The world wants India to rethink its tobacco policies

The Conference of the Parties (COP 10) to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) will be held in faraway Panama in early February but it is crucial to review New Delhi’s India’s progress on tobacco control and shed light on strategy and supporting evidence for tobacco harm reduction. 

- SHANTANU GUHA RAY

What is sad is that the mandarins of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare have not done much. The officials know it very well that the COP is the governing body of the FCTC and is composed of representatives from the countries that are parties to the treaty. So where is India, an important cog in the wheel of global tobacco and tobacco-related deaths? India is home to one of the world’s largest populations of tobacco users, with approximately one in every three adults using some form of tobacco.

A recent study by the Centre for Public Policy Research throws up some interesting facts. The health implications of tobacco use are staggering; smoking and chewing tobacco are linked to serious diseases like cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and respiratory illnesses. Over one million adults die each year in India due to tobacco use accounting for 9.5% of overall deaths. And 7.2 percent of women who gave birth smoked cigarettes during pregnancy.  What Will be india’s stand?

New Delhi knows it very well that this report is submitted in line with Section 7, Article 4 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, highlighting the crucial role of civil society participation in achieving the Convention’s goals and recognizing the established practice of encouraging inputs to enhance the evidence base. It offers alternative insights and perspectives on the status of FCTC implementation in India thus contributing to the ongoing discourse surrounding tobacco harm reduction in India by emphasising the importance of a comprehensive approach that aligns with international human rights principles.