In India’s bustling neighbourhoods, the first introduction to tobacco often doesn’t come through rebellion, but familiarity. At corner kiosks and paan shops, cigarettes and smokeless tobacco sit comfortably beside toffees, chocolates, and colourful sachets of mouth fresheners. For many children and adolescents, this everyday visibility quietly reframes tobacco not as a health hazard, but as a routine consumer product. Health experts warn that this subtle normalisation is pushing India’s youth toward an avoidable public health crisis.
These concerns were sharply articulated at a National Youth Day on 12th January, “The Silent Push: Tobacco and Young India”, organised by Tobacco Free India on the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. Experts from the health and education sectors highlighted how indirect promotion, surrogate advertising, and retail practices make tobacco appear harmless, accessible, and socially acceptable to young minds.
When Addiction Looks Ordinary!
Dr Shalini Singh, Director of the ICMR–National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, explained that exposure begins in the most ordinary places. “When tobacco products are openly displayed and sold alongside items for children, it sends a misleading signal of safety,” she said. Branding cues and indirect promotions, she added, reinforce the idea that tobacco is merely another lifestyle choice.
From a child health perspective, Dr Naveen Thacker, Executive Director of the International Pediatric Association, warned that initiation is happening alarmingly early. Citing a study from Gandhinagar, Gujarat, he noted that nearly one in six children around the age of 10 had already experimented with tobacco. Such early exposure, experts say, increases the likelihood of lifelong addiction and chronic disease.
Public health expert Dr M. C. Misra, former Director of AIIMS, cautioned that the cost of inaction would be devastating. Without urgent intervention, he warned, India risks a new epidemic of cancers and lung diseases driven by early addiction. Adolescence, marked by curiosity and vulnerability, is a critical window in which exposure often leads to dependence.
Educationists echoed these concerns. Prof. J. S. Rajput, former Director of NCERT, pointed to celebrity-linked surrogate promotions as a powerful influence. “Education does not happen only in classrooms,” he said. “Children learn from what they see in society. When admired public figures are indirectly associated with tobacco brands, it undermines health messaging and values.”
Experts called for tighter controls on surrogate advertising, strict limits on point-of-sale visibility, a ban on single-stick sales, and measures to ensure tobacco is not sold near schools or alongside children’s products. Raising the legal purchase age and enforcing tobacco-free educational environments were also highlighted as crucial steps.
Protecting children from the everyday normalisation of tobacco is not just a health imperative, nor a one-off topic of discussion. Drastic and consistent measures are called for to protect the future generation.
