Srinagar, May 31: Jammu and Kashmir’s tobacco problem is no longer just a health concern. It has quietly evolved into an economic crisis, a social burden, and a growing public health emergency that is draining thousands of crores while leaving behind rising disease, addiction, and preventable deaths.
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From cigarettes and bidis to gutka and chewing tobacco, tobacco use has become deeply embedded in everyday life across Kashmir. What often begins as curiosity, peer pressure, stress relief, or social habit gradually turns into long-term addiction — one that silently damages health and steadily drains household incomes.
Official data paints a troubling picture.
According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS-2, 2016–17), nearly 23.7 per cent of adults aged 15 years and above in Jammu and Kashmir consume tobacco in some form. Though lower than the national average of 28.6 per cent, the percentage still translates into lakhs of tobacco users across the Union Territory.
More concerning is the smoking prevalence in the region. Jammu and Kashmir ranks sixth highest in the country in smoking tobacco products, with nearly 20.8 per cent of adults identified as smokers, according to officials associated with the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP).
The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) further revealed that 38.3 per cent of men and 3.6 per cent of women in Jammu and Kashmir consume tobacco products across rural and urban areas.
In several districts, the numbers are alarming.
Kupwara records the highest tobacco prevalence at nearly 56.6 per cent, followed by Shopian at 52 per cent, Anantnag at 49.9 per cent, and Budgam at 48.8 per cent. Even Srinagar, often considered more urbanised and aware, reports tobacco use among nearly 38.4 per cent of its population.
Among women, Bandipora records the highest prevalence at 9.1 per cent, followed by Kupwara at 6.8 per cent.
The financial cost of this addiction is staggering.
Taxation and sales data show that Jammu and Kashmir recorded tobacco sales worth nearly Rs 5,530 crore over seven years up to 2017–18. More recently, during the first nine months of the fiscal year 2024–25 alone, people in Jammu and Kashmir reportedly spent around Rs 699.43 crore on tobacco products.
Out of this spending, the government earned nearly Rs 153 crore through 28 per cent GST on tobacco sales.
Health experts say the irony is painful: people first spend huge amounts harming their health through tobacco addiction and then spend even more treating the diseases caused by it.
Public health analysts point out that the Rs 5,530 crore spent on tobacco over seven years was equivalent to the cost of constructing nearly four state-of-the-art hospitals on the lines of AIIMS Jammu.
The damage, however, goes far beyond money.
Jammu and Kashmir is among the four Indian states with the highest prevalence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a severe and progressive lung disease directly linked to smoking and tobacco exposure.
Marked by breathlessness, chronic coughing, wheezing, and reduced lung function, COPD destroys the lungs’ ability to exchange oxygen and remains one of the leading causes of death in India.
According to public health estimates, Jammu and Kashmir spends nearly Rs 210 crore annually on treatment of chronic lung diseases associated largely with tobacco use.
Doctors across Kashmir say hospitals are witnessing a growing number of patients suffering from lung cancer, oral cancers, heart disease, respiratory illnesses, and other tobacco-related complications, particularly among long-term smokers.
Globally, tobacco kills more than seven million people every year. In India alone, tobacco contributes to nearly 13.5 lakh deaths annually.
Health officials also warn that tobacco users are nearly 2.5 times more likely to develop tuberculosis (TB), while smoking weakens immunity, worsens treatment outcomes, and increases the risk of recurrence.
Experts say tobacco continues to remain socially normalised across many parts of Kashmir, especially among young men. Cigarettes and tobacco products are often associated with stress relief, masculinity, social bonding, or lifestyle identity.
Easy availability at roadside kiosks, low public stigma, and increasing exposure to nicotine products continue to fuel the addiction cycle.
Health experts are also worried about emerging products such as flavoured nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes, which are increasingly targeting younger populations under the illusion of being “safer alternatives.”
“They are simply newer forms of addiction,” a senior health official warned.
Authorities say anti-tobacco initiatives are being intensified under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, and the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act, 2019.
The government has banned smoking in public places, prohibited tobacco sales near educational institutions, and outlawed the sale of loose cigarettes and tobacco products in Jammu and Kashmir.
Under the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP), authorities regularly conduct awareness campaigns, inspections, counselling sessions, and enforcement drives across districts.
Recently, the Bandipora district administration issued strict directions prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to minors and banning employment of children in tobacco-related activities.
Officials warned that supplying tobacco to children can attract imprisonment of up to seven years and fines up to Rs 1 lakh under the Juvenile Justice Act.
Health experts believe laws and penalties alone cannot solve the crisis unless society changes its attitude toward tobacco.
They stress the need for stronger awareness among youth, family-level intervention, counselling services for addiction treatment, stricter regulation of tobacco sales, and sustained public education campaigns.
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Because beyond statistics and surveys lies a larger question Kashmir now faces:
How much more money, health, and life is society willing to burn before it decides to quit?
