RESUMO
Introduction: In India it has been estimated that roughly one-third of women and two thirds of men use tobacco in any form (smoke or smokeless form).Awareness of the hazards of smokeless tobacco consumption is very low in rural populations. On the other hand, many believe that tobacco use has medicinal value for curing or palliating common ailments such as toothache, headache, and abdominal pain. Aimand objectives: 1.To know the prevalence of smokeless tobacco consumption among females of more than 15 years of age 2.To study the factors responsible for smokeless tobacco consumption among them. Material and methods: Study design:Across sectional study. Study setting: Rural HealthTraining Centre (RHTC) Kaladagi, Bagalkot. Study participants:Women more than 15 years of age in slum area ofRHTCKaladagi.(255) Statistical analysis: Chi square test. Results: In present study 17.6% of women were chewing tobacco. 88.89% of women were chewing tobacco because of toothache. There is association between tooth ache and tobacco consumption and it is statistically highly significant also. Chi-square value=190.8 (P<0.0000001)