Goel Sonu, Walia Diksha, Kumar Raman
Department of Community Medicine and School for Public Health, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, PGIMER Chandigarh, India.
School of Medicine, Faculty of Education and Health Sciences, University of Limerick, Ireland.
J Family Med Prim Care. 2024 Nov;13(11):4751-4754. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1741_24. Epub 2024 Nov 18.
Tobacco use among women in India is becoming a critical public health issue. Once viewed predominantly as a male habit, tobacco consumption among Indian women has seen a rising trend. This shift is driven by factors such as evolving societal norms, aggressive marketing by the tobacco industry, and increasing urbanization. Women are now using a variety of tobacco products, including smokeless tobacco and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). The health effects are particularly alarming, with elevated risks for cancers, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory conditions, and reproductive health problems. Despite these concerns, public health initiatives and policies often fail to address the specific needs of women. editorial examines the social and cultural drivers of tobacco use among Indian women, outlines the severe health risks, and calls for immediate action through gender-sensitive tobacco control policies. It provides recommendations, including robust regulation, community involvement, and specialized cessation programs to reduce the growing tobacco use among women.
印度女性吸烟问题正成为一个关键的公共卫生问题。烟草消费在印度女性中曾主要被视为男性习惯,如今却呈上升趋势。这一转变是由社会规范演变、烟草行业的激进营销以及城市化进程加快等因素推动的。女性现在使用多种烟草制品,包括无烟烟草和电子尼古丁传送系统(ENDS)。其对健康的影响尤其令人担忧,癌症、心血管疾病、呼吸系统疾病和生殖健康问题的风险都有所增加。尽管存在这些问题,但公共卫生举措和政策往往未能满足女性的特殊需求。这篇社论探讨了印度女性吸烟的社会和文化驱动因素,概述了严重的健康风险,并呼吁通过对性别问题有敏感认识的烟草控制政策立即采取行动。它提出了一些建议,包括强有力的监管、社区参与以及专门的戒烟项目,以减少女性中日益增长的烟草使用情况。