Kolkata: Casual and social smoking is on rise amid young working women across metros in India, noted a recent survey conducted by ASSOCHAM Social Development Foundation ahead of International Women's Day.The social development arm of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) analysed a sample of about 2,000 women between ages 22 and 30 years in 10 urban centres viz., Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune during the course of past four weeks.
The survey was conducted to ascertain the smoking behaviour/pattern in young working women, many of whom consider it as a ‘stress buster.’“Growing number of young working women (mostly with high paying jobs and an active life) are indulging in social smoking but they must realise it is ‘uncool’ and that they are placing their heart health at risk by occasionally indulging in cigarettes,” said ASSOCHAM secretary general Mr D S Rawat while releasing the findings of the survey.
“More and more number of young women can be seen all around commercial hubs in metros enjoying a smoke comfortably with their colleagues, this is certainly a disturbing trend,” said Mr Rawat.While of the total about only two per cent said they were heavy smokers (smoking a pack a day or more), majority of these said that peer pressure and work related stress pushed them to increase number of cigarettes they smoked. Some even said they smoked for weight loss. Almost all of them belonged to top tier cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai.(UNI)