Unsettling information concerning teenage smoking and tobacco use in Madhya Pradesh has recently come to light (MP). Girls begin smoking cigarettes in MP on average at the age of seven, while males begin smoking on average at the age of 11.5 years, according to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey data.
The National Health Mission’s Mission Director (MD), Priyanka Das, provided the aforementioned details on Saturday at a session titled “Umang School Health and Wellness” that was held at Hotel Taj in Bhopal.
The Global Youth Tobacco Study (GYTS) survey report was made public by State Health Minister Dr. Prabhuram Choudhary. According to the study report, boys start smoking cigarettes on average when they are 10.4 years old, compared to girls who start smoking cigarettes on average when they are 9.3 years old. In Madhya Pradesh, young people (boys and females) start smoking on average around age 8.5, compared to 11.5 nationwide.
In the state, around 2.10 percent of girls and 2.40 percent of boys smoke cigarettes. Similar to this, just 1% of girls and 2.30 % of boys smoke bidi. In the state, about 4.40 percent of boys and 3.50 percent of girls use tobacco in any manner.
These boys and girls range in age from 13 to 15 years old. However, when compared to 35 other states, Madhya Pradesh ranks 29th for having the greatest tobacco usage among the young.
