Report: India has lower quit rates for smoking

November 20, 2021

The International Commission to Reignite the Fight Against Smoking report was recently published. The report was prepared using secondary data from sources such as World Bank.

Key Findings of the report

India has been ranked second in the number of smokers aged between 16 and 64 years.
India is among the nations having lowest quit rates for smoking.
Report notes that, China and India are home 500 million tobacco users aged between 16 and 64 years.
In India, Tobacco prevalence is three times greater among men than women.
India accounts for highest rates of use of smokeless tobacco and oral cancer worldwide.
37 per cent of Indian respondents desired to change behaviour with a plan to quit smoking. Quit rates for men are less than 20 per cent.
Around 1.14 billion people across the world still use tobacco, which is responsible for death of eight million people. Tobacco costs around 200 million people disability-adjusted life years annually.

Ban on Marketing

As per report, around all countries have banned marketing and direct sales of tobacco products to children. However, in low-to-middle income countries, these prohibitions are not enforced rigorously.
Despite prohibitions in India, a study of areas across 243 schools found nearby vendors displaying tobacco products that were appealing to children and youth.
91 per cent of displays were at 1 meter, that is at child’s eye level.
54 per cent of the sale points have no visible health warning.
90 per cent of displays were beside sweets, toys, candy, etc.

Recommendations of report

The report recommends to adopt best practices of combating misinformation and building a healthier information environment in order to reduce harm from tobacco.

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