing rural pockets where women use
paan with zarda, gudakhu, gutkha, khaini, snuff, acorn nut, dhuan patra and
gundi.
A growing number of rural women are now into smoking bidis or cigarettes,
too, though when compared to the rest of India their numbers are still the
lowest in the country. But the habit is growing in parts of rural areas in
the tobacco pockets in the state.
Smoking in urban Orissa has gone up by five to seven percent, says Kavita
Dash, programme associate of the Voluntary Health Association of India which
is planning a detailed survey on Orissa’s habit soon.
“Girls who work for multinational companies, airlines or in mass media are
taking up the habit faster. College girls, too, are succumbing to peer
pressure and taking up the cancer stick. The number of girls who prefer to
chew tobacco has also risen. Gutka and mouth fresheners are the more
sought-after products among the college going groups between ages 20 and
25,” Dash explained.
In recent years women have been identified as a priority group for tobacco
control efforts, she added.
“More people dying due to tobacco consumption is not setting off panic bells
as it should. The longer incubation period of tobacco-related diseases has
hindered people’s recognition of the threat,” said Mira Aghi, a behavioural
scientist.
Lung cancer is fast overtaking breast cancer as the commonest malignancy
among women in this part of the world. Those who chew chuttas and tobaccos
end up suffering the cancer of the mouth, pharynx, larynx or oesophagus,
besides research confirms that babies born to women who smoke beedi during
pregnancy are 200gm lighter in weight on an average.
“Young girls who smoke often suffer from problems in their reproductive
system and tend to be more depressed,” said Aghi.
