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Health behaviour

Who uses smokeless tobacco in India’s LASI sample?

Bharati B, Sahu KS, Pati S · Frontiers in public health · 2023

Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC

Among 65,561 LASI adults, 38% had used any tobacco; 22.8% ever and 20.4% currently used smokeless tobacco, with higher use in rural, male, poorer, ST, and informal/agricultural work.

Study at a glance

Design
Cross-sectional — LASI wave 1 (2017–18) nationally representative survey-weighted descriptives and multivariable logistic regression of smokeless tobacco by occupation
N
N=65561 · LASI wave 1 sample of 65,561 adults; 24,777 (38%) ever used smoked or smokeless tobacco
Population
Indian adults in the Longitudinal Aging Study in India wave 1 (mostly ages 45+)
Outcome
Ever/current smokeless tobacco use and occupational plus childhood-adversity correlates

Structured fields used in claim comparison tables when every cited study has a complete layer.

Key findings

Of tobacco users, 51% used SLT, 40% smoked, 9% both. Population-level previous/current SLT: 22.8% and 20.4% (14,090 and 12,461). 88.6% of SLT users still used it (11.4% quit). ST groups had the highest shares (31.6% previous, 28.4% current). Professionals ~10%; plant/machine and agricultural workers ~22%. Authors urge quitting programs for rural male informal workers.

Methodology

Analyzed LASI wave 1 (2017–18) with survey weights, describing ever/current smokeless tobacco (SLT) and fitting multivariable logistic models for occupation, employer type, workplace, business, workload, and childhood adversity.

Limitations

Cross-sectional LASI cannot prove occupation causes SLT use; self-report and healthy-survivor older adults may bias prevalence, and causality of childhood adversity is not established.

How this study connects

Role on claims

Each row is a claim on a concept or method page where this paper supports, challenges, or qualifies the statement. Roles are hand-checked — not a model guess.

  • SupportsTobacco smoke exposureconcept

    In older Indian adults, smokeless tobacco is common and clusters in rural, male, poorer, and informal work.

    LASI wave 1 (n=65,561) found 38% ever tobacco use; 22.8% ever and 20.4% currently used smokeless tobacco. Among tobacco users, 51% used SLT, 40% smoked, and 9% used both. Use was higher in Scheduled Tribe groups and in agricultural/plant-machine work (~22%) than among professionals (~10%); 88.6% of ever-SLT users still used it.

    Evidence for the claim as stated.

  • SupportsTobacco smoke exposureconcept

    Smokeless-tobacco prevalence by occupation in India is not a smoked-cigarette CVD risk function and is not a secondhand-smoke Burden of Proof synthesis. Product, population, and outcome all differ.

    Evidence for the claim as stated.

Open questions

Tensions this paper is part of

From concept pages' “where studies disagree.” Disagreement means the same question; scope means different assays, populations, or outcomes.

History

When this study was placed

Dated entries from the concept change log — when this paper was added or removed as support, challenge, or qualifier on a claim.

  1. 2026-09-17

    Placed as supporting evidence on Tobacco smoke exposure

    LASI wave 1 (n=65,561) found 38% ever tobacco use; 22.8% ever and 20.4% currently used smokeless tobacco. Among tobacco users, 51% used SLT, 40% smoked, and 9% used both. Use was higher in Scheduled Tribe groups and in agricultural/plant-machine work (~22%) than among professionals (~10%); 88.6% of ever-SLT users still used it.

  2. 2026-09-17

    Placed as supporting evidence on Tobacco smoke exposure

    Smokeless-tobacco prevalence by occupation in India is not a smoked-cigarette CVD risk function and is not a secondhand-smoke Burden of Proof synthesis. Product, population, and outcome all differ.

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