Human Development in India - NCAER

health and medical care 99Box 7.1Alcohol and Tobacco UseThe IHDS asked households about theuse, and frequency of use, of alcoholand tobacco by household members.Because this involved reports by onemember of the household for others,the figures reported in this survey arelikely to be underestimates of actualtobacco and alcohol use. Even so,the figures are startling. Amongmales aged 25–59, 6 per cent smokeoccasionally and 27 per cent smokedaily. A substantial proportion alsochew tobacco; 24 per cent chewtobacco daily, and 4 per cent do sooccasionally. Alcohol is consumeddaily by 6 per cent of the malepopulation and occasionally by 13per cent.Tobacco and Alcohol Use by Males and Females Aged 25–9 YearsNote: Sometimes and daily combined for women.Source: IHDS 2004–5 data.differences in reported illness are quite small. Among infantsunder one, boys (357) reported sick more often than girls(319), but this trend reverses for adults.Economic and social disadvantages bring with themhealth disadvantages as well (see Table A.7.1a). Dalits aresomewhat more likely to experience short-term illnesses(139) than forward caste Hindus (116). Individuals livingin households in the highest income quintile are less likelyto be ill with short-term maladies (91) than those in lowestincome quintile (159), and respondent’s high educationalattainment is strongly associated with lower morbidity (52for college graduates versus, 171 for uneducated individuals).In results not shown here, we find that children, however, donot benefit this much from educational levels of parents. Itis the working age adults and, especially, the elderly whosemorbidity rates decline with household education.Part of the income effect is due to home characteristicsand amenities. The use of biomass fuels (discussed inChapter 5) spreads particulates and carbon monoxide, thus,increasing morbidity (133) among households using thesefuels relative to households using only clean fuels (88).Morbidity is lower in homes with piped indoor water (92)Figure 7.1Source: IHDS 2004–5 data.Short-term Morbidity by Age and Sex