To curb smokeless tobacco use, India targets 100 high-burden districts

Consumption of smokeless tobacco, a leading cause for cancer, remains one of India's biggest public health challenges, with more than one in five people using such products.

- Priyanka Sharma

Consumption of smokeless tobacco, a leading cause for cancer, remains one of India's biggest public health challenges, with more than one in five people using such products. To tackle the crisis, the Indian Council of Medical Research's (ICMR's) cancer prevention agency has zeroed in on 100 high-risk districts across 14 states for a targeted intervention.

These districts account for 68% of the country's users of smokeless tobacco.

Besides smoke-emitting products such as cigarettes and beedis, tobacco is widely consumed in smokeless forms that can be chewed, sniffed, or applied to the gums. This contributes to about 383,250 deaths in India annually.