Cigarette Smoking

Telling smokers to quit is not enough and greater emphasis needs to be placed on clinical support for tobacco dependence, while public health policies should evolve with emerging scientific evidence, experts said. The experts spoke at the 9th Summit on Tobacco Harm Reduction, held virtually from September 28 to 30, where clinicians, researchers and policy experts discussed tobacco dependence, smoking cessation, nicotine use among young people and the role of scientific evidence in shaping tobacco-control policies. Dr Mohsin Wali, Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine, Pacific OneHealth, Delhi, and founding member of Doctors Against Addiction (DaAD), said there was a significant difference between advising a smoker to quit and helping them actually overcome tobacco dependence. "Every smoker should be encouraged and supported to quit, but after more than four decades in clinical practice, I have seen that telling a smoker to quit and helping that person actually quit are two very ...

India has directed states to crack down on the illegal sale of nicotine pouches, citing health risks and increased availability through online and offline channels.

UK's generational tobacco ban raises questions on whether India can replicate similar anti-smoking measures amid structural, legal, and enforcement challenges

Tobacco cravings may feel intense, but experts say most urges last only a few minutes and can be managed with simple coping strategies while the brain adjusts to life without nicotine

Drawing parallels with tobacco products, researchers warn that ultra-processed foods may be fuelling preventable disease and should not be treated as just another dietary choice

As cigarette taxes rise sharply from February, sellers say smokers are already switching to cheaper, smuggled brands, exposing how price hikes may reshape India's smoking behaviour

Smoking is not just a bad habit, doctors say; it is nicotine, stress relief, routine and brain conditioning working together, which is why quitting can feel far harder than it looks

Even smoking two cigarettes a day can stiffen blood vessels, raise clotting, sharply increase the risk of heart failure and early death, new global research warns about the dangers of 'light' smoking

Second-hand smoke and maternal tobacco use put millions of children at risk of stunted growth, WHO report highlights

From insulin resistance to insulin deficiency, smoking raises the risk of every type-2 diabetes form - and the more you smoke, the worse it gets, says new study

Tobacco kills 1.35 million Indians every year, but quit rates remain very low despite widespread awareness. With India spending more than Rs 1.77 lakh crore annually on tobacco-related diseases, healthcare experts called for innovative, science-backed harm reduction strategies, including the use of smoke-free nicotine alternatives. Dr Pawan Gupta, senior consultant, Pulmonary Medicine at BLK-MAX Super Specialty Hospital, Delhi stated that for patients with COPD or cardiovascular risks, every cigarette avoided matters. "Scientific review, ?including those by the Royal College of Physicians (UK), show that non-combustible nicotine delivery carries significantly lower risks compared to smoking. That evidence cannot be ignored," Gupta said. Public Health England (PHE, UK) has estimated that smoke-free nicotine alternatives are up to 95 per cent less harmful than smoking because they remove tar and combustion. Globally, nicotine pouches have gained traction as discreet oral alternative

As the love for Diet Coke grows, experts weigh in on the health risks of artificial sweeteners like aspartame and the addictive ritual behind the trend

France has struggled to kick its smoking habit. A new public health decree published Saturday aims to change that. In the coming days, smoking will be banned in all French parks and sports venues, at beaches and bus stops, in a perimeter around all schools, and anywhere children could gather in public. In a country where smoking has for generations been glamorised in cinema and intertwined with the national image, government crackdowns on tobacco use have met resistance. "In France, we still have this mindset of saying, this is a law that restricts freedom," Philippe Bergerot, president of the French League Against Cancer, told the Associated Press. The ban aims "to promote what we call denormalisation. In people's minds, smoking is normal," he said. "We aren't banning smoking; we are banning smoking in certain places where it could potentially affect people's health and ... young people." It's been illegal to smoke in restaurants, bars and public buildings since a series of bans

Smoking and hookah don't just harm your lungs and heart-doctors warn they also quietly damage sexual function, disrupt hormones, and reduce fertility in both men and women

This year's theme-'Bright products. Dark intentions'-exposes how tobacco firms use flavours, design, and digital marketing to lure young users

Starting July 1, France will ban smoking in public spaces like parks, beaches, and bus stops to protect children's health; violators may face fines up to 135 euros ($154)

Campaign launched by the UK government aims to encourage people to quit smoking as part of their New Year's resolutions

Multinational company warns country's leadership against increasing taxes on tobacco

Speaking about this in the House, Health Minister Dinesh Gundurao warned that cigarettes cannot be sold to people under the age of 21 years from now on

Officers of Delhi Customs (Preventive) have searched and recovered over 5.48 lakh foreign-origin cigarette sticks worth Rs 55.23 lakh, which did not have the mandatory pictorial health warning on the packets, the finance ministry said on Friday. It is suspected that these cigarettes were imported illegally/smuggled into the country, evading customs duty and also violating the 'Cigarettes & other Tobacco Products (Packaging & labelling) Amendment Rules, 2022' and being supplied in the domestic market. "Based on an intelligence, the officers of Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate Delhi, searched and recovered 5,48,800 lakh cigarette sticks of foreign origin worth around Rs 55.23 lakh, yesterday," the ministry said in a statement. The cigarettes of different brands, including Platinum Seven, Davidoff, Dunhill and Mond, have been recovered, it said, adding the recovered cigarettes do not have mandatory pictorial health warnings on the packets. During the investigation, one ...