India needs to study fallout of tobacco use

The health ministry, along with the NITI Aayog and the Indian Council for Medical Research, could easily commission studies on tobacco alternatives.

- PRITAM SENGUPTA

What will India look like in another 25 years? This is a question that both citizens and the government are contemplating as India's celebrates 75 years of Independence. One of the most important items on the agenda is a healthy India at 100. The current health statistics of today are below par and much needs to be achieved.

The government has outlined its key objectives and steps in its health missions for rural and urban people. These have been built based on scientific data and its analysis by experts.

A key ingredient that needs an explicit introduction into the national health missions is the government's roadmap to curtail the widespread use of tobacco, which is one of the leading causes of a variety of non-communicable illnesses.

The third goal of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) commits to provide better health and well-being. The purpose of this goal is to reduce early deaths caused by non- communicable diseases through prevention and treatment by a third of the total number of deaths. As a signatory to the convention, India has an obligation to follow through its commitment of achieving these goals.