Tobacco use may lead to 10 mn deaths annually by 2030: NICPR director

Tobacco use may lead to 10 million deaths per year across the world by 2030, National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research (NICPR) Director Shalini Singh has said.

She said the goal should be to provide every possible support to tobacco users in quitting and suggested increasing taxes on tobacco products to reduce their consumption in the country.

"With the current pace of tobacco consumption, it has been estimated that about 10 million lives would be lost annually by 2030 and the use of tobacco would be the sole reason for it," Singh said in a statement.

She said tobacco is not only burning a hole in the pocket of its users but it's also taking away their lives.

Singh also suggested standardisation of smokeless tobacco products, banning sale of tobacco products in loose, and a stringent regulatory mechanism to control surrogate advertisements of smokeless tobacco products as necessary measures to reduce their consumption in the country.