VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh has the highest number of smokers in south India, according a survey carried out by the National Sample Survey Office. This suggests that despite awareness programmes, cigarette and beedi smokers have been increasing in the State.
Retail sales of cigarette declined by 4 per cent to 84.9 billion sticks in 2016 mainly due to the further enforcement of regulations across states where it was not previously strictly managed. The implementation of stringent graphic health warnings added to the pre-existing factors contributing to declining cigarette sales, said a senior officer of the DCA. However, he said the increasing sales of e-cigarrettes are becoming a menace.
“Especially, this habit in adolescent age groups is a worrying factor,” he said.
Legal cigarettes account for just 11 per cent of overall tobacco consumed. Traditional products such as chewing tobacco, beedis, khaini and illegal cigarettes form the rest 89 per cent of the consumption. This is unlike rest of the world where tobacco is synonymous with cigarettes representing 90 per cent of tobacco consumption.
According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2016-17 while the consumer base of tobacco users in India is 28.6 per cent of adults, globally the adult cigarette consumer base is only 4 per cent. Over the last three decades, the legal cigarettes’ share of total tobacco consumption in India has declined from 21 per cent in 1981-82 to 11 per cent.
