Smokers in the state account for only 8 percent of the population of over 15 year olds but according to an expert in the field of fighting tuberculosis and lung diseases, the influx of nearly 50 lakh tourists every years accounts for another share of the smoking community that fails to figure in the statistics.
Speaking at a recent training program conducted by the District Tobacco Control Cell and District Task Force, North Goa, the technical advisor to The Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) said that though Goa registered the lowest in the prevalence of smokers, the unaccounted for tourists may in fact be a cause for this percentage to increase.
In Goa, according to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) of the 12,44,261 population that are over 15 years old the total tobacco users equal 8.8 percent (109495). Of this 4.2 percent (52259) only smoke tobacco while 4 percent (49770) chew tobacco and 0.7 percent (8710) is dual users.
The survey also points to Goa being higher in the burden of second hand smoke compared to Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Chattisgarh. Adults exposed to second hand smoke at public places accounted for 22.8 percent of the population of over 15 year olds and 24.4 percent of them were exposed to second hand smoke at home.
“Authorities are reluctant to take action against tourists smoking in public thinking it may paint a bad picture for the state resulting in the economy being affected. This however is not true at all. There are states in the North East that have implemented a complete smoking ban and their tourism hasn’t been affected at all,” said Pandey.
Another reason for the prevalence of smokers in the state is because of the illicit trade that ensures in the state. “The market is flooded with cigarettes that are more than the Indian manufactured ones. The issue with foreign brands is that it is not compliant with the Indian standards and cannot be sold. For one they do not have the pictorial warning,” he said.
He also added that tapping into stopping smoking was key to stopping the drug problem that is prevalent in the state. Places like Punjab were excellent examples of states that had cracked down on the problems of drug abuse through strict implementation of the No Smoking policy.
