Mizoram: Mizoram and Arunachal records highest rate of Tobacco consumption

An official on Monday said Mizoram along with Arunachal Pradesh has the highest tobacco utilization rate within the nation among students between the age group 13-15 years.

Addressing to a one-day workshop on Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS)-4 and Tobacco-Free Educational Institutions for media people, National Tobacco Control Program state consultant R. Lalremruata said about 58 percent of students in Mizoram within the age group of 13-15 years have currently utilized tobacco of any items against the national average of 8.5 percent.

The official said from a report of Global Youth Tobacco study(GYTS)-4 conducted in 2019 that Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have possessed the first rank in tobacco utilize among students of this age group.

Lalremruata said that 44 percent of students within the state are as of now utilizing smoked tobacco, whereas 33 percent utilized smokeless tobacco.

He said that 35 percent smoke cigarettes and 4.6 percent smoke bidi. 63.7 percent of smokers were boys and 53 percent were girls, whereas more young ladies utilized smokeless tobacco as compared to boys.

He said. 42 percent of students were exposed to used smoke at home, whereas 51 percent were exposed to tobacco smoke inside enclosed public places.

He said that the main reason for the high rate of tobacco utilization among students was peer influence.

According to Lalremruata, GYTS was conducted in Mizoram in 2019 as a portion of a national overview by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) beneath the Service of Health and Family Welfare.

Total 1,404 students from 21 schools, counting 11 private schools, had taken an interest in the study.

Out of 1,404 students, 913 were considered for reporting.

Lalremruata said, among tobacco users, 53 percent need to stop smoking and 50 percent of smokeless tobacco users moreover need to quit.

Almost 100 institutions within the state have been announced tobacco-free institutions and efforts are on to attain 100 percent tobacco-free institutions.

He said that 95 percent of school heads within the state were mindful of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA).

The rate of COTPA mindfulness among school heads was comparatively high in rural regions than urban regions as 100 percent of school heads in rural regions were sensitized with the act against 92 percent in urban areas.

Citing that media played a vital part in spreading mindfulness approximately the harmful impacts of tobacco within the state.

Lalremruata said that 57 percent of students noticed anti-tobacco messages through mass media.