Shri Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare presided over the release of National Fact Sheet Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS-4), India, 2019.
Survey conducted by:
The fourth round of Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS-4) was conducted in 2019 by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Survey Design:
The survey was designed to produce national estimates of tobacco use among school going children aged 13-15 years at the state level and Union Territory by sex, location of school (rural-urban), and management of school (public-private).
Past Surveys:
The first three rounds of GYTS were conducted in 2003, 2006 and 2009.
Students Participated in the survey:
- Total of 97,302 students from 987schools (Public-544; Private-443) participated.
- Out of which 80,772 students aged 13-15 years were considered for reporting.
Objective:
The survey was to provide information on tobacco use, cessation, second-hand smoke, access and availability, exposure to anti-tobacco information, awareness and receptivity to tobacco marketing, knowledge, and attitudes.
Highlights of the Survey:
Tobacco use:
» Nearly one-fifth of the students aged 13-15 used any form of the tobacco product (smoking, smokeless, and any other form) in their life. However, the current use (during last 30 days) was 8.5%. Between the last two surveys, the current use declined by 42% (2009-2019).
» The current use of tobacco among students across the States/UTs ranged from the highest in Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram (58 Per cent each) to the lowest in Himachal Pradesh (1.1 Per cent) and Karnataka (1.2 Per cent).
» Prevalence of tobacco use among boys was 9.6% and among girls was 7.4%.
» The prevalence of smoking tobacco was 7.3%. In case of smokeless tobacco product, the prevalence was 4.1%.
» Use of any form of tobacco was higher among boys than girls.
Age of initiation of tobacco:
» 38% of cigarette, 47% of bidi smokers and 52% of smokeless tobacco users initiated the use before their 10th birthday. The median age at initiation of cigarette and bidi smoking, and smokeless tobacco use were 11.5 years, 10.5 years and 9.9 years respectively.
Second-hand smoke:
» 29.5% of the students were exposed to second-hand smoke.