A major study on tobacco consumption across prominent private and government-run schools by city-based institute of physiotherapy indicates widespread prevalence of tobacco use amongst teenagers.

Contrary to the general notion that kids belonging to the lower strata of society, and who study in government-run schools are more vulnerable to the menace of tobacco, the study by SBB College of Physiotherapy, which runs under NHL Municipal Medical College, revealed that 12% of all kids surveyed were used to smoking or Chewing tobacco or areca-nut. Among middle school students, current use of any tobacco product and tobacco products was 7.4% and 3.3%, respectively (Table).

E-cigarettes (5.3%) were the most commonly used tobacco product by middle school students, followed by cigarettes (2.3%), hookahs (2.0%), smokeless tobacco (1.8%), cigars (1.6%), pipe tobacco (0.4%), and bidis (0.2%). As was the case among high school students, male middle school students reported higher use of any tobacco product than did females.

 Hispanic middle school students reported higher use of any tobacco product, use of ≥2 tobacco products, and use of e-cigarettes compared with that of other races/ethnicities.