A Cross Sectional Study to Determine the Prevalence of Tobacco Usage Among Adult Population Of Kodagu District.

Background: Use of tobacco constitutes the single largest source of preventable deaths worldwide, accounting for over 7 million deaths on a yearly basis. The economic impact of tobacco consumption is enormous, yet tobacco remains the most widely available and legally purchasable addictive substance. Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted among households aged 15 and above who are staying at Kodagu district. Results: Majority of the study population are between the age group of 26-35 years. 26% of the study populations are daily smokers, around 24% of the study population used smokeless tobacco daily and television was the major source of information of dangers of smoking cigarettes. 87% of study population noticed health warnings on cigarette packages. Conclusion: Tobacco use in India is clearly a big burden in terms of its magnitude and use in different forms. The higher prevalence of tobacco use was noticed among males and the uneducated people. As these people even lack the resources to combat the morbidity associated with tobacco use. Recommendations: Investment in tobacco control media campaigns needs to be enhanced and implementation of the tobacco-free film and television policy needs to be further strengthened and continued. Efforts should be made to make the warning labels more impact full by providing information leaflets about diseases caused by tobacco, including cancer, stroke, heart disease, lung disease etc.