New Delhi, Aug 10 : Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday released the National Fact Sheet Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS-4), 2019, underlining the role of teachers as the most crucial in creating awareness among children about the harmful effects of tobacco.
The fourth round of Global Youth Tobacco Survey was conducted in 2019 by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The survey was designed to produce national estimates of tobacco use among school-going children aged 13-15 years by sex, location of school (rural-urban), and management of school (public-private).
The first three rounds of GYTS were conducted in 2003, 2006 and 2009.
Releasing the National Fact Sheet, Mandaviya said, "The more and the sooner we create awareness among children about the harmful effects of tobacco use, the better will be the outcomes in terms of reduction in prevalence of tobacco use among children and consequently among the adults.
Harmful effects of tobacco use should be incorporated in school curricula at various levels, starting right from the primary school level."
A total of 97,302 students from 987 schools (Public-544; Private-443) participated in the survey.
In total, 80,772 students aged 13-15 years were considered for reporting. The objective of the survey was to provide information on tobacco use, cessation, second-hand smoke, access and availability, exposure to anti-tobacco information, awareness and receptivity to tobacco marketing, knowledge and attitude.
The key findings of the survey showed that the prevalence of tobacco use among boys was 9.6 per cent and among girls it was 7.4 per cent.
Nearly one-fifth of the students aged 13-15 used some form of tobacco product in their life. However, between the last two surveys, the current use declined by 42 per cent (2009-2019).
The survey found that the prevalence of smoking tobacco was 7.3 per cent; 4.1 per cent in the case of smokeless tobacco products.
The use of e-cigarette among the students was 2.8 per cent.
The survey found that Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram (58 per cent each) have the highest use of tobacco among students.
On the contrary, Himachal Pradesh (1.1 per cent) and Karnataka (1.2 per cent) have the lowest consumption rates.
--IANS
avr/arm.
Source: IANS
