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V.Balasubramani
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[h=1]Smoking rates fall among Indian men, rise for women –Hindustan Times[/h]IANS New Delhi, May 30, 2014
While smoking rates have fallen among Indian men, they have risen among women.
A factor, doctors say, that can be attributed to rising cases of infertility and higher risk of cancer among Indian women these days.
A study published earlier this year in the British Medical Journal and which was earlier carried by the The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) examined the prevalence of smoking and cigarette consumption in 187 countries between 1980 and 2012 and found that while cigarette smoking among Indian men has fallen from 33.8% in 1980 to 23% in 2012, it has risen from 3% to 3.2% among Indian women within the same time frame.
In absolute terms, the number of female smokers in India has more than doubled - from about 5.3 million to 12.2 million in that time frame.
Commenting on the trend, Nevin Kishore, consultant in Pulmonology at Max Hospital, said the changing lifestyles are leading to more women taking up smoking in the Indian scenario.
"The effects of smoking, like lung damage, do not show in a person who smokes about four-five cigarettes a day in the initial few years.
Although tobacco does not discriminate on the basis of gender, women smokers are more at risk of infertility. They also face the risk of all kinds of cancer," Kishore told IANS.
Read more: Smoking rates fall among Indian men, rise for women - Hindustan Times
While smoking rates have fallen among Indian men, they have risen among women.
A factor, doctors say, that can be attributed to rising cases of infertility and higher risk of cancer among Indian women these days.
A study published earlier this year in the British Medical Journal and which was earlier carried by the The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) examined the prevalence of smoking and cigarette consumption in 187 countries between 1980 and 2012 and found that while cigarette smoking among Indian men has fallen from 33.8% in 1980 to 23% in 2012, it has risen from 3% to 3.2% among Indian women within the same time frame.
In absolute terms, the number of female smokers in India has more than doubled - from about 5.3 million to 12.2 million in that time frame.
Commenting on the trend, Nevin Kishore, consultant in Pulmonology at Max Hospital, said the changing lifestyles are leading to more women taking up smoking in the Indian scenario.
"The effects of smoking, like lung damage, do not show in a person who smokes about four-five cigarettes a day in the initial few years.
Although tobacco does not discriminate on the basis of gender, women smokers are more at risk of infertility. They also face the risk of all kinds of cancer," Kishore told IANS.
Read more: Smoking rates fall among Indian men, rise for women - Hindustan Times
