World No Tobacco Day 2025: With India witnessing 5,500 children picking up tobacco daily, and e-cigarettes quietly replacing traditional cigarettes in urban youth culture, the current scenario is a “perfect storm” of public health threats. We all know that tobacco is hazardous to health. Despite being aware of its dangers, most of the individuals around the world continue to consume tobacco in some form. In India, too, the widespread use of bidis, cigarettes, tobacco, and gutkha has significantly increased the risk of various diseases.
This year, the theme of World No Tobacco Day is ‘Bright products. Dark intentions. Unmasking the Appeal,’ which focuses on how the tobacco companies are using fancy packaging and sweet flavours to trick young audiences into trying harmful tobacco products.
Tobacco is a major cause of several serious diseases, including lung cancer and heart disease. Cigarettes and bidis also contain tobacco, and a large number of young people are becoming addicted to them. Moreover, tobacco is a leading cause of cancer.
According to Dr Ankur Bahl, Senior Director, Medical Oncology, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram, “A 5-inch cigarette contains nearly 1,300 chemicals, including nicotine, phenol, toilet cleaner components, and other harmful substances. Smoking and vaping together increase the risk of lung cancer by four times. Tobacco contains nicotine, and young adults are increasingly becoming the new target of nicotine addiction. Also, it’s not just smokers developing cancer anymore. There is a surge in lung cancer cases in those exposed to high air pollution. “
While immunotherapies and mRNA vaccines show promise, tobacco control is still the most powerful prevention tool.
Dr Ankur highlighted, “From what we could observe, around 40% of the lung cancer cases are connected to smoking or vaping. An additional 20% is attributed to long-term exposure to air pollution, whereas around 20% consists of non-smokers who have never directly used tobacco, indicating some other outdoors or hereditary reasons, and the remaining 20% tobacco-related cases involve the use of smokeless tobacco products like khaini and gutka.”
Dr Ankur explained, With the help of AI Smart Quit-Tech tools, individuals can now quit smoking. He listed below some of the tools:
• SmokeMon Smart Necklace: It detects smoking in real time and vibrates as a reminder
• AI-powered QuitBots: Personalized messages, triggers, and support — 24×7
• Smartwatch nudges: Detects wrist-to-mouth gestures, alerts users before relapse
Dr Ankur concluded, ‘Younger generations are the most vulnerable group, and we are witnessing young patients coming in with late-stage cancer. This shift in demographics points to the need to target younger people for awareness campaigns related to early detection and intervention programs. We urge individuals to understand the impact of tobacco and quit it at the earliest.”
