Karnataka tobacco control cell bags World No Tobacco Day 2025 award

The burden of tobacco is stark in Karnataka, with at least 22.8% of adults using some form of tobacco, as per the WHO Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2016-17, which translates to approximately 2.5 crore people in Karnataka.

Bengaluru: The Karnataka tobacco control cell, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Karnataka, has bagged the WHO Southeast Asia World No Tobacco Day 2025 award given to individuals and organisations from the South East Asia region for their notable contributions to tobacco control.

This comes in the background of World No Tobacco Day, which is celebrated by the World Health Organization (WHO) every year on May 31 to raise public awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco products.

The burden of tobacco is stark in Karnataka, with at least 22.8 per cent of adults using some form of tobacco, as per the WHO Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2016-17, which translates to approximately 2.5 crore people in Karnataka. Apart from this, 23.9 per cent of all adults are exposed to secondhand smoke in public places.

Additionally, the state health department notes that smoking contributes to 50 per cent of male deaths in the 25-69 age group from tuberculosis in India. Almost 38 per cent of tuberculosis deaths are associated with the use of tobacco in the country.

To combat this, the state health department has amended the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) to increase fines for public tobacco use to Rs 1,000 from Rs 200, raise the legal age for purchasing tobacco products to 21 from 18, ban hookah bars, and restrict tobacco sales within 100 meters of any educational institution.

The state has also implemented Tobacco Vendor Licensing in collaboration with the Urban Development Department to mandate the issuing of separate licenses for the sale of any kind of tobacco products.

The department has also developed Standard Operational Procedures (SoP) for safe disposal of bidi and cigarette butts, in collaboration with the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, as per the directions of the National Green Tribunal. This will be implemented in the state in the coming days.