23 percent of Maldivians use tobacco

A recent survey from Health Protection Agency (HPA) has revealed that 23 percent of the Maldivian population use tobacco and tobacco based products.

The survey conducted from 2021 until March 2022 involved more than 3,000 respondents.

Moreover, HPA while discussing the survey's findings noted that one out of every four Maldivian locals used tobacco products.

The most alarming indication from the survey was the increment of women and children who used tobacco.

Use of tobacco during adolescence or younger leads to several chronic illnesses while smoking and usage of tobacco in women leads to complications during pregnancy, the study detailed.

Tobacco has long been understood as the cause for several cardiac and pulmonary diseases with one of the most serious medical conditions being cancer.

HPA has further identified that the drop in usage of tobacco in the country will reduce mortality rate by 14 percent in terms of deaths caused due to noncommunicable diseases.

The study revealed 35.6 percent of females who participated in the survey consumed tobacco via cigarette smoking, while in male respondents the percentile stood at 64.4 percent.

Additionally, 20 percent of the tobacco users were aged between 15 to 29, 29 percent were aged between 30 to 44 and 23 percent were aged between 45 to 65.

Another alarming revelation from the survey was that children who consumed tobacco, started use of tobacco around the age of 8 years.

Meanwhile, the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) revealed that 45 percent of students aged between 13 to 15 used tobacco or tobacco based products, while 4.7 percent of students agreed on consuming tobacco via cigarette smoking - which includes 7.3 percent males and 1.8 percent females.

On the other hand, 41 percent of students have responded affirmatively on wanting to stop smoking.

The survey also confirmed that 36.5 percent of the students purchased cigarettes from retail shops located close to their residences, while 59 percent of these students claimed they were not restricted or prohibited from purchasing cigarettes from these outlets.