Perceptions and practices of smokeless tobacco use in the form of mishri among rural women above 10 years of age in Pune, Maharashtra, India

Background: Tobacco use in different forms has become a growing public health problem. It contributes to increased non communicable disease burden. Females tend to use smokeless tobacco in various forms. Material and methods: It was a cross sectional study conducted in the field practice area of Rural Health Training Centre of Dr. D Y Patil Medical College, Pimpri, Pune. Pretested, semistructured proforma was used to collect the information regarding the age of initiation and reasons for its use and other parameters of mishri use after taking informed consent from women >10 years of age . At the end of the study all the subjects were given active education in group setting. Results: Total 256 rural women were studied. 59.8% were <45 yrs, majority were Hindu, married and housewives. 50.4% belonged to joint families, 46.1% from nuclear families. Majority (55%) were from socioeconomic class II and III. 38% initiated its use from 11 to 20 yrs, 49% left it on teeth for a duration of less than 5 minutes, 38% of them used the amount as 1 tsf per day while another 37% used the amount as 1-2 tsf of mishri per day. 45.3% gave reasons for initiation of mishri as to clean teeth. Reasons for continuing use were noted as experienced a kick, gave energy, relieved tension, etc. Positive correlation was observed between quantity of mishri used at a single time and age as well as with duration of use (r = 0.258, P < 0.001 and r = 0.335, P < 0.001 respectively). Conclusion: There is a need to make the rural women aware about hazardous effects of use of mishri through health education sessions to wean them out of this addiction.