Gutkha replaces beedis as tobacco consumption surges in Telangana

HCES 2023–24 data reveal a sharp shift in Telangana from beedis to gutkha, with rural and urban households spending heavily on tobacco products. Public health experts warn the trend, driven by poverty and work conditions, could worsen nutrition and health outcomes.

Hyderabad: Urban and rural regions across Telangana are witnessing a startling shift in tobacco-consuming habits, with a growing number of people abandoning traditional beedis for gutkha and khaini.

The transition to gutkha, highlighted in the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2023-24, is expected to have far-reaching implications on the State’s public health landscape.

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The HCES report indicates an alarming trend of ‘normalisation’ of the habit of consuming gutkha in both urban and rural parts of Telangana. The situation is quite concerning in rural parts of Telangana, which has the highest expenditure on ‘pan, tobacco and intoxicants’, among all major States in India.

The HCES data indicate that in rural Telangana, the monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE), which is the average amount spent per person in a household, on intoxicants is approximately Rs 396, while the national rural average is Rs 158.

In these regions, gutkha and pan consumption now account for a staggering 7.3 per cent of the total household monthly budget. The HCES data has also reported that rural and urban households of Telangana, instead of spending their monthly budget to improve diet and quality of life, are spending more on tobacco-related products.

The food-related expenses of nearly one-sixth of rural residents of Telangana are now dedicated to such stimulants rather than nutrition. In many low-income households across Telangana, the monthly spend on gutkha and khaini has officially overtaken the expenditure on education. Unlike rural regions of Telangana, where beedi is being replaced by gutkha, urban regions in Telangana are witnessing a rise in spending on cigarettes and gutkha.

Based on the analysis of HCES data by public health groups, gutkha consumption has increased because large sections of workers see it as ‘hunger suppressant’ and find it a work-related necessity.

For a large section of manual labourers in urban and rural Telangana, gutkha is consumed to dull the appetite, as food is not available or affordable during work hours. Senior doctors point out that gutkha is also an instant metabolic stimulants that enable workers to push through physical exhaustion.

Some important data from HCES: (expenditure on gutkha, pan and tobacco)

Rural Telangana:

• Monthly spend per person: Rs 396 (monthly per capita expenditure)
• Means that Telangana averages Rs 396 per head
• This is 7.3 per cent of the total monthly expenditure
• Monthly spend per person: Rs 158 (nationally)
• Share of food-budget is 16.7 per cent (one-sixth)
• Share of food budget: 7.5 per cent (nationally)
• The average rural resident spends Rs 133 on education but spends Rs 396 on tobacco

Urban Telangana:

• Urban centres in Telangana witness a dual rise in gutkha and cigarette consumption
• 16.8 per cent of urban households in Telangana report consuming chewing tobacco
• For urban poor, gutkha is often used to suppress hunger during long labour shifts
• The national average of gutkha in urban centres is 14 per cent compared to 16.8 per cent in TS