Tobacco use is the single largest cause of preventable deaths and illness worldwide and kills nearly half of its users prematurely, especially during their most productive years. Tobacco use is a major risk factor for:

There are mainly two forms of tobacco – Smoking Tobacco and Smokeless Tobacco. Cigarettes, bidi, and hookah are smoking tobacco products, whereas khaini, zarda, gutkha, etc., are smokeless tobacco products.

According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (2016–17), 28.6% of adults aged 15 years and above in India use tobacco. Overall, there are approximately 27 crore tobacco users in India, including 20 crore smokeless tobacco users, 10 crore smokers, and 3.2 crore users of both smoking and smokeless tobacco. The prevalence of tobacco use is highest in Tripura (64.5%), followed by Mizoram (58.7%) and Manipur (55.1%).

As per the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS), 2009, around 14.6% of students aged between 13 and 15 years in India use tobacco. GYTS is a nationally representative school-based survey conducted among students in this age group.

In India, more than 13 lakh people die every year due to tobacco use, which means nearly 3,500 deaths occur every day. Exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) or passive smoking causes several health problems in infants, children, and adults, including asthma attacks, respiratory infections, ear infections, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), coronary heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer.

Spitting tobacco and tobacco products is also a serious public health hazard. It can contribute to the spread of swine flu, pneumonia, gastrointestinal diseases, and tuberculosis, as tuberculosis bacilli can survive in spit for an entire day. It also creates a nuisance in public places.

Tobacco Control Efforts

The Government of India enacted the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, in 2004 to reduce tobacco consumption and regulate tobacco products effectively. Various rules were introduced from time to time for better enforcement and regulation.

The Act prohibits:

• Smoking in public places
• Sale of tobacco products to and by minors
• Sale of tobacco products within 100 yards of educational institutions
• Direct and indirect advertising and promotion of tobacco products