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There is no denying to the fact that tobacco is a global problem with 1.1 billion tobacco consumers in the world today. The WHO estimates that if the current trends continue then by 2025 the number of smokers would increase to 1.64 billion, with most of the increase-taking place in developing countries. Four million people die yearly from tobacco-related diseases, one death every eight seconds.

India is the third largest producer of tobacco after China and America. There are 142 million men and 72 million women above the age of 15 years who consume tobacco; 2,200 persons die every day from tobacco-related diseases. Although people are becoming aware of the ill-effects of smoking in terms of morbidity and mortality, they cannot be expected to be able to evaluate the epidemiological implications of smoking, says a report of the expert committee on the Economics of Tobacco Use (ETU) instituted by the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. In a study conducted by the Indian Council for Medical Reasearch it was revealed that each patient suffering from a tobacco-related disease costs the country Rs 2.5 million through direct medicinal costs, absenteeism for treatment and loss of income due to premature death.

Realizing the need to curb the most dreaded epidemic in developing countries, Voluntary Organisation in Intrest of Consumer Education (VOICE) decided to work on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), international treaty on tobacco control of the WHO, within India with 1600 consumer organizations and also with the Consumers International (CI) and its members. VOICE is also actively involved with WHO and other Global Networks working on tobacco related-issues. During the WHO Executive Board Meeting at Geneva in January 2001, VOICE was made the Regional Coordinator for Network Against Tobacco Transnationals (NATT) and has taken the task to organize various groups in the region to work together on the seven key principles of NATT.

The tobacco epidemic that was earlier restricted to men, is now shifting towards women. A WHO study titled "Women and the Tobacco Epidemic: Challenges for the 21st Century" states that eight percent of women in developing countries and about 15% in industrialized countries currently smoke cigarettes. In addition, women in India and several other countries chew tobacco.

In India, about one-third of women use at least one form of tobacco. Overall prevalence of bidi and cigarette smoking among women is about 3% and 22 per cent women consumers use smokeless tobacco.

With laws in industrialized nations putting curbs on tobacco companies, there is a scramble among the several tobacco giants to conquer new markets. In India, women are the targets of aggressive marketing campaigns by foreign tobacco firms, which have launched several "women's brands." the latest figures from anti-smoking organizations show a rise of 18 percent in the number of women smokers in India.

However, the prevalence rates for women differ widely from region to region - 15% in Bhavnagar to 67% in Andhra Pradesh. Tobacco is probably the most researched consumer product.

The health aspects related to smoking among women are grim. New research has found that smoking causes more breathing difficulties in women than in men. Women smokers reported higher rates of asthma than men, with the prevalence of asthma in women increasing with increasing numbers of cigarettes smoked. The asthma rate was more than one in 10 among those women smoking more than 20 cigarettes a day.  In India where betel quid chewing is widespread among women, oral cancer is more common among women than breast cancer. In addition women also suffer from general respiratory problems. Female smokers are more susceptible to osteoporosis or "brittle bones." Also, smoking during pregnancy significantly increases the chances of the infant dying of sudden infant death syndrome, Spontaneous abortions, delivering a pre-mature baby, delivering a low birth-weight baby, impairing the child's long-term growth and intellectual development.

In view of the dangerous tobacco consumption patterns, the draft bill to control consumption of cigarettes and tobacco in the country needs to be passed urgently.

For further enquiries please contact:
Consumer VOICE F-71,
Lajpat Nagar-II,
New Delhi-24
PH: 6918969,
e-mail: cvoice@vsnl.net

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