At least 20 people die in Karnataka every day due to tobacco related diseases with cancer being the main scourge, according to the latest Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS-2).

Releasing the factsheet of the survey conducted by the Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS), Karnataka Assembly Deputy Speaker N H Shivashankara Reddy said every year the state reported 2680 tobacco related deaths.According to GATS-2, the overall tobacco use prevalence has declined significantly among adults from 28.2 per cent in 2009-10 to 22.8 per cent in 2016-17 and this was less than the national average of 30 per cent. Smoking among adults had decreased from 11.9 per cent to 8.8 per cent during the period under review.

The prevalence of tobacco use among persons aged 15 to 17 had decreased from 6.8 per cent to 3.7 per cent and the mean average at the initiation of tobacco use had increased from 17.7 years in GATS-1 to 19.8 per cent in GATS-2.The average monthly expenditure on cigarettes for daily cigarette smoker had increased to Rs 1802.2 as against Rs.642.8 in GATS-1. The average monthly expenditure on bidi worked out to Rs 352.9 in 2016-17 as against Rs 211.7 in 2009-10.