ABSTRACT
Background: Today, tobacco use causes 1 in 10 deaths among adults worldwide – more than five million people a year. By 2030, unless urgent action is taken, tobacco’s annual death toll will rise to more than eight million. Material & method: A community based cross sectional study was undertaken in district Dehradun. Multistage stratified random sampling was done for selection of study area. A sample of 632 was taken for study purpose. Kish method was used for selection of respondents in selected household. Statistical analysis: Chi-square test, Mantel Haenszel Odds Ratio and Multi Variate Logistic Regression Analysis was done to develop results. Significant level was assumed at p<0.05. Results: The overall prevalence of ever use of tobacco was 24.4%. It was more (32.9%) in rural area as compare to urban area (15.8%). Tobacco use was directly proportional to age, more prevalent in Muslims and was indirectly proportional to education & socioeconomic status. Conclusion: Legislation pertaining to tobacco and alcohol sale and use does exist. However its strict enforcement is required in order to reduce the menace.