Spending on pan, tobacco up, says survey

Consumption of paan, tobacco and other intoxicants has increased with people spending a bigger portion of their income on such products in the last 10 years, as per a survey.

The Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2022-23, released last week, revealed that the expenditure on paan, tobacco and intoxicants has increased in rural as well as urban areas. Data showed that the expenditure on these items has increased to 3.79 % in 2022-23 in rural areas from 3.21 % in 2011-12.

Similarly, in urban areas, the spending grew from 1.61 %in 2011-12 to 2.43 % in 2022-23. The proportion of spending on education has reduced to 5.78 % in urban areas in 2022-23 from 6.90 % in 2011-12. In rural areas, this proportion has come down to 3.30% in 2022-23 from 3.49 % in 2011-12.