Butt of course

Butt of course

Today more than ever, there is an exigent need to control tobacco use and save lives.

It’s simply unacceptable that global consumption of cigarettes is the same today as it was 30 years ago. India ranks second in the number of smokers (250,002,133) aged between 16 and 64 years and is among the countries with one of the lowest quit rates for smoking (less than 20 per cent for men), a new report states. The report, prepared by ‘The International Commission to Reignite the Fight Against Smoking’ using secondary data from sources such as the World Bank, said that India and China are home to more than 500 million tobacco users in the 16-64 age group. India also accounts for some of the highest rates of smokeless tobacco (ab)use and oral cancer in the world. Hardly any surprises here, since cigarettes cost significantly cheaper here in India than in the developed countries and, as far as the use of smokeless tobacco is concerned, the red pools deposited along the sidewalks and the colourful graffiti created by spit-out gutkha, khaini and suchlike substances on building walls and other public spaces are proof enough of our citizens’ dedication to chewing tobacco. On the positive side, 37 per cent Indians are reported to be desirous of changing their behaviour by quitting smoking.

An estimated 1.14 billion people worldwide still use tobacco, which kills nearly eight million people and eliminates nearly 200 million disability-adjusted life years annually. The cost of this guilty pleasure to the world is nearly $2 trillion a year. “The drastic socio-economic impact makes it expedient to reignite the fight against smoking,” the report points out. It adds that though nearly all countries ban the marketing and direct sale of tobacco products to children, the reality is that these prohibitions are not rigorously enforced in low-to-middle income countries. To kick the habit, the report recommends adopting best practices to combat misinformation and to reduce harm from tobacco (mis)use by leveraging multinational, multidisciplinary and participatory foresight studies. It also advocates risk-proportionate regulations to make it easier for smokers to quit while nudging expansion of access to tobacco harm-reduction products in low-to-middle income countries, including India. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new attention to public health, including its role in tobacco control. As part of emerging innovations, the efforts to kick smoking now have the most powerful tool in history at its disposal: Technology that delivers nicotine without the dangers to health caused by the combustion of tobacco.