If India, Bangladesh and Pakistan’s policies on the use of smokeless tobacco stay as they are now, then more than $23 billion will be spent on healthcare costs across the lifetime of consumers in the three countries, with the biggest health impacts falling on young people who haven’t yet taken up the habit.

These are headline findings from health economists from Brunel University London, UK, who, together with researchers from South Asia and the University of York, ran the first-ever study of the lifetime impact of smokeless tobacco use on the health, quality of life and healthcare costs of South Asians – sorted according to country, age group and sex.  

Khaini, gutkha and pan masala are some of the several smokeless tobacco products which deliver an addictive nicotine fix when chewed, snuffed or applied to the teeth and gums. These products are a big hit in South Asia, where the nearly 300 million people who consume smokeless tobacco represent 5 out of every 6 of the whole world’s users.