The use of paan and smokeless tobacco products is known to be highest amongst those with ancestral links to South Asia, particularly Bangladesh. There is a large Bangladeshi population within Westminster, with many (around a fifth of the borough’s Bangladeshi population) living in and around Church Street Ward.
Research in other areas has shown the practice of chewing paan/tobacco is more common amongst women, compared to men, and women who chew paan/tobacco are also less likely to smoke than men.
Detailed local and national information about the prevalence of this habit is however limited. There are numerous health risks associated with the use of paan/smokeless tobacco products but research has shown a comparatively low awareness of those risks amongst users. In addition, the NICE guidance published in 2012 on smokeless tobacco cessation for South Asians, highlighted the limited evidence of what works to support users of these products to quit or reduce their habit.
It is against this background that this community-led insight project took shape to look in more detail at patterns of local use (prevalence, products, frequency, availability and reasons), awareness of the health risks, motivations amongst users to give up and ideas for services/activities to support users to quit.
This report, published in May 2013, summarises the findings of the insight project and makes some recommendations for possible next steps.
As part of this project a literature review was also undertaken, to supplement the evidence reviewed by NICE.