report of Global Adult Tobacco Survey India 2010

Following are the highlights of the GATS India findings:
· Current tobacco use in any form: 34.6% of adults; 47.9% of males and 20.3% of females
· Current tobacco smokers: 14.0% of adults: 24.3% of males and 2.9% of females
· Current cigarette smokers: 5.7% of adults: 10.3% of males and 0.8% of females.
· Current bidi smokers: 9.2% of adults: 16.0% of males and 1.9% of females.
· Current users of smokeless tobacco: 25.9% of adults: 32.9% of males and 18.4% of females.
· Among daily tobacco users, 60.2% consumed tobacco within half an hour of waking up
· Average age at initiation of tobacco use was 17.8 with 25.8% of females starting tobacco use before the age of 15
· Among minors (age 15-17), 9.6% consumed tobacco in some form and most of them were able to purchase tobacco products.
· Five in ten current smokers (46.6%) and users of smokeless tobacco (45.2%) planned to quit or at lease thought of quitting
· Among smokers and users of smokeless tobacco who visited a health care provider, 46.3% of smokers and 26.7% of users of smokeless tobacco were advised to quit by a health care provider
· About five in ten adults (52.3%) were exposed to second-hand smoke at home and 29.0% at public places(mainly in public transport and restaurants)
· About two in three adults (64.5%) noticed advertisement or promotion of tobacco products.
· Three in five current tobacco users (61.1%) noticed the health warning on tobacco packages and one in three current tobacco users (31.5%) thought of quitting tobacco because of the warning label.