BOMBAY: India’s public health crusaders won a victory when they persuaded the Supreme Court to ban smoking in public places and on public transport.

But rather than rejoicing, many public health experts caution that the judgment will do little to reduce tobacco use in the world’s most populous democracy.

The reason is simple. Only half of India’s 240 million tobacco users smoke the stuff. The other half chews tobacco or consumes it by rubbing a toothpaste-like tobacco paste on their gums, leading to high rates of oral cancer.

Use of tobacco paste is prevalent in rural areas, where a 50-gram tube sells for less than half a dollar.

From a public health standpoint, the effect is the same whether tobacco is smoked or chewed — usage causes cancer, requiring vast outlays of scarce tax money for treatment.

But banning smoking in public places because the practice harms those standing nearby is one thing. Users of chewing tobacco and tobacco paste harm only themselves.

Among adults nationwide, 60 per cent of Indian men and 30 per cent of women are tobacco users, rates comparable to China and many European countries.

A quarter of tobacco users smoke cigarettes. Another quarter smoke “bidis”, a single tobacco leaf rolled up, tied with a thread and sold for next to nothing — 25 for four rupees.

The absence of the chemicals used in cigarettes to make them burn steadily has a dangerous consequence in bidis.

Consuming tobacco in any form is prohibited to Sikhs, who make up around two per cent of India’s population of one billion.

Anti-tobacco crusaders note that the practice of smoking is checked by certain social taboos. But cultural influences also foster tobacco consumption.

Doctor Arun Bal, a surgeon and past president of the Association of Consumers Action in Safety and Health, laments that “tobacco use is ingrained in (Indian) culture”.

Paan can be addictive because it often contains ingredients like chewing tobacco.

A recent study conducted by the Department of Agricultural Journalism in Punjab state found that 66 of 100 middle-school students (aged 12-16) surveyed were addicted to gutka.

The study noted gutka was so common that children often received it in lieu of change at local stationers, bookstores and sweet shops.—Reuters