World No Tobacco Day: A Day of Slogans, a Year of Silence?

May 31, 2025

Every year, on May 31st, the world dutifully observes World No Tobacco Day — a day marked by poster presentations, poem competitions, school rallies, and if we're lucky, maybe a street play or two. For 24 hours, tobacco becomes the villain, slogans become the solution, and we all momentarily feel like we've done our part.

Then June 1st arrives… and nothing changes.

Cigarettes remain available at every street corner. Gutkha continues to stain not just walls, but lives. Hookah lounges sneak back into popularity. Tobacco, the leading cause of preventable death globally, remains widely accessible, cheaply available, and disturbingly normalized — especially in India.

Tobacco Data

India is home to over 260 million tobacco users, and every year, tobacco-related illnesses kill more than 15 lakh Indians — that’s over 3,500 deaths every single day as per Global Audit Tobacco Survey India 2017. Despite this, gutkha, beedis, cigarettes, and khaini are sold with ease, sometimes right outside schools and hospitals. Awareness is not the issue. Most users, even in rural areas, now know tobacco is harmful. The problem lies in accessibility, addiction, and the absence of will to confront the industry's influence.

We’ve become a country where cigarette packs have grotesque cancer images, but are still sold by the piece. Tobacco taxes are high on paper, but smokeless tobacco (like gutkha and khaini) remains dirt cheap. Vendors who legally should not sell tobacco near schools do so anyway — without consequence. Rehabilitation for nicotine addiction is barely available in most government hospitals.

The Health Implications: A Closer Look

Tobacco use is a leading cause of several cancers in India. India accounts for about one-third of the world's oral cancer cases, with over 90% attributed to tobacco use, particularly smokeless forms like gutkha and khaini. Tobacco use, especially when combined with alcohol, significantly increases the risk of esophageal cancer. There's a notable surge in lung cancer cases, especially in certain urban areas, where up to 50% of residents are smokers. Many cases are diagnosed at advanced stages, leading to high mortality rates.

The Policy Disconnect

Globally, efforts to reduce tobacco use have faced challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and geopolitical conflicts have diverted attention and resources, hindering tobacco control initiatives. As a result, the goal to reduce smoking rates by 30% between 2010 and 2025 has been extended by five years, with an estimated 95 million people continuing to smoke who might have otherwise quit.

India has laws — COTPA 2003, for instance — that ban advertisements, mandate warnings, and restrict public smoking. But enforcement is patchy and often reactive. No law truly prevents tobacco from being sold in the first place. Even under the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP), awareness campaigns remain inconsistent. Ironically, the latest global data shows tobacco consumption is actually increasing in some parts of the world, especially where regulations are lax and public health is underfunded.

Positive Developments: Glimmers of Hope

It’s easy to despair. But not all is lost. India has had pockets of success — and these must be celebrated and scaled.States like Maharashtra have implemented strong gutkha bans and, with sustained political will, significantly reduced local use. Several states have adopted the "Tobacco-Free Educational Institution" guidelines effectively, using peer pressure and student councils for better enforcement. Local enforcement agencies have begun levying fines on public smoking, with visible impact. Cities like Chandigarh have implemented smoke-free policies, serving as models for other regions. The ban on hookah bars in Karnataka is a commendable step, aiming to curb a popular form of tobacco consumption among the youth. Yet, such measures need to be part of a broader, more comprehensive strategy. These examples prove one thing: where there is accountability, there is change.

So Where Do We Go From Here?

If we want World No Tobacco Day to mean something beyond hashtags and posters, we need to make tobacco cessation services mandatory in every district hospital. We need to Impose heavier taxes on smokeless tobacco and enforce vendor licensing strictly. It is high time we “De-glamorize” tobacco in media and film — not with warnings, but by removing it altogether. We need to focus on Strengthening school-based interventions, not just for awareness, but as early detection zones for users.

India does not need another awareness campaign. It needs a tobacco control revolution — one built on policies, people, and persistence. World No Tobacco Day should not be the only day we care. It should only serve as a catalyst for sustained action against tobacco use. Let it be the reminder that until tobacco becomes unavailable, we are just fighting a wildfire with a bucket of water.

But we can still hope — and work — for a future where this day no longer needs to exist. Because that would mean we’ve truly won !