Summary: | Background
Smokeless
tobacco use among children is a serious
problem in India. Smokeless
tobacco products like gutkha, khaini, mawa and misheri and surrogate products
like 'supari', 'pan masala' are commonly used by children in Mumbai. Maharashtra
state government has banned the manufacture, storage, and sale of such products
in the state. Salaam Bombay Foundation conducted a survey in 2014 in Mumbai
schools to study the prevalence and patterns of use of tobacco products among
children.
Methods
A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1558
students of 7 th , 8 th and 9 th grades in 50
randomly selected government schools. Students were asked about smokeless
tobacco use, perceptions of harm associated with these products and family use
of tobacco products. The results were analyzed using SPSS.
Results
Mava 2.8%
(n=44) was the most commonly reported form of smokeless tobacco ever used by
students followed by mishri 2.2% (n=34), gutkha 1.9% (n=30) and khaini 1.2%
(n=19). Male students were more likely to report both
current and ever use of smokeless tobacco compared to female students (p=0.03).
(71.9%, n=1120)
students reported gutkha harmful to health. Students who used smokeless tobacco
were significantly less likely to believe that smokeless tobacco are harmful
(p=0.01). Students who used surrogate tobacco products (supari, pan masala)
were more likely to report using smokeless tobacco products than their peers
(supari: OR=0.2,95%CI=0.1-0.3) pan masala (OR=0.07,95%CI=0.04-0.09). Students
whose fathers used gutkha were more likely to report using gutkha (OR=2.8,95% CI=1.2-6.2)
compared to their peers.
Conclusions
Despite the ban, gutkha continues to be used by
students in Mumbai schools along with other smokeless tobacco products like
mava, mishri and khaini. Proposed efforts to enforce the ban and increase
health warnings on tobacco packages in India should be supported to boost
awareness of the health effects of these related products. School-based
programs targeting kids should consider involving parents in campaigns.
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