{"id":1305222,"date":"2026-01-23T08:27:37","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T02:57:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/?p=1305222"},"modified":"2026-01-23T08:29:51","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T02:59:51","slug":"rural-india-spending-4-on-buying-tobacco-just-2-5-on-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/rural-india-spending-4-on-buying-tobacco-just-2-5-on-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Rural India Spending 4% On Buying Tobacco, Just 2.5% On Education"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Recent government consumption data presents a worrying reality: rural households are spending more on gutkha than on education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Rural<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Household Consumption and Expenditure Survey (HCES) reveals that rural families spend only 2.5% of their total consumption on education, while 4% is spent on tobacco products, mainly gutkha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rural India Spends More on Gutkha Than Education, Survey Reveals<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These findings come at a time when tobacco prices are expected to rise from February 1, even as the government continues to expand public health services nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tobacco consumption has steadily increased over the last decade. From 2011-12 to 2023-24, per capita spending on tobacco rose by 58% in rural areas and by 77% in urban areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tobacco now makes up about 1.5% of monthly per capita expenditure in rural India and 1% in urban India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although these spending shares may seem small, the number of tobacco users shows widespread and growing consumption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In rural India, households consuming tobacco increased from 9.9 crore (59.3% of all rural households) to 13.3 crore (68.6%), a 33% rise in just over a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Urban India has seen an even faster increase, with tobacco-using households growing by 59%, from 2.8 crore (34.9%) to 4.7 crore (45.6%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tobacco consumption is no longer limited to specific regions or social groups, indicating widespread adoption across communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In rural areas, the rise in tobacco use is mainly driven by gutkha and leaf tobacco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whereas, in urban areas, cigarette consumption is increasing rapidly, while gutkha use is also spreading at a concerning rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gutkha stands out as the most notable finding of the survey due to its dramatic rise in usage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gutkha Use in Rural India Surges Nearly Six-Fold From 5.3% to 30.4%<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In rural India, the share of households consuming gutkha jumped nearly six-fold, from 5.3% to 30.4%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gutkha now accounts for 41% of all tobacco-related spending in rural areas, making it the most consumed tobacco product there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In urban India, cigarettes remain the most commonly used tobacco product, consumed by 18.1% of urban households.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, gutkha use in cities has risen sharply, with 16.8% of urban households reporting consumption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several states record gutkha consumption well above the national rural average of 30%, including Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In rural Madhya Pradesh, nearly 60% of households consume gutkha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In rural Uttar Pradesh, more than 50% of households report gutkha use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Urban areas in these states are beginning to reflect similar trends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nearly half of urban households in Madhya Pradesh consume gutkha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Rajasthan, more than one-third of urban households use gutkha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several northeastern states also show above-average gutkha consumption in both rural and urban areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Southern states report comparatively lower gutkha use, but the numbers remain concerning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Karnataka, one in four rural households consumes gutkha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most alarming findings is the strong connection between poverty and tobacco use.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In rural India, over 70% of households in the bottom 40% income group consume tobacco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar, this figure exceeds 85% among low-income rural households.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poor rural households spend about 1.7% of their monthly expenditure on tobacco, compared to 1.2% among the richest 20%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gap is even greater in urban India, where more than half of the bottom 40% income households consume tobacco, compared to less than 37% among the wealthiest 20%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Image Source<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recent government consumption data presents a worrying reality: rural households are spending more on gutkha than on education. The Household Consumption and Expenditure Survey (HCES) reveals that rural families spend only 2.5% of their total consumption on education, while 4% is spent on tobacco products, mainly gutkha. Rural India Spends More on Gutkha Than Education, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":1305236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[139,1976,5001],"class_list":["post-1305222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-education","tag-rural-india","tag-tobacco"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRural India Spending 4% On Buying Tobacco, Just 2.5% On Education - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile & Startups<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/rural-india-spending-4-on-buying-tobacco-just-2-5-on-education\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rural India Spending 4% On Buying Tobacco, Just 2.5% On Education - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile & Startups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Recent government consumption data presents a worrying reality: rural households are spending more on gutkha than on education. 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