Background: The Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) was carried out for systematically monitoring tobacco use and for tracking key tobacco control indicators.
Materials and methods: A total of 70,802 households, including 42,647 in rural areas and 28,155 in urban areas, were covered with a three stage sampling design. Data were collected on sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, attitude and practices of tobacco consumption.
Results: GATS-India highlighted that total tobacco use among its residents is overall 34.6%, varying for males (47.9%) and females (20.7%). The rural areas of the country exhibit comparatively higher prevalence rates (38.4%) in comparison to urban areas (25.3%). Overall, Khaini, a smokeless tobacco product (12.0%), is the most popular form of tobacco use among males and females, followed by bidi smoking (9.0%).
Conclusion: Results of GATS data can be used as baseline for evaluation of new tobacco control approaches in India integrating culturally acceptable and cost effective measures.