Children's Tobacco Use in India

Nearly one in five school children in India use some form of tobacco, according to a survey conducted by the World Health Organization. The figures are part of the second-ever Global Youth Tobacco Survey, carried out in 140 countries.
The Indian report, released by Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss, polled 12,000 students and 3,000 school staff in the first half of 2006.
It says nearly 17% of students aged 15 and under use some form of tobacco, most of them cigarettes. Significantly, there is no difference in consumption levels among girls and boys, except in central India.
What has alarmed administrators is that more than a third of school personnel, including teaching staff, use tobacco. Despite a countrywide ban, sale of tobacco and tobacco products to minors have shown no decline over the past three years.

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