Tobacco Cessation in India

Tobacco use is wide spread all over the world due to insufficient public awareness about its dangers, aggressive marketing and lack of strong countering public policies. The overall ultimately deaths produced by tobacco during last century has been projected about 100 million. Assessed in any manner, tobacco use is one of the most alarming health problems facing the world today. The multinational tobacco industry operating at the global level promotes and profits from the deadly tobacco trade. Such a global threat needs a global thrust to counter it. In today's scenario even India does not lag behind in tobacco production as well as consumption. India stands as the second largest producer and consumer of tobacco in the world after China. Its use is more common in rural areas as compared to urban areas and nearly 26% of Indians are smokers. However, India has played a leadership role in global tobacco control. Thus, with the growing evidence of harmful and hazardous effects of tobacco, strong attempts towards reducing the burden of tobacco in India and suggestive changes for evolving future tobacco cessation policies needs to be implemented.