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$1.2 mn British anti-smoking
campaign for S Asians

Sanjay Suri in London

Britain's health service has launched a $1.2 million drive to help reduce smoking among South Asian communities.

The drive, by the National Health Service, has been launched on the basis of a survey conducted among British South Asians that revealed that 44 per cent Bangladeshi men smoke compared to 23 per cent Indian men.

The figure for Pakistani men was 27 per cent, the rate of smoking in the general British population.

A health department spokeswoman said the actual smoking rates among South Asians might be higher "as South Asians tend to under-report their tobacco use to a much greater extent than the general population."

Health Minister Hazel Blears announced the drive that will include advertising in the Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani press and on specialist South Asian radio and TV stations. Ads will run throughout the year and into 2002 and would be in English or the appropriate language.

Blears said: "For some Asian communities, the message about health risks from tobacco is not getting through. That is why we are launching this important public health campaign.

"Our campaign recognises the cultural and language difficulties which exist and we can make real progress if the Asian communities spread the message and encourage people to use the smoking cessation services that already exist in every health authority."

A phone line -- the NHS Asian Tobacco Helpline -- has been set up offering free phone services in Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Gujarati and Bengali. The line offers tips on quitting smoking and information on nicotine replacement therapy and contacting local smoking cessation services.

The survey found that Bangladeshi men tend to smoke more as they grow older. Of those aged 55 and above, 19 per cent Indian, 23 per cent Pakistani and 54 per cent Bangladeshi men are smokers.

"Smoking is a dangerous risk factor for a number of health conditions that South Asian people suffer from at higher levels than the general population, such as angina, heart attack and high blood pressure. Yet knowledge of this link is very poor across all South Asian groups," Blears said.

Smoking causes 120,000 deaths each year in Britain and is the greatest single cause of preventable illness and premature death, according to the health department.

Smoking rates reported by South Asian women in Britain in the survey are generally low. Only one per cent Bangladeshi, five per cent Pakistani and six per cent Indian women smoke, the report says.

This compares with 27 per cent women smokers in the general population, the same as men.

The survey finds many smokers make serious attempts to give up the habit. Some 61 per cent Indian, 55 per cent Pakistani and 71 per cent Bangladeshi men have tried to kick the habit at least once. But success is limited.

Only about a third of Indian (35 per cent) and a fifth of Pakistani (21 per cent) and Bangladeshi men (19 per cent) who smoked regularly succeeded in giving up. This compares to just more than half (54 per cent) of the men who have smoked regularly in the general population.

The survey also found a high incidence of tobacco intake among Bangladeshi women through "paan" (betel leaf containing nuts and lime paste).

"Chewing tobacco is a big issue amongst the South Asian population, especially Bangladeshi women," the report says. "Tobacco paste is added to paan and then chewed, providing a major risk factor for oral cancer."

Health service volunteers say while this might not be a precise reflection of patterns in the subcontinent, it is an indication that Bangladeshis everywhere are likely to smoke a great deal more than Indians or Pakistanis.

Indo-Asian News Service

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