Cigarette Smoking

Why we keep smoking despite knowing the damage it does to our health

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 two cigarettes a day raise heart failure risk by 50%, study finds

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

Children with parents who smoke face higher risk of stunting: WHO

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

It's not just cancer: Smoking may trigger all types of type-2 diabetes

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

Smoking kills 1.35 mn Indians each year, experts urge safer nicotine use

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

Diet Coke obsession: All you need to know about the 'fridge cigarette'

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 bans smoking in parks, beaches, and bus stops for public health

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

Hookah with friends, smoke breaks at work? Tobacco is silently wrecking you

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

World No Tobacco Day: Theme, significance, history & facts you need to know

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

France to ban smoking in public spaces where kids are present from July 1

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)

Each cigarette smoked steals 20 mins of life expectancy: UCL study

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

Increase taxes anymore and we leave: British American Tobacco to Pak govt

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

Karnataka govt passes Bill to set age limit for sale of cigarettes to 21

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

Delhi Customs recovers illegal foreign cigarette sticks worth Rs 55.23 lakh

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 ...

New Zealand reverses ground-breaking smoking ban to fund tax cuts

The move has sparked outrage among public health officials and anti-tobacco groups, who are dismayed by the decision to abandon the ban to finance tax cuts

Smoking killing 1.3 million in 7 countries including India annually: Lancet

Over 1.3 million lives are lost every year to cancers caused by smoking tobacco across seven countries, including India, according to a study published in The Lancet's eClinicalMedicine journal. Researchers found that together, the seven countries -- India, China, the UK, Brazil, Russia, the US and South Africa -- represented more than half of the global burden of cancer deaths every year. They noted that smoking, as well as three other preventable risk factors -- alcohol, obesity, and human papillomavirus (HPV) infections -- caused almost two million deaths combined. The study, carried out by researchers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and Kings College London, UK, also analysed the years of life lost to cancer. The researchers concluded that the four preventable risk factors resulted in over 30 million years of life lost each year. Smoking tobacco had by far the biggest impact - leading to 20.8 million years of l

As employees return to office, cigarette demand may rise by 7-9% in FY24

Return of a large number of workforce to offices, coupled with a stable tax regime, is likely to push up cigarette demand by 7-9 per cent this fiscal, according to a report. Cigarette volumes saw an 18 per cent rebound in the last fiscal after the pandemic hit demand in the previous two financial years, the report by Crisil Ratings said on Thursday. Going forward, volume growth is expected to move closer to the long-term average of 5 per cent, the rating agency said in the report. On the other hand, profitability of manufacturers is likely to remain strong despite input cost pressures in FY24 as they focus on premium cigarettes and hike prices in select categories, the report said. Healthy balance sheets will support credit profiles, the report, which is based on an analysis of cigarette manufacturers accounting for over 90 per cent of the organised segment's sales volume, said. Anand Kulkarni, a Director at Crisil Ratings, said physical occupancy at the workplace plays a signific

Finland new anti-smoking laws aims to curb tobacco appeal on youth

Brand images and logos must be removed from packages of all tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes and refill containers

Ability to smoke out of home to help cigarette sales in FY22: Report

The ability to smoke out of homes after the pandemic wanes will be among the factors that will drive up cigarette sales in FY22, a rating agency said on Wednesday

Over a million people die in China every year due to smoking: Report

More than a million people in China are killed by smoking-related diseases every year, and the number will double by 2030 if the current smoking trend continues, a report warned on Wednesday. China is the home for the world's largest number of smokers. The country has over 350 million smokers. The report, jointly released by China's National Health Commission (NHC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) China Office at a press conference, has highlighted China's smoking situation and its negative effects. It pointed out that there are currently more than 300 million cigarette smokers in the country. About 26.6 per cent of Chinese people aged 15 and above are smokers, and of this age group, more than half of men smoke cigarettes, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The report was released ahead of the 34th World No Tobacco Day, which falls on May 31.