INDIA
Figures in the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) 2, released recently by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare reveals that Tamil Nadu is the only South Indian state to report a higher prevalence of tobacco usage across different age groups when compared to GATS 1.
According to GATS 2, overall use of tobacco went up from 16.2% in 2009-10 to 20% in 2016-17 in Tamil Nadu, while in Kerala it has fallen from 21.4% to 12.7% and in Karnataka it has fallen from 28.2% to 22.8%.
Tobacco smoking usage in Tamil Nadu rose from 9.6% to 10.5% and smokeless tobacco usage went from 8.1% to 10.6%. In Kerala, however, tobacco smoking usage has dropped from 13.4% to 9.3% and smokeless tobacco usage from 10.7% to 5.4%. In Karnataka, tobacco smoking usage has decreased from 19.4% to 16.3%.