NEW DELHI: God made Kerala at leisure, breathing into it a fine balance of timeless beauty and divine elegance. He took time to smooth the rough edges and decorate it with stunning beaches, lush green fauna and rolling hills just to name a miniscule part of the geography. But today it is home for the largest number of dipsomaniacs, it has a rapidly growing population of cancer patients and now the latest shocker of all—74 % of the children between the age group 5-18 in the state use tobacco.

This shocking result was revealed in a study done by National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences where a total of 119 children were covered examining their pattern, profile and substance use. Alcohol, tobacco and inhalants are common initial substances of abuse and have been described as ‘gateway substances’. These substances are easily available to the children, according to the revelations in the research.

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