PAPER: India community based study - why youth smoke..

August 23, 2010 - A community-based cross-sectional study was done adapting Global Youth Tobacco Survey questionnaire prepared by the Centre for Disease Control, Atlanta, among youth (15-24 years). To give proportionate representation to each area of Chandigarh Union Territory, 250 youths were sampled from urban and 125 each from slum and rural areas - a total of 500 youths (61% were males and 39% were females). The median age of the respondents was 18 years in all the 3 areas.
were sampled for the study. Similar approach was used in the slum and the rural areas. Prevalence of ever smoking among youth was 26.0% - it was 37.2% in males and 8.7% in females.

PAPER: Why youth smoke? An exploratory community-based study from Chandigarh Union Territory of Northern India, JS Thakur, SR Lenka, S Bhardwaj, R Kumar, PGIMER School of Public Health, Chandigarh, India, Indian Journal of Cancer Year 47(5): 59-62, 2010, ABSTRACT, FULL TEXT

It was found that two-fifth of youth started smoking before the age of 14 years. In slums, 67.9% of smokers smoked daily as compared with 41.2% in the rural and 31.6% in the urban areas. Most of the smokers (56.9%) smoked 2-5 cigarettes per day.

It was found that 47.7% smokers' parents were also smokers, whereas 37.8% nonsmokers' parents were smokers and the difference was found to be statistically significant (P < class="fullpost">
It was noted that 97% of the young smokers had one or more smoker friends as compared with 49% of nonsmokers, this association was found to be statistically significant (P <>90% of the young smokers had one or more smoker friends. Having friends who smoked substantially increased the likelihood of being a smoker. It was noted in the present study that 36.5% respondents (N = 200) were using other tobacco products. The prevalent use of other tobacco products was higher in rural (58.8%) as compared with that in slum (32.6%) and urban areas (27.2%). Therefore, in any tobacco control strategy, nonsmoking tobacco products should also be adequately covered.

It was found that 68.5% smokers had the opinion that smoking made them feel comfortable in social gatherings, whereas only 8.9% nonsmokers felt the same and this was found to be highly significant (P < href="http://www.2point6billion.com/news/2010/06/01/tobacco-a-growing-problem-among-india-youth-5831.html">Tobacco a Growing Problem among India’s Youth by Joe Drury, 2point6billion.com - News and Commentary From Emerging Asia, 6/1/2010.

India - some news briefs:
^*India - high court rules in favor of tobacco companies that violated cigarettes with pictorial warnings rule..;
^*India - study emphasizes the need to integrate tobacco control in medical curriculum..;
^*India - more on govt ban on foreign direct investment..;
^*India - Barakat Food will import and distribute Imperial's Davidoff Cigarettes..;
^*India - more on ban on foreign direct investment - more insight on tobacco market..;
^*India - increasing taxes on cigarettes and bidis to save lives..;
^*India - cabinet decided to bar foreign direct investment in cigarette manufacturing..;
^*India - captions with pictorial warnings should use local languages..;
^*ndia - pictorial warning will appear on every tobacco pack sold from June 1 , 2010..;
^*India - government set to ban foreign direct investment in tobacco..;
^*India - despite tobacco control measure in place - tobacco sales increase..;
^*India - still confusion pictorial warnings on cigarette packs..;
^*Mumbai, India - NGO activists want closure of hookah bars..;
^*India - gutkha and bidi companies NOT pictorial warnings..;
^*India - cigarette packs with pictorial warnings are here..; ^*ndia - NO graphic pictorial warnings yet..;
^*India - Still no pictorial warnings on cigarette packs..;
^*India - pictorial warning on cigarettes and tobacco products effective May 31, 2009..;
^*India - pictorial warning on cigarettes and tobacco products will be implemented from May 31 - no doubts about it..;
^*India - will pictorial or graphic health warnings be implemented from May 30, 2009..;
^*India - placing pictorial warnings on tobacco products delayed again..