Smoking in India
There has been a downwards trend in current smoking prevalence in the general population in India. Smoking prevalence was 19% in 2000 and declined to 11.5% in 2015, with a further drop to 8.5% projected by 2025. For men the prevalence decreased from 32% in 2000 to 21% in 2015, with a further decrease to 16% projected by 2025. For women a much lower prevalence of 6% in 2000 dropped to just under 2% in 2015, and is projected to decrease further to less than 1% by 2025. The WHO published prevalence trend estimates in tobacco smoking, as shown here, in their 2018 2nd edition report, which show slightly different smoking prevalence to the WHO country profiles. Data for the estimates are not age standardised, and were obtained from WHO databases. The trend lines are projections, not predictions, of future attainment. A projection indicates a likely endpoint if the country maintains its tobacco control efforts at the same level that it has implemented them to date. Therefore the impact of recent interventions could alter the expected endpoint shown in the projection. While the methods of estimation used in the first and second editions of the WHO report are the same, the volume of data available for the second edition is larger i.e. 200 more national surveys. The results presented are therefore more robust.
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November 15, 2023 by indiatimes.com
Teachers against vaping: E-cigarettes to impact the educational environment and impede cognitive development of students
NEW DELHI: Teachers from leading schools across India on Children’s Day wrote to the ministry of education to raise awareness about the adverse effects of electronic cigarettes in all forms and educate teachers, parents and children about the recent clarifications in law which ban manufacture, sale and even possession of these devices. The teachers expressed their concern over tobacco companies disseminating misleading information that portrays new-age e-cigarettes as either harmless or less harmful in comparison to smoking traditional cigarettes.
October 17, 2023 by indiatoday.in
Can a low-nicotine tobacco plant benefit smokers?
For smokers trying to quit but with little success, news that genetic science may have come up with a tobacco plant with 60-70 per cent less nicotine is nothing short of a dream come true. [...] the institute discovered a biosynthetic pathway for nicotine in the root of the tobacco plant, which is what synthesises nicotine and transports it to the leaves used in cigarettes. By regulating this pathway or completely blocking it, the amount of nicotine being transported to the leaves can be altered.
August 29, 2023 by sundayguardianlive.com
‘India needs to rethink its tobacco laws’
A seasoned lawmaker has said India needs to seriously take a relook at its tobacco laws, and those relating to e-cigarettes and heated tobacco because the health ministry’s ban on e-cigarettes is a missed public health opportunity. MV Rajeev Gowda, vice-chairperson, State Institute for Transformation of Karnataka and former Rajya Sabha member strongly feels e-cigarettes could have been an option to help smokers wean themselves off tobacco in India, the world’s second largest consumer of tobacco.
August 03, 2023 by indianexpress.com
India tops ‘no tobacco’ labelling, says WHO. But what about second-hand smoking?
Hundreds of enforcement drives, putting up ‘No Smoking’ signs, and communication about the effects of smoking as well as second-hand smoke resulted in a 27 per cent reduction in smoking in public places in Bengaluru. Earlier this year, the city received international recognition for its efforts, said a case study in the recently released report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on the implementation of tobacco control measures.
July 28, 2023 by thehindu.com
Tobacco is bad for health, but cultivators won’t shun the crop
Tobacco consumption - in the form of smoking or chewing - has been linked with multiple serious health issues. But cultivation of tobacco also happens to be the source of livelihood for thousands of farmers, particularly in Mysuru and parts of adjoining Hassan district.
Over the last seven years, the area under tobacco cultivation in Mysuru is believed to have come down from 80,000 hectares to around 65,000 hectares with farmers making a switch to other alternative crops
July 21, 2023 by indiatimes.com
Health Ministry asks states to report violations of e-cigarette ban on its portal
The Centre has asked states to report on its portal information on the availability of e-cigarettes on online shopping sites and retail shops despite a ban on it since 2019. The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Act (PECA) came into force in 2019. There seems to be a lack of awareness about the portal which was launched in May, an official source said, [...]
July 10, 2023 by sundayguardianlive.com
Do you know the real, inside story of e-cigarettes?
A newly published book, “E-Cigarettes and the Comparative Politics of Harm Reduction: History, Evidence and Policy”, has offered some serious arguments about benefits of vaping and the troubles of tobacco.
The book has made policymakers of health in India sit up and take notice, ostensibly because public health campaigners in India and some parts of the world have routinely used fear campaigns to highlight risks of e-cigarettes. They have rarely attacked tobacco manufacturers. Such is the power of the campaign that in Australia, opposition to e-cigarettes has become something of a moral crusade against youth vaping and smoking.
June 15, 2023 by business-standard.com
Over 60% youth in India are susceptible to e-cigarettes, shows report
Almost 61 per cent of people aged between 15-30 in India who have never used electronic cigarettes (e-cigarette) before are susceptible to taking up vaping in the future, according to a new study.
The study, based on an international survey of 4,007 people, including 456 from across India, identified exposure to e-cigarette advertising as having the second greatest effect on susceptibility, after current or past tobacco use, while perceived harmfulness reduced the likelihood of susceptibility.
May 12, 2023 by tribuneindia.com
E-cigarettes equally harmful: Health experts
The use of e-cigarettes is equally harmful as these cause numerous diseases, affecting mostly the lungs. This was stated by health experts [...] They said the manufacturing, sale and consumption of the product was banned in the country.
Dr Jivanjot Kaur, Nodal Officer of National Tobacco Control Program-cum-District Dental Health Officer, said some people were under the impression that e-cigarettes were comparatively safe as compared to other cigarettes, which was not true.
“These e-cigarettes produce nicotine, which is highly addictive and other harmful chemicals which are bad for health,” she said, [...]
April 14, 2023 by indiatimes.com
India needs evidence-based harm reduction strategies: Dr. Peter Harper
There are estimated to be over 1.1 billion smokers today, of which more than 100 million are in India – more than any country in the world outside China. Smoking cessation policies and programs generally present smokers with two unpleasant options; quit or die. A third approach to tobacco harm reduction involves using alternative sources of nicotine, including modern smokeless tobacco products. [...] Dr. Peter Harper, a renowned Physician and Medical Oncologist, recognized for his work in developing new anti-cancer and vaccine therapies, highlights the need for evidence-based harm reduction strategies to help achieve India’s tobacco control goals.