By Mohammad Hanief

Tobacco use has become one of the most alarming public health problems in Jammu and Kashmir today. Awareness campaigns run year after year. Warning labels cover every cigarette pack. Fines exist on paper. But tobacco continues to find its way into city cafes, rural courtyards, college campuses, and roadside stalls.

Smoking and chewing tobacco have become part of the region's social life, cutting through age, class, and gender.

The latest data from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS-2) and the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) show that 23.7 percent of adults in Jammu and Kashmir use tobacco in some form. Of these, 20.8 percent are active smokers, and 4.3 percent use smokeless varieties such as gutkha and snuff.

These figures are among the highest in India and reveal a disturbing trend that shows little sign of slowing.

The difference between men and women is stark but revealing. Nearly 35 percent of men in Jammu and Kashmir smoke, compared to only about 5 percent of women. For now, female smoking remains rare, shaped by cultural attitudes.

But urban lifestyles and changing social spaces could alter that balance in the coming years.

District-level data tell a more worrying story. In Kupwara, more than half the adult population, around 56 percent, uses tobacco. Shopian follows at 52 percent, Bandipora at 49 percent, and Anantnag at 48 percent.

In contrast, Jammu district records much lower levels. The variations show that while intensity differs, tobacco has spread across the entire Union Territory.

The rise of smoking among adolescents is perhaps the most dangerous trend of all.

A recent survey in Srinagar found that nearly one in four school students, about 23 percent, are already smokers. Early experimentation in school often turns into lifelong addiction.

Students say cigarettes are easily available from local vendors, often near schools, despite the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) prohibiting such sales.

Many shops sell single sticks, allowing minors to buy discreetly. Meanwhile, the growing number of hookah lounges, offering flavoured tobacco marketed as harmless fun, has made smoking appear fashionable among the young.

The health and social costs are immense. Tobacco remains a leading cause of preventable deaths and a major contributor to cancer, heart disease, and chronic respiratory illness.

Doctors across the valley report a steady rise in cases of throat and lung cancers and heart conditions linked to long-term tobacco use, particularly among middle-aged men.

The economic cost adds another layer of tragedy. Residents spend hundreds of crores each year on tobacco products, money that often comes from households already struggling with low income and unemployment.

The expenses do not end there. Medical treatment, loss of productivity, and long-term care drain both families and the public healthcare system.

The roots of this crisis lie partly in social acceptance.

Tobacco has long carried a cultural meaning in rural Kashmir. The hookah was once a symbol of hospitality, shared during evening conversations. That practice, while communal in spirit, normalized smoking in a way that still influences behaviour today.

Modern cigarettes have replaced the old clay hookahs, but the underlying attitude has not changed. Tobacco use is still seen by many as a harmless pastime rather than a dangerous addiction.

Officials claim a slight decline, around two to three percent, in tobacco use in recent years. But the overall picture remains grim.

Urban areas like Srinagar may have shown improvement due to awareness campaigns and enforcement, but rural and semi-urban areas continue to struggle. The small decline among older smokers is being erased by the rapid rise in smoking among younger people.

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