According to the 2011 census, the total population of the settlement in Gola figured at 239, comprising of 127 males and 112 females.    

Interestingly, none of the women in the settlement smoke but the males, however, spend more in cigarettes than they do in food.

“The four shops in our settlement sell cigarettes worth Rs 100,000 monthly and the sale increases when we have visitors,” said Tashi Sherpa, one of the shop owners.

Moreover, the most bizarre fact is that only about three dozen males are habitual smokers. According to the shop owners, the males are so much into smoking that they stage a sit-in if the shops run out of cigarettes, but it is not the same case when there is a shortage of daily essentials like oil, lentils and salt.

The price of cigarettes in the settlement located approximately 71 kilometres from district headquarters in Fungling alongside the Tibetan border, however, is comparitively expensive. A pack of low-grade cigarettes costs from Rs 70 to Rs 100.

According to Secretary of Kanchanjungha conservation area management committee Tenzing Sherpa of Lelep, the extreme weather conditions and Tibetan influence were to blame for the situation.

Sources say the trend of smoking begins when the males light up their first in Riu, a Tibetan market, and eventually turn into regulars. Offering a cigarette is a welcome gesture in Riu.

Smokers say the severe cold in the region located 2,900 metres above sea level made them light up cigarettes to feel warm. Pemba Sherpa, a chain smoker, believed that the females did not have the urge to smoke since they never have to leave the warmth of the house in order to go outside and work.