10% of Indian households can rise to a higher economic class just by quitting tobacco: Study, Pg10

Key Highlights:

• A recent study indicates that 10.6% of Indian households (over 20.49 million) could elevate their economic status by ceasing tobacco consumption and reallocating those funds.
• The poorest households in India allocate 6.4% of their monthly income to tobacco products.
• India accounts for 70% of the global burden of smokeless tobacco and 27% of all cancers in India are attributable to tobacco use.
• 17 million rural households could move up an economic class through tobacco cessation, compared to 3.5 million urban households.

Detailed Insights:

• The study, conducted by ICMR-NICPR and TISS, analyzed data from 2,61,746 households from the 2022-23 Household Consumption Expenditure survey.
• Tobacco consumption in India leads to approximately 1.35 million deaths annually, with nearly 9 out of 10 adults starting tobacco use before the age of 18.
• The study highlights that integrating tobacco control into existing poverty reduction, nutrition, and livelihood schemes could significantly boost economic mobility without requiring new government schemes.
• Researchers suggest that international development organizations should also include tobacco cessation in their poverty reduction strategies for low- and middle-income countries.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Tobacco Cessation: The process of discontinuing the use of tobacco products.
• Economic Mobility: The ability of individuals or families to improve their economic standing.
• Poverty Alleviation: A set of measures taken to reduce poverty in a sustainable way.