Data from the Global Tobacco Atlas indicates that despite lowering tobacco use in recent years, India is home to an estimated 6,25,000 child smokers in the age group of 10 to 14 years. More than 9,32,600 Indian lives are lost to tobacco-related diseases every year. Further, the economic burden of smoking is high in India and this includes both direct cost of healthcare and the indirect cost of lost productivity.
Use of tobacco is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular diseases, stroke, pulmonary diseases and certain types of cancers. One approach to smoking cessation is the five-step algorithm called the 5 A’s — Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, Arrange. Even brief advice to quit has been shown to increase quit rates. Smoking can be managed with a combination of behavioural support and pharmacologic therapy. Combination therapy is superior to either behavioral intervention or pharmacologic therapy alone. One of the major causes for continued tobacco consumption in India is that it is a part of the country’s social culture. Kids start smoking even before they’re old enough to think about the risks; after starting they rapidly become addicted to smoking and then regret it later.