PRAN (Policy Research Action Network) Foundation: World No Tobacco Day

By Adv. Amarjeet Singh, Founder, PRAN – Policy Research Action Network Foundation · 31 May 2026 · World No Tobacco Day

Every time I walk past a pan shop near a school gate — and I have seen this in Rohtak, in Delhi, in small towns across Haryana — I see the same thing: children buying chips and biscuits, and right next to the counter, a neat rack of gutka pouches, loose cigarettes, and flavoured tobacco sachets priced at ₹5. No warning. No barrier. No enforcement.

Today is World No Tobacco Day, and while the world lights candles for the 8 million people tobacco kills every year, India — home to the world's second-largest population of tobacco users — continues to treat this as a problem to be managed rather than a crisis to be resolved.

As an advocate and citizen, I refuse to accept that this is simply how things are.

"No citizen should lose their life to a product the government is legally empowered to ban outright — and yet chooses only to regulate." — Amarjeet Singh, Founder, PRAN Foundation

The Scale of the Crisis

🚬 Tobacco's toll on India

India has approximately 267 million tobacco users. Each year, over 1.35 million Indians die from tobacco-related diseases — one death every 23 seconds on our soil alone. Oral cancers, lung disease, cardiovascular failure: tobacco does not discriminate by age, income, or geography. It reaches into villages through bidis and gutka; it reaches into cities through cigarettes and e-cigarettes marketed as lifestyle choices.

⚖️ The law we have — but don't enforce

The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 (COTPA) is one of the strongest tobacco control statutes in the world on paper. Section 4 bans smoking in public places. Section 5 prohibits all forms of direct and indirect tobacco advertising. Section 6(b) mandates a strict 100-metre tobacco-free zone around educational institutions. India ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2004 — a binding international treaty that obligates us to protect citizens from the tobacco industry's commercial interests. And yet, enforcement on the ground remains patchy at best, absent at worst.

🏫 When children are the target

The tobacco industry knows exactly what it is doing. Single sticks sold at ₹5, flavoured tobacco marketed in bright packaging, surrogate advertising disguised as pan masala — these are not accidents of the market. They are deliberate strategies to recruit young users before they know better. Our children are not consumers to be acquired. They are citizens to be protected.

The Law Is Already There

We do not need new laws. We need the courage to enforce the ones we have.

COTPA 2003 bans tobacco sales within 100 metres of schools and colleges under Section 6(b). The 85% pictorial health warning on all tobacco packaging — one of the largest in the world — is a Supreme Court-backed mandate. The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 guarantees every citizen the right to be protected against goods hazardous to life and property. FCTC Article 13 prohibits tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship in all its forms. These are not suggestions. They are legal obligations — on the state, on industry, and on all of us who watch violations happen without speaking up.

Moving From Observation to Action

At PRAN Foundation, we believe legal literacy is the first step toward civic accountability. For years, I have worked in consumer rights, public interest litigation, and policy advocacy — and the most consistent pattern I have seen is this: violations persist not because the law is absent, but because citizens do not know they have the right to demand enforcement.

World No Tobacco Day is not just a date on a calendar. For us, it is an opportunity to remind every Indian — every parent, every teacher, every young person — that the right to breathe clean air and to live free from manufactured addiction is not charity. It is a constitutional entitlement.

How You Can Help

Observe — If you see a tobacco or gutka outlet within 100 metres of a school, college, or hospital, note the location, photograph the shop (without capturing minors), and document the date and time. What you see matters. Your testimony is evidence.
Demand — Write to your District Collector, local Municipal Corporation, or the state Health Department citing Section 6(b) of COTPA 2003. You can also file a complaint with the National Consumer Helpline (1800-11-4000) if mislabelled or unlawfully sold tobacco has harmed you or your family. The law is on your side — use it.
Share — Awareness is enforcement's first cousin. Share credible information about tobacco's harms, COTPA rights, and cessation resources (National Tobacco Cessation Helpline: 1800-11-2356) in your networks. Amplify the conversation using #TobaccoFreeIndia and #WorldNoTobaccoDay. Every share is a seed.

Our Goal

✦ Full, measurable enforcement of 100-metre tobacco-free zones around all educational institutions across India

✦ Stricter action against surrogate advertising by tobacco brands under the guise of pan masala and elaichi products

✦ Nationwide public awareness campaign for the National Tobacco Cessation Helpline (1800-11-2356)

✦ Integration of tobacco-related consumer grievances into district-level Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions

✦ Mandatory tobacco cessation sensitisation in all government health facilities under Ayushman Bharat

Join PRAN Foundation's legal awareness and public policy advocacy. Together, we can move from awareness to accountability.

🌐 www.publicrightaction.org | ✉️ pranfoundationindia@gmail.com | 📞 +91-8920798501

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Adv. Amarjeet Singh Founder & Executive Director, PRAN Foundation | Advocate, Supreme Court of India

Adv. Amarjeet Singh is a practising advocate at the Supreme Court of India and Patiala House Court Complex with over 20 years of experience in consumer law, constitutional litigation, PIL, and public policy. He is the Founder and Executive Director of PRAN (Policy Research Action Network) Foundation, a Section 8 non-profit committed to evidence-based advocacy, legal empowerment, and citizen-centric policy reform.

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