Sociodemographic correlates of male chewable smokeless tobacco users in India: a preliminary report of analysis of National Family Health Survey, 2005-2006.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the prevalence, the socioeconomic and demographic correlates of chewable smokeless tobacco consumption among males in India.


METHODS
A cross-sectional, nationally representative population-based household survey.


METHODS
74,369 males aged 15-54 years who were sampled in the National Family Health Survey-3 (2005-2006). Data on tobacco consumption were elicited from male members in households selected for the study.


METHODS
The prevalence of various smokeless tobacco use currently was used as outcome measures. Simple and two-way cross tabulations and univariate logistic regression analysis were the main analytical methods.


RESULTS
Thirty-four percent of the study population (15 years or older) used chewable smokeless tobacco. Smokeless tobacco consumption was significantly higher in poor, less educated, scheduled castes, and scheduled tribe populations. The prevalence of tobacco consumption showed variation with types. The prevalence of chewing also varied widely between different states and had a strong association with an individual's sociocultural characteristics.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings of the study highlight that an agenda to improve the health outcomes among the poor in India must include effective interventions to control tobacco use. Failure to do so would most probably result in doubling the burden of diseases-both communicable and noncommunicable-among India's teeming poor. There is a need for periodical surveys using more consistent definitions of tobacco use and eliciting information on different types of tobacco consumed.
Rooban
T
T
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Ragas Dental College and Hospital, 2/102 East Coast Road, Uthandi, Chennai-600 119, India.
Elizabeth
J
J
Umadevi
K R
KR
Ranganathan
K
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003710:Demography; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014030:Tobacco, Smokeless; D055815:Young Adult