Police personnel are known to often resort to tobacco-associated habits as a stress-buster to soothe their nerves to help them focus better. A study was published in the Archives of Medicine and Health Sciences to determine the prevalence of tobacco-associated habits and oral lesions in the police personnel from Greater Mumbai.

As many as 2,388 police personnel working in various police stations across the Greater Mumbai were
examined. Use of tobacco with lime was found to be the most common habit present in the police personnel (34.0%)
followed by alcohol (19.3%), whereas the least common habit found was betel nut chewing (3.9%). The habit of smoking was found to be comparatively less common in the present study (12.3%). The habit of gutkha chewing was also found to be less commonly seen in the police personnel from Greater Mumbai.

In the sample size of 2,388 police personnel included in the study, the overall prevalence of leukoplakia was found to be 11.12%. Leukoplakia generally refers to a firmly attached white patch on a mucous membrane, which is
associated with an increased risk of cancer.

The results of the present study indicated tobacco-associated habits to be very common in the police personnel from Greater Mumbai, which emphasised on specific efforts needed to be made to reduce tobacco usage by police personnel on active duty.