This document summarizes smoking rates among Indian youth. It finds that 43% of youth will smoke at some point, with most starting between ages 14-19 due to peer pressure, family influence, or employment. Smoking is rising 3.4% annually and causes over 10 million deaths worldwide each year due to the toxic and carcinogenic chemicals in tobacco like nicotine, cyanide, and carcinogens. The document recommends health education and counseling programs targeting youth to curb smoking initiation and prevalence among this high-risk group.

1. Smoking Scernario among
Indian Youth
Prepared for
Mrs. Ritu
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
National Institute of Technology Goa
Prepared by
Dr. Nitin Singh
Department of Electrical & Electronics
National Institute of Technology Goa

2. Abstract
• One fifth of all worldwide deaths attributed to
tobacco use in India
• A study involving 100 youth individuals.
• 43% of population has or will smoke once in
their lifetimes
• Very high prevalence was found in youth
population, with median age being 19.
• Most start smoking for enjoyment that
becomes addiction later on.

3. 2019 Data
• 120 million smokers
• More than 10 million people die every year
due to tobacco related illnesses
• Tobacco use rising at a rate of 3.4% annually

4. Tobacco contains
• Nicotine, a highly addictive substance
• 401 poisonous substances like cyanide
• 43 carcinogenic substances

5. Tobacco harm goes beyond the addict
• 600,000 deaths, a result of non-smokers being
exposed to the smoke.
• 80% of the world’s tobacco related deaths are
estimated to be in low and middle –income
countries.
• where the burden of tobacco-related illness
and death is heaviest

6. Among Youth
• Most prevalent among adolescents in India
• 14% among teenagers
• 57% among young adults
• 13.7 % among school going youth

7. How it starts
• As Experimentation is common in adolescence
• Three factors
1. Peer pressure
2. Parent(s) or siblings already addicted
3. Employment outside home

8. Quitting is difficult
• The need an average of 4 attempts to reach a
point of sustained cessation.
• Of the 60% who intend to quit within the next
6 months, only 3–5% achieve a sustained
abstinence from tobacco for more than 1 year.

9. Prevalence of smoking

10. Distribution of smokers according to
sex

11. Distribution of smokers according to
reason’s
for smoking

12. Conclusions
• Prevalence of smoking is very high (43%)
among youth population
• Late adolescent phase is the phase when most
of population start smoking
• Enjoyment, curiosity, stress, and peer pressure
was found to be most important factors

13. Recommendation
• During late adolescent phase
• Effective health education programme
• Counseling programme

14. Reference
• A Cross sectional study of smoking among
youth population: Divyangkumar N. Patel et al
/ International Journal of Biomedical and
Advance Research 2016; 7(12): 574-577.