Growing glamorisation of tobacco through surrogate advertising and its everyday normalisation by selling it alongside toffees and candies pose a serious threat to the health of children and adolescents, caution experts. They said that if this trend is not checked urgently, it could lead to a new epidemic of cancer and lung diseases in the coming years.
Dr Shalini Singh, director, ICMR-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, highlighted that children are exposed to tobacco through everyday influences, starting at retail points and extending to surrogate promotion.
“When tobacco products are displayed openly at points of sale and placed alongside items meant for children, it sends a misleading signal that these products are harmless,” she said, adding that branding cues and indirect promotions further reinforce this exposure.
Dr Singh was speaking at a webinar “The Silent Push: Tobacco and Young India” on the occasion of National Youth Day organised by Tobacco Free India, a citizen initiative.
She underlined the need to strictly limit point-of-sale visibility, cautioning that retail displays should not become a de facto advertising tool.
Dr Naveen Thacker, executive director of the International Paediatric Association, warned that the problem begins far earlier than commonly assumed, and quoted a survey he had conducted which showed that one in six children around the age of 10 had already experimented with tobacco.
Dr MC Misra, former director of AIIMS, New Delhi, cautioned that the consequences of inaction could be severe and long-lasting. “If we do not intervene today and reduce children’s exposure to tobacco, we are clearly heading towards the next epidemic of cancers and lung diseases.”
Prof JS Rajput, Padma Shri awardee and former director of NCERT, said celebrity-linked surrogate promotions add another troubling layer to the problem and called for collective responsibility.
“Education does not happen only in classrooms. Children learn from what they see in society,” he said. “When film stars or sports personalities are indirectly associated with tobacco brands, it sends a powerful and misleading message. Society and the government must take responsibility.”