Cigarette Smoking in India: More Than 6.5 Lakh Children Smoke Daily, says Tobacco Atlas report

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Cigarette Smoking in India: More Than 6.5 Lakh Children Smoke Daily, says Tobacco Atlas report
Cigarette Smoking in India: More Than 6.5 Lakh Children Smoke Daily, says Tobacco Atlas report

New Delhi : A global study came with a serious issue of smoking in India. It has been seen that over 6.5 lakh children smoke cigarette almost daily, which is obviously a threat to public health.

Global Tobacco Atlas has conducted a study on the consumption of tobacco which shows that every week 17,887 smokers die due to severe health condition. Conversely, this is not as much of the average number of deaths caused by smoking cigarette in medium Human Development Index (HDI) countries.

As per the information by American Cancer Society (ACS) and US-based Vital Strategies the financial cost of smoking in India is Rs. 18,18,691 million. This comprises of the direct cost associated with healthcare and indirect cost involved in the output due to early death and illness.

Sources confirmed that more than 4,29,500 boys and 1,95,500 girls in this country smoke cigarette each day. More than 9,03,42,900 men and 1,34,66,600 women smoke cigarettes daily, while 17,10,94,600 people use smokeless tobacco which is a sign of terrible threat to public health.

According to a recent report, the country is flooded cigarette and tobacco manufacturing company. Around 82.12 billion cigarettes were produced in India in the year 2016. It means that the combined revenue of the world's six largest tobacco companies in 2016 was more than USD 346 billion, which is equal to 15 per cent of the gross national income of India. 

The report stated "The industry is a powerful force that does not fear actions of smaller nation-states because of their extensive resources and global market power. Larger economies and nations have the opportunity to help the smaller allies face down this threat," 

The development in Tobacco industry has increased the mortality and morbidity rates for past few years. It is only the human resources which bring threat to human environment.

Projecting ‘No Smoking’ advertisements in cinema theatre and newspapers will work in vain unless the government take strict action at the grass root level. It’s high time to save Young India before it’s too late!