Role of family milieu in tobacco addiction: A study in a tertiary-care institution in India

Use of tobacco is singularly responsible for most cases of cancer and coronary artery disease (cad). efforts to stop tobacco-use need to be guided by social circumstances. it is believed that family milieu may play a role in tobacco addiction. we studied the prevalence and pattern of tobacco-use in families of 50 consecutive tobacco-user patients who presented to a tobacco-cessation clinic and compared with age- and gendermatched controls (non-users of tobacco). the tobacco-use rates were significantly higher in the family of patients with tobacco-use compared to the control group. we conclude that problems of tobacco-use are not related to individual phenomenon,and efforts for control of tobacco addiction must be focused on entire family. © international centre for diarrhoeal disease research,bangladesh.